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Displaying items by tag: Irish ship wreck

Dundalk is where a team of divers from the Isle of Man visited the Co. Louth port town so to bring the bell of the steam ship flagship, S.S. Dundalk back to a grateful town.

As EnergyFM reports, divers of Discover Diving based in Port, St. Mary, on the Manx south coast, were guests of honour of Dundalk’s Louth County Museum.

Artefacts of the Glasgow built flagship of the Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Company were retrieved from the wreck. They consist the bell and its wrought-iron hanger, a porthole and a washbasin which were handed over to the county museum.

As Afloat previously reported, S.S. Dundalk during WWI was attacked on 14th October, 1918 by a German submarine during a return trip from Liverpool’s Collinwood Dock to Dundalk. The cargo ship's main trade was cattle, produce and also the carriage of passengers. 

The torpedo attack led to the sinking of the 234ft long merchant ship and claimed 21 people. Only 12 survived, some of which were brought to Douglas from the incident that took place just weeks before the end of World War 1 and of the crew, they mostly were local to the Dundalk area.

On the 100th anniversary of the sinking, a committee of descendants of the crew, travelled to the Isle of Man to unveil a memorial clock on the Castletown River waterfront. The clock is in memory to those who tragically lost their lives.

For more,Energy FM reports more on the return of the ship's bell.

Also in the centenary year, Afloat reported of a ceremony held on board the Isle of Man Steam Packet's Mannanan which saw the fast ferry take a special detour to the wreck site some 60 miles offshore.

On the 92nd anniversary, the Dundalk Sub Aqua Club divers carried out a commemorative dive to the wreck site. The divers laid a plaque of remembrance which Dundalk town council had sponsored.

Published in Historic Boats

As an island economy, a healthy maritime sector is key to our national competitiveness. Virtually all our imports and exports pass through Irish ports.

Ireland is dependent on ports and shipping services to transport goods and 90% of our trade is moved though Irish ports. Shipping and maritime transport services make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ocean economy, with the sector generating €2.3 billion in turnover and employing over 5,000 people in 2018.

Ireland’s maritime industry continues to grow and progress each year with Irish ports and shipping companies making significant investments. The ports sector in Ireland is currently undergoing a number of expansions and developments with Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin development, the development of Ringaskiddy in Cork by Port of Cork and the development of Shannon Foynes Port. Along with these major investments, shipping companies are also investing heavily in new tonnage, with Irish Ferries, CLdN and Stena leading new build programmes.

These pages cover the following sectoral areas: shipowners, harbour authorities, shipbrokers, freight forwarders and contractors, cruise liner operators, port users, seamen, merchants, academic institutions, shipyards and repair facilities, naval architects, navy and defence personnel.

Our pages are covering some of the most notable arrivals around our coast and reporting too on port development and shipping news.

This section of the site deals with Port and Shipping News on our largest ports Dublin Port, Port of Cork, the Shannon Estuary, Galway Harbour and Belfast Lough.

A recent study carried out for the Irish Ports Association (IPA) totalled 75.7 billion during 2004 and their net economic impact was some 5.5 billion supporting around 57, 500 full time employees.

Liam Lacey, Director of the Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) said, “The Irish maritime industry can look to the future with confidence. It has shown itself to be resilient and agile in responding to challenges. Over the past decade, it has had to respond to the challenges of the financial crisis of 2008, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and recent challenges. Ireland’s maritime sector has continued to underpin our economy by maintaining vital shipping links for both trade and tourism.”