Maritime record MWX2529 - Miniota

The Miniota was a 422 ft long, 6422 gross ton Canadian steamship disabled by a German torpedo. She is reported to have sunk off Portland in 1917 while under tow into the safety of Weymouth Bay.

The Miniota was a 422 ft long, 6422 gross ton Canadian steamship built 1914, disabled by a German torpedo. She is reported to have sunk off Portland in 1917 while under tow into the safety of Weymouth Bay. Three tons of silver are reported to be still within her hold. (1) Items have been recovered from her and reported to the Receiver of Wreck. (2-4) However there is no certainty that she has ever been properly identified.
(6) describes her as British with London as her home port.

Gross tonnage

Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:

A medium porthole recovered from the MINIOTA in position 50 03.417N 002 29.150W. (Droit 041/04) (3)

2 brass portholes, both broken, one of which also lacks glass and is in poor condition, recovered from the MINIOTA. The two portholes are said not to match, one being made up out of "a different backring and opener", but being from "the same type of porthole, and together make a complete one". (Droit 002/06) (8)

Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:

Position of loss cited as 30 miles SE 0.5 E of Start Point; date of loss quoted in error as 32.08.1917; voyage details cited as Montreal to Liverpool.

Ex. HACKNESS. Having left Montreal on 13.08 carrying 8,000 tons of cargo, she was in convoy when she was torpedoed between the engine room and boilers by the German submarine U-19 at 3pm. The master ordered the ship to be abandoned, and she was taken in tow, but she sank the next day at 10.30am. The engineer on watch and one fireman were killed outright in the explosion, the rest of the engine-room being wounded or scalded, one man dying afterwards in hospital. The survivors were picked up by patrol vessels and landed at Portland. The ship's confidential papers and code books went down with the ship.

Ex. HACKNESS. Torpedoed and sunk in the Channel by the German submarine U-19. <6>

31-AUG-1917: Torpedoed without warning 30 miles SE 0.5 E of Start Point, with the loss of 3 crew. <7>

Ex. HACKNESS. Torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 30 miles SE 0.5 E of Start Point in position 49.50N 003.00W by the German submarine U-19, whilst en route Montreal to Portland with general cargo. 3 lives lost. <8>

31-AUG-1917: Sunk by submarine en route from Montreal to Portland with general cargo, 13 miles SW of the Bill of Portland. <9>

The conflicting positions of loss may partially or wholly be accounted for by the fact that the vessel was taken in tow. <10>

Built: 1914
Builder: W Gray & Co. Ltd.
Where Built: West Hartlepool
Propulsion: Screw driven engine (1); screw-driven, 3 cylinder triple expansion engine
HP: 490
Boilers: 3
Armament: 1 x 4in QF gun
Master: T Bruce
Crew Lost: 3
Owner: Canadian Pacific Railway Ocean Lines, subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Ocean Services Ltd., Montreal. <6>

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
PRO.Kew.ADM 137/2962; LR. 1916-17 No.72(M)(Supp)

<1> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1999, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (3rd Edition), p.v (Monograph). SWX1.

<2> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck A/0845 (Unpublished document). SWX342.

<3> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck A/2823 (Unpublished document). SWX552.

<4> Receiver of Wreck, Droit of the Receiver of Wreck 535/00 (Unpublished document). SWX186.

<5> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 956 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<6> 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.

<7> 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-45, 65 (Monograph). SWX4538.

<8> Tennant, A J, 1990, British Merchant Ships Sunk by U boats in the 1914-1918 War, 37 (Monograph). SWX4539.

<9> 1990, Lloyds war losses, The First World War: Casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918, 167 (Index). SWX4540.

<10> NRHE Compiler's comments, Serena Cant, 18-MAY-2006 (Verbal communication). SDO19863.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1442066 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Sep 22 2023 4:23PM