The Ben Veg

Lying in the remote waters between Scotland and the Isle of Man, the location of the wreck of the Ben Veg wasn’t known until recently, and it wasn’t until September 2002 that we finally got around to making the 34-mile trip out of Whitehaven to check it out as a potential dive site. In addition to not knowing how much of the wreck remained, like many UK dives the quality of the dive depends so much on conditions, and that day we were blessed.

As we descended the shot-line, not really knowing what to expect, it seemed like we’d only just left the surface before I could make out the lines of the full ship lying on the sea bed below. The visibility was superb, even by Manx standards, and with bright sunshine over a calm sea conditions were perfect. Finding the wreck upright we arrived at deck level, 38m deep, but feeling much shallower in these superb conditions. The ship’s hull is intact and upright, but all the deck has completely rotted away leaving only girders and plates whose upper reaches are completely covered in plumose anemones. Despite the depth, the anemones appeared brilliant white in the crystal-clear and sunny conditions, and large pollack swirled around in the distance disturbed by us new arrivals.

Everything above deck level has collapsed into the hull, so the first impression of the ship is of an intact hollow hull full of junk. Loose portholes and other artefacts just lying to hand in among all the debris showed that very few divers if any had been there before us. Dropping down through the girders in the stern, it is possible to squeeze right around the engine and boiler. In front of that are the remains of the collapsed bridge, and then the large void of the cargo hold, empty (in ballast) at the time of sinking. All we could recognize among the debris in the hold was the crumbling remains of the ship’s compass from the now collapsed bridge above. The lack of decking at the bow also makes the stern castle accessible, and you can drop down below the winch into the lantern locker, chain locker and forward accommodation, although these are now well filled with collapsed debris from above. Over the ship’s side and down to the sea bed takes you to a maximum depth of 42m, where you can get a good appreciation of the lines of ship, and under the stern the encrusted propeller is still in place. The sea bed itself is firm and clean made up of cobbles encrusted with life. We could make out small bits from the wreck scattered around so the whole area should be worth a more proper exploration. The sea bed and wreck are clean and well swept making this a very pleasant 42m wreck dive. There are large conger within the wreck, but unusually for Manx wrecks there are few crabs and lobsters. Still, this is a high energy and colourful site and you’ll not feel deprived.

The Manx name ‘Ben Veg’ gives away the fact that this ship was from the Isle of Man, belonging to the Ramsey Steamship Company. She was built in 1914 and came to grief in the very early hours of the morning on the 22 May 1941. Ironically the Ben Veg now lies just a few miles offshore from the wreck of the Fireking, which was also the victim of a wartime collision just 18 months earlier. The Ben Veg was bound for Whitehaven from Cairnlough in Northern Ireland. In the darkness she was struck by the much larger vessel Brittany, a Royal Mail Lines ship bound for the River Plate as part of an outward-bound wartime convoy. The stem of the 4,772 tonne Brittany struck the starboard side of the much smaller Ben Veg; it was an uneven contest and the Ben Veg was seriously damaged. The gash in the starboard side near the stern is still visible today. Despite the heavy damage, the crew were uninjured and eventually it seemed they managed to get things under control and prevent the water from rising within the ship. After much deliberation it was decided to divert to the Isle of Man and hopefully beach her at Peel. They didn’t get far. At 6am, just four hours after the collision, the water started rising in the engine room faster than the pumps could cope, and the crew eventually had to give up the fight to save the ship and abandon her. All six crewmen took to the lifeboat but stayed with the foundering vessel keeping her under observation. At noon she finally went under, quite some considerable distance from Peel, and eight miles away from the nearest point of land which was the Point of Ayre on the Isle of Man. Still the ordeal for the crew was not yet over. Throughout this time the wind and sea had picked up and they found they could make no headway south towards Peel or the Isle of Man. Instead they decided to go with the sea northwards to Scotland. Eventually they came close to Burrow Head near Whithorn, where their distress signals eventually brought out an RAF launch from the local station and the weary crew were picked up.

You need to know Dive planning 54° 32.921’ N 004° 25.773’ W From England, Whitehaven is the closest and easiest launch point and can be used at all states of the tide. The Ben Veg is 34 miles due west of Whitehaven. From the Isle of Man the nearest harbour which can be used at all states of the tide is Peel, being 25 miles to the southwest. Ramsey (16 miles distant on the Isle of Man) and Whithorn (12 miles distant in Scotland) are even closer but not possible except around high water (HW). The low water (LW) slack water diving window starts one hour before LW and lasts about 1.5 hours. A corresponding but slightly shorter slack should also happen around HW. The wreck lies approximately north-south with the bows to north. The tidal current floods towards the west, and ebbs towards the east and so is perpendicular to the line of the wreck.

Facts and figures The sea bed is at 42m; you can get 43m when right under the stern in the slight scour. Expect plus 4m extra depth at HW slack. Steel-hulled steamship, 159 tonnes gross. 100ft long (30m), 19ft beam, 9ft draught. Owned by Ramsey Steamship Company. Built by Larne Shipbuilding Company in 1914. Compound engine.

Useful Contacts For help and advice on diving out of Whitehaven is available from all the following numbers: James Tyson (Solway Branch diving officer) tel: 01946 67928 Peter McLean (Solway Branch boats officer) tel: 01946 822265 Phil Hutchinson tel: 01946 590866 Whitehaven Harbourmaster tel: 01946 692435. A new dive shop, Discover Diving, has opened at Ballasalla on the Isle of Man, tel: 01624 822442; email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . n