Maritime record MWX4885 - Cerera (Hepepa)

The Russian Steamer Cerera (Hepepa) stranded 1 mile east of St Aldhelm's Head in 1907. (1)

The Cerera was a Russian cargo ship bound for Odessa. Poor visibility led to her running aground on the ledges just to the east of St Aldhelm’s Head. Tugs successfully got her off and she was towed into Portland Harbour for repairs. Some early accounts name this vessel as the Hepepa. This was a anglicised version of the Cyrillic letters that spelt out her name. (3)

The building date for this vessel is an estimate based on an average age at wrecking of twenty years. This average is derived from those vessels wrecked on the Dorset coast whose age at wrecking is known.

<1> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<2> Boddy, M, 1975b, Dorset Shipwrecks part 2 (Article in serial). SWX7302.

<3> Le Pard, G F, 2005, Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast (Monograph). SDO9637.

<4> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 20 (Monograph). SDO16406.

…Tug Queen and Monarch steamship in attendance. 11 ft of water in the forehold. Very little information.

Record last edited

Jan 13 2020 11:46AM