Maritime record 2202 - ALABAMA: SEID ROCKS, STORNOWAY, LEWIS, THE MINCH

NB43SW 8005 4238 3155
N 58 11.86 W 6 23.0833

Quality of fix = HSA
Evidence = Echo sounder
Horizontal Datum = OGB
Buoyage =
General water depth = 12
Orientation of keel/wreck = 118298

Circumstances of Loss Details
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The steamship ALABAMHA was on passage from Copenhagen to Baltimore and was driven into Stornoway seeking shelter. She sank there, possibly after a fire.
Report by RAF Brize Norton Sub Aqua Club.

Surveying Details
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A position of 58 11 50N, 006 23 02W, is given and the site is marked by spherical buoy. The fore part of the wreck shows at low water, and the bridge and stern are awash at high water. The stern is marked by post which shows 1.2 metres at high water and is in a position bearing 297.5 degrees, 708 metres from Sied Rock beacon. The bow is on a bearing of 297 degrees, 760 metres from Seid Rock beacon.
Source; authority not stated.

6 August 1926. The wreck is now marked by a green can buoy.
Source; Stornoway Pier and Harbour Commissioners. Notice to Mariners 17 July 1926.

22 March 1929. The buoy is temporarily off station and then replaced.
Report by Stornoway Pier and Harbour Commissioners. Temporary Notice to Mariners 469/29 issued.

31 July 1931. The wreck has been dispersed to 6 metres below low water spring tide. The buoy was removed 21 March 1931.
Report from Stornoway, 20 July 1931.

1933. The buoy has broken adrift.
Report by Stornoway Harbour Master. Temporary Notice to Mariners issued.

21 March 1933. The wreck to be marked by an unlit buoy.
Report by Stornoway Harbour Master.

16 June 1933. A green spherical buoy has been laid bearing 300 degrees, 646 metres from Seid Rock beacon.
Report by Stornoway Harbour Master.

27 May 1940. The buoy has sunk, but will be replaced later.
Report by Stornoway Pier and Harbour Commissioners.

30 May 1940. The buoy has been replaced.
Report by Stornoway Naval Officer in Command.

18 December 1943. The buoy has been removed.
Report by the Admiralty.

2 March 1976. A position for the wreck was fixed at 58 11 51.6N, 006 23 05.0W by horizontal sextant angles:- lighthouse 66-52 Seid beacon 47-13 Goat Island. The site was examined on 9 September 1975 by sounding and divers. The least depth by echosounder was 4.9 in a general depth of 12 metres. The figure was reduced to 2.71 metres below Ordnance Datum (Stornoway]. The wreck lies near the edge of a ledge. It is intact but distorted with protruding torn plates. It lies on its side, covering an area 70 metres long x 20 metres wide. The keel lies on an orientation of 118/298 degrees. The least depth by echosounder at the southern end was 5.8 metres.
Report by HMS HERALD 1 December 1975.

12 October 1976. The wreck located at the above position is extensive and confused, showing every sign of dispersal by explosives. The recognition of objects was difficult due to the damage and poor visibility. The wreck is covered in a fine layer of silt. The highest obstruction is believed to be a cargo boom which was at a recorded depth of 6 metres. The bulk of the wreck lies between 10.6 - 15.2 metres or the bottom (depths are not reduced to lowest astronomical tide].
Report by RAF Brize Norton Sub Aqua Club 1976 Hebridies Survey.

Hydrographic Office, 1995.

Loss (30 December 1904)

(Classified as steel steamship, in ballast: date of loss cited as 30 December 1904). Alabama: this vessel stranded near Peninsular Point. Capt. Gotsche.

Registration: Danish. Built 1899. 4454grt. Length: 114m. Beam: 15m.

(Location of loss cited as N58 11.85 N6 23.08).

I G Whittaker 1998.

References
Larn and Larn, R and B. (1998) Shipwreck index of the British Isles: volume 4, Scotland. London. Page(s): DG 30/12/1904 RCAHMS Shelf Number: E.5.14.LAR

Whittaker, I G. (1998) Off Scotland: a comprehensive record of maritime and aviation losses in Scottish waters. Edinburgh. Page(s): 264 RCAHMS Shelf Number: E.5.14.WHI

Zanelli, L. (1970) Shipwrecks around Britain: a diver's guide. London. Page(s): 56, no. 187