Shuna.
An intact, upright steamer lying on a flat silty seabed less than 200 m off the mainland shore of the Sound of Mull. Her four holds are still full of coal, and the engine, spare propeller and anchor chains are all easy to find. It is one of the Sound's best-preserved wrecks, although the silt is easily stirred up.
What's down there.
- Upright, largely intact hull
- Holds still filled with coal
- Triple-expansion engine with grilled catwalk
- Spare propeller lying flat on the stern deck
- Anchor chain running from the hawse pipes
- Rudder and propeller at the stern
- Tunicates (sea squirts), densest over the stern and rudder
- Hydroids
- White and yellow daisy (fried-egg) anemones on the rudder
Deck at about 16–20 m; seabed about 30–32 m, reaching about 33 m by the stern.
Relatively sheltered, with gentle current rather than the Sound's strong tides; can be dived at any state of tide. The seabed and holds are silty, so visibility can drop quickly when several divers are on the wreck. The depth makes it suitable for divers trained to around 30 m (Divernet: BSAC Sports Diver or equivalent and above).
How it got there.
Steel cargo steamer built in Holland in 1909 by A. Vuijk & Zonen, Capelle aan den IJssel, with a triple-expansion engine by G. T. Gray of South Shields. About 240.9 ft (roughly 73 m) long and 1,426 gross tons, she was owned by the Scandinavian Shipping Company and managed by Glen & Co. of Glasgow. On 8 May 1913, bound from Glasgow to Gothenburg with coal (some accounts add iron or mixed goods), she ran onto the Grey Rocks during a storm. Captain Elsper tried to beach her near Rubha Aird Seisg on the Morvern shore, but she slipped into deeper water and sank. All 17 crew and the captain survived.
52 dives.
From the reconstructed log — the dates follow the pattern I dived, so read them as representative rather than exact.