Sunderland, Gran

A Norwegian cargo steamship, 1152 tons, 229 feet long. She struck a mine and sank on 23rd May 1917 in ballast. The wreck has been well dispersed, standing in 14 metres of water off the sea bed (Collings). Steel, 1,153-ton, 69.82m long, 10.69m beam, 4.8m draught Norwegian steamship registered at the port of Lyngor in Norway. She was built in 1907 by Bergen M.V. and owned at the time of loss by Adgesidins Redero Akties. Her single steel propeller was powered by a three-cylinder, triple-expansion steam engine using one boiler. On 23 May 1917, the Gran was in ballast, on passage from Rouen for Newcastle upon Tyne, under command of Captain A.T. Anderson, when she foundered one mile east of Ryhope, after detonating a mine laid by German submarine UC-40. The Gran was blown in two by the explosion and the halves sank about 200m apart, in a position just to the northern end of the Whitestones Reef. Records do not indicate in the crew was lost.

The stern section of the wreck, where you can find the boiler, a steel propeller, two large winches and the remains of her engine, lie to the southern end, in a general depth of 18m. They are scattered around and everything is well concreted into the seabed, with hard, white, marine-worm casings covered the few remaining pipes and plates. The rest of the wreck, which accounts for two thirds of the ship, lies approximately 200m north-west of the boiler and engine, in a general depth of 15-18m (Ian Spokes says 14m), the lowest astronomical depth of about 11-13m. However, there are some huge boulder reefs, just to the south-east, that gave misleading information on the echo-sounder. The wreck lies up against the base of a reef, orientated in a south-west to north-east direction, on hard, flat, rocky ground. The flat steel decking accounts for seventy percent of the wreck and lies more or less flush with the seabed. There are still a few large, brass valves bolted solidly onto the decking. At the head of the flat decking, is what appears to have been the wheelhouse, which is the highest structure left.

Grid reference conversion made 26.01.2011 with http://gps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/etrs89geo_natgrid.asp with Lat/Long referenced as N 54 53 52 W 01 19 31