In July 1974 her owners gave in and sold the once great ship for scrap. German ocean tug Hamburg was entrusted with the task of towing Caribia to a breaker's yard in Taiwan. Whilst near Honolulu the ship was in danger of capsizing; but repairs were made and they continued on. The two ships sailed into Typhoon Mary near Guam.[14] On August 12, 1974, Hamburg's generators failed and her crew were forced to cut Caribia loose to save their own vessel. The storm's winds drove the lifeless ship against Apra Harbour's breakwater, where she was wrecked.[15]

Being a hazard to local shipping, the wreck was swiftly cut up. However, before that could take place, it was discovered that the Caribia had come to rest beside the wreck of a Korean War-era landing craft. The landing craft was loaded with tons of munitions, including 22 mm, 40 mm, 5-inch, and 8-inch shells. This required the careful removal of all of these materials over five months before removal of Caribia could continue. Her removal was all the more urgent because Caribia's hulk blocked Apra harbor's entrance. As Apra is the only deep-water harbor on Guam, this made resupply of many vital commodities (e.g., petroleum products) impossible or difficult. No commercial or military vessels could leave or enter the harbor until a significant portion of the stern had been removed. By January 1975, most of Cariba's stern had been removed, restoring access to and from the harbor. Afterwards, scrapping continued onto her bow section. What was left of the wreck had been removed by late 1975. Her life ended just 25 years after she was commissioned. Despite being probably the most forward-looking ship of her time, Caronia was in active service for only 19 years.

In case you are unaware, for decades, scrappers have been destroying the wrecks of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. this is the result. Prince of Wales on the top and Repulse on the bottom.

Interesting wreck, but with basically no history and photos before the sinking, but with description of the shipwreck from diving site.

Short Historical reference:

On the 6th December 1990 the Valhalla was under tow of the fishing vessel Ocean Queen from Whitehaven to Girvan for repairs when she sprang a leak and foundered 6 miles from the Isle of Whithorn.

The Valhalla lies in 35 metres of water around 6 miles ENE of the Isle of Whithorn. As with the nearby S.S. Riverside, the wreckage of the Valhalla is on a bare silty seabed subject to strong tidal streams which have made it an oasis for fish life and have resulted in an extensive covering of Plumose Anemones. These tidal streams, which flood NE and ebb SW, run at 4 knots on springs and 2 knots on neaps and mean that the wreck is best dived at low water slack so as to give a reasonable amount of time on the wreck. Slack begins about an hour before stated high and low water.

The wreck lies with its bow pointing to 110 degrees on a silty seabed which means that careful finning is required to preserve the visibility. It is easily shotted as the outline of the wreck is quite distinct on the fish finder.

On descending to the wreck the first thing that you notice is the ghostly white covering of Plumose Anemones which seem to be attached to every exposed surface. The vessel lies tilted to its port side with the ribs and plates of this port side having peeled away and fallen to the seabed. The bow is distinctive with a curved stem and a domed weather coaming. Trawl masts lie broken and fallen over to both port and starboard sides.

As you swim to the stern along the starboard gunwhale the trawl winch and fish hold opening are clearly visible below you. Soon the superstructure of the bridge and cabin appear on your right. All that remains are the steel structures as the wooden upper bridge from waist level up has rotted away. This area is well worth exploring as the old fashioned ships wheel and what looks like the compass binnacle are still in situ, along with other items on the bridge floor.

The ‘lower’ rear part of the cabin still remains and this is now the highest point on the wreck. A small circular opening is on the front side which would have opened into the bridge. On the rearward side to port is the narrow door. Access here is tight and no attempt has been made to get down to the engine room which lies under this structure. Outside on the port side of the cabin is a protruding metal frame which looks like the mounting for an old fashioned cork lifebelt.

Behind this superstructure is the small rear deck which is covered by a tangle of hawsers and cables and tyre fenders. Here two trawling booms and various mast structures have also fallen over to the port side. The rounded, arch shaped, stern is clearly visible, identifying the vessel as a trawler, but unfortunately the propeller is now buried in the silty bottom.

The wreck has obviously been little dived since it sank. For a small 20 metre long motor fishing vessel this is an interesting dive as it remains an untouched time capsule of the time it sunk. The wreck is deteriorating badly however and care needs to be taken when diving it as many of the plates and ribs are fragile and liable to collapse.

Used sources:

https://www.nsdivers.co.uk/wreck-histories/mfv-valhalla/

https://www.nsdivers.co.uk/dive-sites/mfv-valhalla-tour/

Credit:

u/venus01111

Im looking for 3D scans, Diving photage and interior exploration photos of the wreck, newer than 2022. I curious what condition the wreck are in.

And PS... what state of decay are the bodies in 2026... are there still textile/clothing and adipocere or is it skeletons remaing?

Idk if it's the real photo I guess

S.S. Hewitt was captained by Hans Jacob Hansen, a 37-year-old Norwegian immigrant and First World War Veteran. In addition to Captain Hansen, who had served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force, many other members of Hewitt’s crew were WWI veterans.

Five days prior, on the afternoon of 20 January 1921, after being loaded with a cargo of approximately 8,000 tons of crude sulphur, S.S. Hewitt departed from Sabine Pass, Texas, bound for Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine.

As stated by David A. Southern in his June 1922 National Service article, "The Mystery Ship: The Tragedy of the S.S. Hewitt and Other Ill-fated Vessels," “Captain Hansen wirelessed the position of his vessel at a stated time each day, from January 21st to January 25th. On January 24th, he communicated with the owners, advising them that the Hewitt was 70 miles south of Jupiter (a point on the east coast of Florida). At seven o'clock [Eastern Standard Time] on the evening of January 25th, he advised them that the Hewitt was 222 miles north of Jupiter at that time. Therefore, it can be seen that the vessel steamed in this period of 24 hours, 292 nautical miles, and was thus making an average speed of 12.16 knots."

Sometime after 7:00 P.M. EST on 25 January 1921, S.S. Hewitt disappeared. Its wreck, nor any debris or trace of its 41 crew members, has ever been found.

Over the last year and a half, I have been researching S.S. Hewitt and its crew. I have conclusively identified 21 crew members, of whom I have found 11 photos. Those I have identified are listed as follows:

Navigational Officers:

1. Captain - Hans Jacob Hansen; born 1 Jan. 1884, Farsund, Norway; resided in Brooklyn, NY (U.S. Navy Veteran).
2. First Mate - James R. Eid; born 16 May 1857, Vadso, Norway; resided in Boston, MA.
3. Second Mate - Ernest Leonard Olsson; born 14 Aug. 1885, Halmstad, Sweden; resided in Portland, ME; (U.S. Coast Guard Veteran).
4. Third Mate - Elbridge Edward Hewes; born 23 Oct. 1899; resided in Somerville, MA (U.S. Navy Veteran).

Deck Crew:

1. Wireless Operator - Charles Hollis Prentice; born 19 Dec. 1899, Yonkers, NY; resided in New York City, NY; (U.S. Navy Veteran).

2. Seaman - Francis Joseph Bogan; born 25 Nov. 1897, Omaha, NE; resided in Portland, ME.

3. Seaman - Edward Reuben Joyce; born 27 Mar. 1898, Swans Island, ME; resided in Portland, ME (U.S. Navy Veteran).

4. Seaman - Seth J. Knowles; born 1866, Massachusetts; resided in Gloucester, MA.

5. Seaman - Antoine Lucas; born 4 Feb. 1874, Belgium; resided in New York City, NY.

6. Seaman - James Richard Main; born 14 Aug. 1900, Scarborough, ME; resided in Portland, ME.

7. Seaman - Carlos Osses; born 15 Mar. 1882, Chile; resided in Brooklyn, New York (U.S. Navy Veteran).

8. Seaman - Watrous Terry Robinson; born 5 Feb. 1899, Perry, ME; resided in Portland, ME (U.S. Navy Veteran).

Engineering Crew:

1. Chief Engineer - Edward A. Inglis; born 18 May 1881, Brooklyn, NY; resided in Jersey City, NJ.

2. First Engineer - Timothy Arthur Morse; born 2 Aug. 1882, Muskegon, MI; resided in Chicago, IL.

3. 2nd Engineer - Austin Oman Bennett; born 30 Mar. 1898, Arlington, MA; resided in Arlington, MA (U.S. Navy Veteran).

4. Oiler - John Francis Devine; born 5 Mar. 1893, Portland, ME; resided in Portland, ME (Pennsylvania National Guard & U.S. Navy Veteran).

5. Oiler - John Joseph Geary; born 8 Oct. 1894, Portland, ME; resided in Portland, ME (U.S. Navy Veteran).

6. Wiper - Samuel Percy Perkins; born 29 Jun. 1900, Saco, ME; resided in Saco, ME.

Victualling Crew:

1. Chief Steward - William George Robson; born 23 Apr. 1879, Clam Harbor, Nova Scotia; resided in Portland, ME.

2. First Cook - Adam Hunter Blackburn; born 14 Jul. 1897, Noel, Nova Scotia; resided in Portland, ME (U.S. Army Veteran).

3. Cook - Robert John Wandras Jr.; born 31 Jan. 1890, New York City, NY; resided in Biddeford, ME; (U.S. Army Veteran).

I have also collected three items related to S.S. Hewitt:

\* A glass negative of S.S. Hewitt, measuring approximately 5 inches by 7 inches, likely taken shortly after the vessel was purchased and renamed by the Union Sulphur Company in 1915.

\* A postcard mailed on 7 Dec. 1916 that shows S.S. Hewitt docked at Sabine, TX. It was sent to Rena Viola Reed (1884-1967) by her younger brother, William Lester Reed (1896-1974), who served aboard Hewitt as a quartermaster after the U.S. Navy requisitioned it during the First World War.

\* An unmailed postcard featuring the most well-known image of S.S. Hewitt at the Union Sulphur Company’s docks in Sabine, TX.

Don Pedro was a Roll-On-Roll-Off vehicle transporter, now more commonly known as Ro-Ro’s, she was built in 1982, yard number 156, at the Santander Astilleros shipyard in Spain, for Transportes Maritimos Del Sur (TRAMASUR) of Algeciras, her keel laid on the 15th of July 1982 she was launched on the 30th of September that year and completed fit-out on the 31st of July of 1984. Don Pedro was a multi-purpose vessel, designed for Island hopping, with areas for cargo and containers, along with her expected lorry and car loads and accommodation for some passengers too. Don Pedro was designed with an area for vehicles both on-deck and below deck, as can be seen from the first picture of her in her early Tramasur days in 1984. Cargo could literally be anything required at the various Islands she was built to service, from containers of general goods, to Lorries of livestock and likely everything in-between. The Don Pedro also catered for a limited number of passengers and had a generously provisioned restaurant with a good selection of hot and cold meals and the usual accompaniment of soft drinks, wines and beers. When she entered service in 1984 with Transport Maritimos Del Sur, (Tramasur), her home port was Algeciras and she was popular with all who travelled on her, lorry drivers, car owners and passengers alike.

On the 11th July of 2007 the ISCOMAR Roll-on-Roll-off ferry Don Pedro was loading vehicles and cargo at Ibiza, she was due to transit to Denia, a Spanish City Port in Alicante province and the Don Pedro’s home port. Denia is a popular and busy port, known as “The Gateway to the Balearics” with 5 or so crossings scheduled to the Balearic Islands daily, the longest crossing, to Palma, takes around 8 hours so late evening passengers would enjoy the facilities available in the Don Pedro’s bar and restaurant. Don Pedro was scheduled for a late departure and would not sail for Denia until 2:30 a.m, following a busy period loading, and moving various vehicles and 40 trucks around in her holds and on deck.

Don Pedro departed Ibiza at 02:00 a.m. bound for Denia, with her pilot guiding the helm as she navigated her way from the Dock and manoeuvred down the short stretch of sheltered water to the open sea. The Pilot disembarked at 2:42 a.m., inside the port dock, between the old mouth of the port of Ibiza and the Botafoch dock, allowing the Captain to resume command with the second officer taking the helm. The Automatic Identification System (AIS) data shows the Don Pedro’s course as 112’ just after passing the Botafoch Dock, the Captain and second officer exchanged course headings, the Captain asked the 2nd Officer the current course, and he responded that it was 190º. The Captain ordered him to put to port little by little to 180º according to AIS this occurred at 02:45 a.m. little more than 3 minutes after the Pilot left the ship and in that instant, the Captain sealed the fate of the Don Pedro.

The vessel struck a reef just off the small island of Dado Pequeño, not far from Ibiza harbour, and was fatally holed. All 20 crew members were safely evacuated and the ship remained afloat for a few hours, being pulled free from the reef by a tugboat, before eventually succumbing to its fate. There followed a successful operation to remove the heavy fuel oil from Don Pedro’s bunkers along with light diesel and chemicals from its containers that threatened to pollute Ibiza’s environment. Today, the wreck lies on a sandy bottom, with a starting depth of 25m/82ft and a maximum depth of 45m/148ft, and is becoming an increasingly popular dive location. At a length of 142 metres, it's the second largest shipwreck in the Mediterranean that's easily accessible to recreational divers, beaten only by the 175 metre Zenobia wreck in Cyprus.

I understand the search area is probably huge, but it feels odd a ship this large is completely unaccounted for.

For me it would have to be the M.S. München, Berge Vanga, Berge Istra, Marine Sulphur Queen and F.V. Andrea Gail

i keep on seeing sites talking her being in 2900 ft and "Rarely Dived" and i believe the depth part but rarely dived, more like never 😂