SS Storaa
Encyclopedia
Storaa was a 1,980 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1918 by the Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company as Wellpark for British
owners. In 1927, she was sold to Belgium
and was renamed Navex. A further sale in 1937 saw her renamed Prina. In 1938, she was sold to the Netherlands
and was renamed Willy. In 1939, she was sold to Denmark
and was renamed Storaa.
She was detained at Casablanca
, Morocco
in 1940 and subsequently taken over by the Vichy Government and renamed Saint Edmond. In November 1942, she was scuttled at Port Lyautey. Saint Edmond was raised in January 1943, and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), regaining her previous name Storaa. On 3 November 1943, Storaa was torpedo
ed and sunk by schnellboot S 138 off Hastings
whilst a member of Convoy CW 221.
. She was completed in April 1918.
The ship was 280 in 0 in (85.34 m) long, with a beam of 41 in 9 in (12.73 m). She had a depth of 18 in 9 in (5.72 m) and a draught of 18 in 1 in (5.51 m).
The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 21 inches (53.3 cm), 35 inches (88.9 cm) and 57 inches (144.8 cm) diameter by 36 inches (91.4 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Dunsmuir & Jackson Ltd, Glasgow
.
. The United Kingdom Official Number 142265 was allocated. In 1928, she was sold to the SA Navex Société d'Expédition et de
Navigation and renamed Navex. Her port of registry was changed to Antwerp and the Code Letters
MNRA were allocated. In 1934, her Code letters were changed to OOXA.
On 21 January 1937, Navex was sold to Société Belge d'Entreprises Commerciales (Sodeco), Antwerp. She was renamed Prina and placed under the management of NV Nederlandsch Bevrachtingskantoor. Her Code Letters were changed to ONKD. Prina was used to supply Republican-held
ports during the Spanish Civil War
. She was the only ship owned by Sodeco operated under the Belgian Flag. The company's other three ships operated under the Panama
nian flag. On 7 May 1938, Prina was sold to the NV Europeësche Vrachtvaart Maatscappij, Rotterdam
and was renamed Willy. Her port of registry was changed to Amsterdam
and the Code Letters PIQI were allocated. Willy remained under the management of NV Nederlandsch Bevrachtingskantoor.
In 1939, Willy was sold to Dampskibs Hetland AS and renamed Storaa, which is the Danish
for "Big River". Her port of registry was changed to Copenhagen
, and the Code Letters OZDP were allocated.
by the Ministry of Shipping. She was reflagged to the United Kingdom. Her port of registry was changed to London
and the Code Letters GLDG were allocated, with the ship regaining her Official Number 142256. She was operated under the management of W T Gould Ltd, Cardiff
. In June 1940, Storaa was detained at Casablanca
, Morocco
. Her crew were imprisoned, but they escaped deportation to a German work camp when the Allies invaded French North Africa.
Storaa was seized by the Vichy Government and renamed Saint Edmond. She was scuttled at Port Lyautey, Morocco in November 1942. In January 1943, she was refloated. The ship was renamed Storaa, and passed to the MoWT. She was refitted by her crew, and returned to the United Kingdom in June 1943.
On 2 November 1943, Storaa left Southend as part of Convoy CW 221, the 221st convoy proceeding along the Channel Westwards, transporting 2500 tons of tank parts from to a weapons factory in Cardiff
. was the escort to the convoy which consisted of 19 Merchant ships including Storaa. The bills of loading show that it had a cargo of 376 tons of steel
slabs, 250 tons of steel billets and 608 tons of pig iron
(a total of 1,234 tons). However, a contemporary account by a survivor, 3rd officer, H B Knudsen, describes the cargo as “tank parts and aircraft". Mr Knudsen describes loading the cargo:
According to Mr Knudsen, the ship was armed with one 12 pdr., 4 Oerlikons, 1 Strip Lewis and 2 P.A.C. Rockets. The crew was made up of a British and Danish volunteers under a Danish master and also included 4 Naval and 3 Army DEMS Gunners
, and there was one passenger (a pilot). As part of the convoy, Storaa was legally required to defend herself and the rest of the convoy. The Dover Strait and Wold Channel (known as Hell’s Corner and E-boat alley), were the most dangerous sea passages in the world.
Just after midnight on 3 November 1943 German E-boat
s were sighted. HMS Whitshead and the Storaa opened fire and the E-boats were driven off, but a quarter of an hour later a torpedo
struck Storaa amidships. She was heavily laden and sank quickly. Of the total of 36 peoples onboard, 22 were lost (Master, lst and 2nd Officers, 2nd and 3rd Engineers, Steward, Cook, 1 Naval and 2 Army Gunners, and 12 crew). Seven survivors from the Storaa were picked up by an English coaster
which was also part of the convoy, the rest being rescued by an M.L., and all were taken to Newhaven
.
coast near Hastings
. A year later, in 1986, the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
came into law. Local historian and maritime archaeologist
, Dr Peter Marsden, Director of the Hastings Shipwreck Heritage Centre, wrote to the Ministry of Defence
in April 2000, requesting that Storaa should be designated under the Act. On 25 May 2000, the Ministry of Defence wrote back, refusing the request on the grounds that the vessel was not eligible to be designated under the Act, because it was not in military service at the time.
One of the men of the Royal Navy who had died on Storaa was Petty Officer
James Varndell, who was 44 at the time. In 2003, his daughters Rosemary Fogg and Valerie Ledgard made an application to the Ministry of Defence to designate the wreck to protect it as a war grave
. Their request was also refused by the Ministry of Defence. However, supported by Dr Marsden and by the Merchant Navy Association, they launched a request for a judicial review of the decision. which was heard by the High Court
on 26 October 2005 His decision was that the Act could apply to merchant vessels and that the Secretary of State for Defence
was therefore required to reconsider whether the Storaa should be designated under the Act. The judge declined to decide on the legal issues of whether designation interfered with the salvage rights; on a dispute as to whether the wreck had been correctly identified; and on whether or not she was carrying tank parts or raw materials for the factory. These were matters that the Secretary of State should consider when the question of designation is reconsidered.
The Ministry of Defence appealed the decision, which was heard by the Appeal Court
on 2006. The Appeal Court decision of 5 October 2006, upheld the decision of the High Court.
Wreck divers
fear that the case could lead to diving being prohibited on a large number of wrecks.
The wreck was subsequently designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
in 2008.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
owners. In 1927, she was sold to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and was renamed Navex. A further sale in 1937 saw her renamed Prina. In 1938, she was sold to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and was renamed Willy. In 1939, she was sold to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and was renamed Storaa.
She was detained at Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in 1940 and subsequently taken over by the Vichy Government and renamed Saint Edmond. In November 1942, she was scuttled at Port Lyautey. Saint Edmond was raised in January 1943, and passed to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), regaining her previous name Storaa. On 3 November 1943, Storaa was torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed and sunk by schnellboot S 138 off Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
whilst a member of Convoy CW 221.
Description
The ship was built as yard number 371 in 1918 by the Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company, GrangemouthGrangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
. She was completed in April 1918.
The ship was 280 in 0 in (85.34 m) long, with a beam of 41 in 9 in (12.73 m). She had a depth of 18 in 9 in (5.72 m) and a draught of 18 in 1 in (5.51 m).
The ship was propelled by a triple expansion steam engine, which had cylinders of 21 inches (53.3 cm), 35 inches (88.9 cm) and 57 inches (144.8 cm) diameter by 36 inches (91.4 cm) stroke. The engine was built by Dunsmuir & Jackson Ltd, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
History
Wellpark was one of a series of six ships built by Greenock & Grangemouth Dockyard Company for Denholm Line Steamers Ltd, the others being Broompark, Denpark, Elmpark, Hazelpark and Heathpark. She was operated under the management of J & J Denholm Ltd. Her port of registry was GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
. The United Kingdom Official Number 142265 was allocated. In 1928, she was sold to the SA Navex Société d'Expédition et de
Navigation and renamed Navex. Her port of registry was changed to Antwerp and the Code Letters
Code letters
Code letters were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of radio, code letters were also used as radio callsigns.-History:...
MNRA were allocated. In 1934, her Code letters were changed to OOXA.
On 21 January 1937, Navex was sold to Société Belge d'Entreprises Commerciales (Sodeco), Antwerp. She was renamed Prina and placed under the management of NV Nederlandsch Bevrachtingskantoor. Her Code Letters were changed to ONKD. Prina was used to supply Republican-held
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
ports during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. She was the only ship owned by Sodeco operated under the Belgian Flag. The company's other three ships operated under the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian flag. On 7 May 1938, Prina was sold to the NV Europeësche Vrachtvaart Maatscappij, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
and was renamed Willy. Her port of registry was changed to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and the Code Letters PIQI were allocated. Willy remained under the management of NV Nederlandsch Bevrachtingskantoor.
In 1939, Willy was sold to Dampskibs Hetland AS and renamed Storaa, which is the Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
for "Big River". Her port of registry was changed to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and the Code Letters OZDP were allocated.
War Service
On 9 April 1940, Storaa was requisitioned at GrangemouthGrangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
by the Ministry of Shipping. She was reflagged to the United Kingdom. Her port of registry was changed to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the Code Letters GLDG were allocated, with the ship regaining her Official Number 142256. She was operated under the management of W T Gould Ltd, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. In June 1940, Storaa was detained at Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Her crew were imprisoned, but they escaped deportation to a German work camp when the Allies invaded French North Africa.
Storaa was seized by the Vichy Government and renamed Saint Edmond. She was scuttled at Port Lyautey, Morocco in November 1942. In January 1943, she was refloated. The ship was renamed Storaa, and passed to the MoWT. She was refitted by her crew, and returned to the United Kingdom in June 1943.
Sinking
From 1941, the MOWT had the power to requisition merchant ships, regulate and control the movement of ships and regulate the trade and the type and amount of cargo they carried. The MOWT also acted as the owning authority for all ships under government control.On 2 November 1943, Storaa left Southend as part of Convoy CW 221, the 221st convoy proceeding along the Channel Westwards, transporting 2500 tons of tank parts from to a weapons factory in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. was the escort to the convoy which consisted of 19 Merchant ships including Storaa. The bills of loading show that it had a cargo of 376 tons of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
slabs, 250 tons of steel billets and 608 tons of pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
(a total of 1,234 tons). However, a contemporary account by a survivor, 3rd officer, H B Knudsen, describes the cargo as “tank parts and aircraft". Mr Knudsen describes loading the cargo:
- “When we had unloaded the pulp, we then began to load caterpillar trackCaterpillar trackContinuous tracks or caterpillar tracks are a system of vehicle propulsion in which modular metal plates linked into a continuous band are driven by two or more wheels...
s for the so-called “belt vehicles”, which was very heavy material almost solid iron. That was put in the bottom of the ship, and then we filled up the rest with aeroplanes in large boxes. We even had some as deck cargo.
According to Mr Knudsen, the ship was armed with one 12 pdr., 4 Oerlikons, 1 Strip Lewis and 2 P.A.C. Rockets. The crew was made up of a British and Danish volunteers under a Danish master and also included 4 Naval and 3 Army DEMS Gunners
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June, 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft...
, and there was one passenger (a pilot). As part of the convoy, Storaa was legally required to defend herself and the rest of the convoy. The Dover Strait and Wold Channel (known as Hell’s Corner and E-boat alley), were the most dangerous sea passages in the world.
Just after midnight on 3 November 1943 German E-boat
E-boat
E-boats was the designation for Motor Torpedo Boats of the German Navy during World War II. It is commonly held that the E stood for Enemy....
s were sighted. HMS Whitshead and the Storaa opened fire and the E-boats were driven off, but a quarter of an hour later a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
struck Storaa amidships. She was heavily laden and sank quickly. Of the total of 36 peoples onboard, 22 were lost (Master, lst and 2nd Officers, 2nd and 3rd Engineers, Steward, Cook, 1 Naval and 2 Army Gunners, and 12 crew). Seven survivors from the Storaa were picked up by an English coaster
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
which was also part of the convoy, the rest being rescued by an M.L., and all were taken to Newhaven
Newhaven, East Sussex
Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. It lies at the mouth of the River Ouse, on the English Channel coast, and is a ferry port for services to France.-Origins:...
.
Designation under the Protection of Military Remains Act
In 1985 John Short purchased for £150 the salvage rights to Storaa, which lies in about 100 feet (30 m) of water some 9 nautical miles (16.7 km) off the East SussexEast Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
coast near Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
. A year later, in 1986, the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are...
came into law. Local historian and maritime archaeologist
Maritime archaeology
Maritime archaeology is a discipline within archaeology as a whole that specifically studies human interaction with the sea, lakes and rivers through the study of associated physical remains, be they vessels, shore side facilities, port-related structures, cargoes, human remains and submerged...
, Dr Peter Marsden, Director of the Hastings Shipwreck Heritage Centre, wrote to the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
in April 2000, requesting that Storaa should be designated under the Act. On 25 May 2000, the Ministry of Defence wrote back, refusing the request on the grounds that the vessel was not eligible to be designated under the Act, because it was not in military service at the time.
One of the men of the Royal Navy who had died on Storaa was Petty Officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
James Varndell, who was 44 at the time. In 2003, his daughters Rosemary Fogg and Valerie Ledgard made an application to the Ministry of Defence to designate the wreck to protect it as a war grave
War grave
A war grave is a burial place for soldiers or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. The term does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be war graves, as are military aircraft that crash into water...
. Their request was also refused by the Ministry of Defence. However, supported by Dr Marsden and by the Merchant Navy Association, they launched a request for a judicial review of the decision. which was heard by the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
on 26 October 2005 His decision was that the Act could apply to merchant vessels and that the Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
was therefore required to reconsider whether the Storaa should be designated under the Act. The judge declined to decide on the legal issues of whether designation interfered with the salvage rights; on a dispute as to whether the wreck had been correctly identified; and on whether or not she was carrying tank parts or raw materials for the factory. These were matters that the Secretary of State should consider when the question of designation is reconsidered.
The Ministry of Defence appealed the decision, which was heard by the Appeal Court
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
on 2006. The Appeal Court decision of 5 October 2006, upheld the decision of the High Court.
Wreck divers
Wreck diving
Wreck diving is a type of recreational diving where shipwrecks are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites...
fear that the case could lead to diving being prohibited on a large number of wrecks.
The wreck was subsequently designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which provides protection for the wreckage of military aircraft and designated military vessels. The Act provides for two types of protection: protected places and controlled sites. Military aircraft are...
in 2008.