Title
Ponus, wrecked between Swanpool and Gyllyngvase, Falmouth, November 3rd 1916.
Subject
Tanker
Crude Oil
Shipwreck
Wreck
Description
The 5,077-ton tanker, Ponus, which was laden with crude oil, went ashore on November 3rd 1916. She caught fire during the wreck and was alight for almost three days.
At the time, a number of so-called tankers were either converted cargo ships/ had been built on the lines of a conventional cargo-carrying ship, with accommodation and bridge amidships.
The 405ft-long Ponus was just a 'tanker' and had been built in 1902 by Russels of Port Glasgow, where she was launched as the Kennebec. She arrived at Falmouth at 7pm on November 2nd from Trinidad and as no pilot was available she was anchored three-quarters of a mile off-shore.
During the night the wind increased almost to gale force and though a second anchor was dropped it fouled the first and the Ponus dragged ashore on the spit of rock between Swanpool and Gyllyngvase.
Blasts on her siren and distress rockets roused most of Falmouth and hundreds flocked to the beach to watch the tug Victor trying to tow the Falmouth lifeboat round Pendennis to the rescue. But heavy seas forced them to turn back and at 10 am Captain Collins, master of the Ponus, risked lowering two of the ships boats, both of which managed to reach the shore. The master himself and the rest of the crew were rescued by the lifeboat on a second attempt.
An hour later a thin trickle of smoke was seen to be rising from the ship and quickly became a thick plume. The onlookers were first amused, then alarmed to see a man appear on deck wearing nothing but a small vest. Soon discovering that he was the only man left on board., he assembled a primitive raft, threw it overboard and jumped in after it. Raft and man were swept under the stem and pinned against it and only a timely rescue by a dinghy which put off from the beach saved the life of the man in the vest.
By evening, the entire midship section of the Ponus was ablaze and when the funnel collapsed the entire sky was lit by flames. At 5:30 am on November 4th a terrific explosion sent burning oil pouring out over the sea to spread along the beach in an unbroken line. Further explosions occurred as the day wore on and soon the fire had become a very real hazard to property on shore. A boat from the Ponus, somehow full of blazing oil, broke adrift and floated down to Pendennis, spreading the fire. By 7pm the ship's sides were glowing red-hot and the rising tide caused the sea around the wreck to boil and spit. The fire burnt all that night and all the next day, finally dying down on November 6th.
Yet despite its severity the ship remained on the rocks, its structure virtually intact. For two years until November 1918, when a large section of the stern was cut away and taken into Falmouth docks for scrapping. The remainder was demolished by successive salvage firms and gales, but a great deal of her iron plating remains in the shallows. On some charts of the wreck of the Ponus is still marked, with the inscription "being demolished 1923."
Description from Richard Larn and Clive Carter, Cornish Shipwrecks: The South Coast (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971), p.67-68.
At the time, a number of so-called tankers were either converted cargo ships/ had been built on the lines of a conventional cargo-carrying ship, with accommodation and bridge amidships.
The 405ft-long Ponus was just a 'tanker' and had been built in 1902 by Russels of Port Glasgow, where she was launched as the Kennebec. She arrived at Falmouth at 7pm on November 2nd from Trinidad and as no pilot was available she was anchored three-quarters of a mile off-shore.
During the night the wind increased almost to gale force and though a second anchor was dropped it fouled the first and the Ponus dragged ashore on the spit of rock between Swanpool and Gyllyngvase.
Blasts on her siren and distress rockets roused most of Falmouth and hundreds flocked to the beach to watch the tug Victor trying to tow the Falmouth lifeboat round Pendennis to the rescue. But heavy seas forced them to turn back and at 10 am Captain Collins, master of the Ponus, risked lowering two of the ships boats, both of which managed to reach the shore. The master himself and the rest of the crew were rescued by the lifeboat on a second attempt.
An hour later a thin trickle of smoke was seen to be rising from the ship and quickly became a thick plume. The onlookers were first amused, then alarmed to see a man appear on deck wearing nothing but a small vest. Soon discovering that he was the only man left on board., he assembled a primitive raft, threw it overboard and jumped in after it. Raft and man were swept under the stem and pinned against it and only a timely rescue by a dinghy which put off from the beach saved the life of the man in the vest.
By evening, the entire midship section of the Ponus was ablaze and when the funnel collapsed the entire sky was lit by flames. At 5:30 am on November 4th a terrific explosion sent burning oil pouring out over the sea to spread along the beach in an unbroken line. Further explosions occurred as the day wore on and soon the fire had become a very real hazard to property on shore. A boat from the Ponus, somehow full of blazing oil, broke adrift and floated down to Pendennis, spreading the fire. By 7pm the ship's sides were glowing red-hot and the rising tide caused the sea around the wreck to boil and spit. The fire burnt all that night and all the next day, finally dying down on November 6th.
Yet despite its severity the ship remained on the rocks, its structure virtually intact. For two years until November 1918, when a large section of the stern was cut away and taken into Falmouth docks for scrapping. The remainder was demolished by successive salvage firms and gales, but a great deal of her iron plating remains in the shallows. On some charts of the wreck of the Ponus is still marked, with the inscription "being demolished 1923."
Description from Richard Larn and Clive Carter, Cornish Shipwrecks: The South Coast (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1971), p.67-68.
Date
1916-11-03
Rights
Morrab Library
Format
Print
Identifier
COLLINS.152B
Coverage
Falmouth, Cornwall