Maritime record MWX2313 - Clan McVey

Built in 1918 by the Northumberland SB.Co.Ltd in: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the CLAN MACVEY was armed with 1 x 4ins; 1 x 15pdr guns. She had three boilers and was screw driven by a 3-cylinder triple expansion engine.

Owner: Cayzer, Irvine and Co. (Clan Line)
Current Owner: Dave Saywell (Purchased in 1980)
Master: R C Jones
Crew: 55
Crew Lost: 7 (2)

The CLAN MACVEY was torpedoed by German submarine UB57. She broke in two after being towed for four hours while under tow towards Poole. She now lies virtually upright and partially covered in sand at a depth of 18m. She was partly cleared by navy explosives. She is currently owned by Dave Saywell of Poole.(10)(11) The wreck marked on the Admiralty Chart No 2175 of Poole Bay , 3 miles offshore right over to the east, just north of Dolphin sands is the Can Macvey. She lies low on the sand and does not show up easily on an echo sounder.(9)

Surveying History (1):

09-AUG-1918 Position 50 39 40N, 01 48 00W. Mast showing, dangerous to navigation.(1)

01-SEP-1918 Broke in two and sank.(1) 11-SEP-1918 position 50 39 37N, 01 46 37W.(1)

9-AUG-1920 position 50 39 39N, 01 46 54W. Depth over wreck 17 feet.(1)

18-FEB-1922 Wreck dispersed to 50 feet. Position 50 39 50N, 01 46 54W.(1)

19-OCT-1950 Drift sweep clear at 36 feet, foul at 37 feet. Least depth by echo sounder 38 feet in general depth 58 feet.(1)

12-JUL-1951 Drift sweep clear at 45 feet, least depth by echo sounder

23-OCT-1968 position 50 39 40N, 01 46 44W confirmed.(1)

25-JUL-1975 50 39 40N, 01 46 43W.(1) 19-JUL-1983 Owned by St Mary Marine - Salvage Co.(1) A valve, 2 gauges and 2 portholes recovered from this wreck, 3.5 miles off Hengistbury Head. (Droit A/930)(12)

Position 50 39.70 N 1 46.82 W taken from (15)

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
PRO.Kew.Adm.137/2964; also, apparently, in Lloyd's Register, although no register entry cited.

Gross tonnage

<1> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 1992, Hydrographic Office wreck index (Index). SWX4837.

<2> Larn, Richard, 1992, United Kingdom shipwreck index, Extracted 23 November 1992 (Index). SWX5030.

<3> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<5> 1990, Lloyds war losses, The First World War: Casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918, p229 (Index). SWX4540.

<9> 1979, Diver [incorporating Underwater World] 1979, No. 6 June., p24 (Article in serial). SWX6633.

<10> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1990, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (2nd Edition), Wreck No. 197, p161-3 (Monograph). SWX5640.

<12> 2001, Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Receiver of Wreck Amnesty (Index). SWX4542.

<13> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck A/0930 (Unpublished document). SWX370.

<14> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 47 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<15> Wendes, D, 2006, South Coast Shipwrecks off East Dorset & Wight 1870 - 1979 (Monograph). SDO10496.

<16> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 22 (Monograph). SDO16406.

<17> National Record of the Historic Environment, 904672 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 20 2024 2:14PM