Athenia Wreck

Place of Loss: Inishtrahull Island, 7 miles N of / 55 33 20N, 007 21 21W, Description: The Athenia was an 8,668-ton, twin-screw British liner built by Vickers Sons & Maxim, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and owned by the Anchor-Donaldson Line. It had two decks, one funnel, four masts and triple expansion engines. The liner was capable of reaching 13.5 knots and operated on the transatlantic passenger service between Glasgow and Canada. It was originally built as a cargo ship, but was converted to a liner in 1905. The Athenia was considered to be one of the first proper ‘cabin’ liners on the transatlantic trade, having accommodation for 50 first-class, 200 second-class and 1,000 third-class passengers. At the time of its loss the liner was en route from Montreal to Glasgow, carrying 7,000 tons of general cargo, including empty shell cases, 440 horses, 109 passengers and 44 military personnel. Without warning, the Athenia was torpedoed by U-53, which was patrolling the waters off the north Donegal coast under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Rose. The U-53 had already sunk 50 ships since 1916; it would sink 98 ships in total during the war years. The liner did not sink immediately, which enabled most of the crew and passengers to safely board the lifeboats. Two lifeboats made it to Inishtrahull Island, with some of the crew being saved by destroyers responding to Athenia's SOS call. Sadly, however, 15 lives were lost during the attack. The U-53 continued to wreak carnage in the area over the coming days, sinking six more vessels, including the Roscommon, the Devonian, the Boniface and the Kenmore, with the lost of eight more lives and over 36,000 tons of shipping. The wreck of the Athenia was located by the salvage company Risdon Beazley Marine Ltd. in 1970 and was partially salvaged in 1975, with the recovery of 109 tons of brass. On the seafloor The wreck of the Athenia is orientated WNW–ESE on the seafloor. It is mostly buried, with the main protrusion from the seafloor being amidships. It measures 148m in length and has a maximum width of 43m. In 1974 the wreck stood 15m proud of the seabed, but in 2011 it had a maximum height of 10.6m, with an average height of 2.5m. The Athenia is another wreck that has been heavily salvaged, but in spite of this, it remains one of the most scenic wrecks in this depth range. The bow, now somewhat skeletal around the gunwales, but all the more picturesque for that, lies on its starboard side and the sand-polished brass letters ‘ATH’ of the vessel’s name are visible on the seabed nearby. Aft the forehold has been torn open to get at the cargo of empty shell cases, many of which still lie strewn around on the seabed. Amidships the port side of the hull has toppled over onto the boilers, forming the highest point of the wreck, and aft further salvage work leads to the rudder quadrant and the defensive stern gun.