Maritime record MWX5215 - Modern wreck, Vespa Star, Lower Hamworthy, Poole

A fishing vessel, the Vespa Star,that sank at mooring and was moved and scuttled in Poole Harbour in 1971. The craft was also recorded during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

A fishing vessel, sunk at moorings, moved then scuttled in Poole harbour in 1971. (1)
Now tidal and derelict, this vessel lies at the end of New Quay pier, outside some old tank landing craft sunk as breakwaters, and is loaded with old tyres and rubbish. Not accessible from the pier, can only be reached by boat boarding on her port side. Built in WW2 as an Admiralty Type 1001 MFV, she was sold out of service into ownership of ‘Apple’ the Beatles’ record distribution company. By 1970 she was near derelict alongside the Power Station where she sank at her moorings. Raised by the harbour authorities, she was abandoned at the New Quay in 1971. OS grid ref; SZ 009 898 (2)

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.

Net tonnage

Position 50 42 28N 1 59 08W taken from (2)

The craft described above in (1-2) was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset) and recorded as a structure from aerial photographs of 2008. Vespa Star lies alongside two Second World War vessels (see MDO28682) and to the north of another wrecked vessel (see MDO25080). The wreck measures approximately 23 m by 6 m. This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). (4)

<1> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, 155 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<2> 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.

<3> Dorset County Council, 2009, Digital vertical aerial photographs (Aerial Photograph). SDO12079.

<4> Channel Coastal Observatory, 20-JUL-2008, CCO Aerial Photographic Coverage 2008 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12674.

Record last edited

Dec 2 2019 2:06PM