WRECK OFF SALCOMB

15 August 2026: Stop the calendar! Summer is flying by and we hate it! Mid August already; kids getting ready to go back to school, last minute vacations and the scurrying to "rejoin" the working world. On a positive note, September (yes, the one rapidly approaching) holds some of the best weather of the year with clear comfortable days to be on the water and cool evenings good for sleeping. 

Our last post took us to England and while we're there, we thought a bit on a recent discovery off the coast of Salcomb (a beautiful spot on the Devon coast) would be good before we head somewhere else.... from Fox News.

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Researchers in the United Kingdom believe they've finally identified a shipwreck off England's southern coast — a discovery three decades in the making.

The identification was announced in June by Bournemouth University and centers on a shipwreck discovered near Salcombe, Devon, in 1995.

At the time, divers recovered more than 400 Moroccan gold coins — but there was no clue as to what the ship was called and where it came from.

Now, researchers have identified it as the Dutch trading ship Dom van Keulen, a vessel that left Morocco for the Netherlands in the fall of 1633.

 

At the time, the ship "sprang a leak and sank," according to the university's news release. All crew members survived.

The findings are detailed in the recently published book "From Morocco to the Coast of England: The Story of the Dom van Keulen and its Remarkable Cargo."

The identification involved nearly 30 years of collaboration between researchers and divers from the British Museum, Bournemouth University and the South West Maritime Archaeology Group.

Very little is known about the appearance or size of the Dom van Keulen and no known paintings of the ship exist, according to the Bournemouth University release.

The wreck site measures about 98 feet long and rests roughly 59 feet below the surface, where cannons, anchors and other artifacts are still scattered across the seabed.

Dave Parham, a professor of maritime archaeology at Bournemouth University and co-editor of the book, said the ship was carrying 150 bags of gum arabic, 64 bags of saltpeter, 320 goat skins and 9,000 Barbary ducats, or Moroccan gold coins.

 

"It is thought that most of the cargo was salvaged at the time, but more than 400 coins remained on the seabed until they were discovered by the South West Maritime Archaeology Group in 1995," Parham said in the press release.

Though he doesn't have a sense of how much the cargo would have been worth in the 17th century, Parham told Fox News Digital the ship was carrying what would now be considered a "general cargo" — a mix of everyday trade goods.

Parham said one of the most surprising aspects of the research was how ordinary most of the ship's cargo was — aside from the gold coins, which were crucial to the identification process.

"It was the presence of the Moroccan coins, together with the dating evidence provided by the other finds, that allowed the historical research to be focused," he said.

 

He added that one of the most remarkable aspects of the discovery was that an international museum collaborated with a group of divers to reach "such a fantastic conclusion."

In a statement, British Museum Head of Research Jeremy D. Hill said it took years of collaboration among historians, archaeologists and divers to piece together the ship's history.

"The discovery of African gold from under the sea off the coast of Devon was an amazing find that raised so many questions about how it came to be there," Hill said, according to the Bournemouth University release.

"The story can now be told of how a Dutch ship carrying North African gold was wrecked off the English coast, making this a discovery of international importance. It reminds us how much there is still to be found under our seas."

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You never know what secrets lie beneath the sea. There are most likely countless  discoveries waiting for someone to stumble across them and then follow on with the research to identify what was found. And as a matter of interest, Salcomb is a lovely spot with big hills rolling right down to the water and a most popular sailing spot for many. 

Until next time, stay safe.

                                         Fair Winds, 

                                              Old Salt 

 

 

 

 

 

HAZARD TO NAVIGATION

 2 August 2026: It is astounding how fast our summer is going. Seems like only last week we were celebrating Memorial Day here in the United States. Now we're looking at Labor day in just over 30 days - life will return to some semblance of "normalcy" as kids are back in school, summer vacations are done, and soon the trees will be shedding their flowers and green leaves.. But let's not dwell on such unhappy thoughts (for many of us); we will offer a bit of interesting (and good to us here at MM) news: Maritime Maunder has exceeded 500,000 readers worldwide! Hard to believe and we would never have imagined such a number 12 years ago when we started this blog. Interesting where some of our readers are hanging out: from our July 19 post, we have 4,080 in the United States, 2,410 in Brazil (!) 1,390 in India and the same number in Viet Nam. Other countries with less than 1,000 each include the Philippines, Pakistan, Argentina, Mexico and others..... We thank all of the folks around the world who read our posts and hope you continue to enjoy them. We will continue to bring you articles of interest going forward. Today's article comes from Slashgear, a source we have found useful in the past.

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World War II was fought all over the planet, and one of the most contested places was the sea. Naval battles raged across the world's waterways, resulting in more than 20,000 ships finding their way to Davey Jones' Locker. Shipwrecks are inherently dangerous, as they're located deep below the waves and can be unstable, making diving in and around them perilous. The most dangerous shipwreck of WWII isn't a massive deadly warship like a battleship, though — it's a Liberty Ship.

 

Liberty Ships were used by the Allies for supply and ordnance movement across the oceans, and the United States built 2,710 of them. The nation became so good at putting Liberty Ships together that it took as little as four days to go from laying a keel to setting sail. In many ways, Liberty Ships helped the Allies win World War II, so they were just as vital to the war effort as the larger combat vessels. 

 

 

The SS Richard Montgomery was like many Liberty Ships, but it met its ultimate fate not in combat, but off the coast of England Kent, England. As you can see from the above image, the water is so shallow there that the masts could be seen sticking out of the water. The reason why the SS Richard Montgomery is so dangerous is due to its cargo: over 1,400 tons of high explosives. The potential danger of an explosion has loomed over Kent's residents for more than 80 years, and the threat of such a detonation ensures that the SS Richard Montgomery is the deadliest shipwreck of WWII.

There was some talk recently of removing her masts, and the work began in 2026

After the SS Richard Montgomery sank, efforts to remove its cargo resulted in more than half of its 6,000 tons being safely taken to shore, but getting the rest proved too risky. As a result, high-explosive bombs, aerial munitions, and anti-tank devices remain, and they're not inert. The slightest provocation could set them off, and if one goes, it's likely the secondary explosions resulting from the first would cause widespread destruction.

 

A detonation of 1,400 tons of high explosives could be disastrous to Kent's residents. A similar wreck in the English Channel, which involved the SS Kielce, detonated its explosive hold, creating a massive crater while registering seismic activity of 4.5 on the Richter scale. That was further out to sea and considerably deeper. The SS Richard Montgomery rests about 50 feet below the water, and it's much closer to shore. For this reason, the wreck is constantly patrolled, and getting too close could land people in trouble.

 

A major concern arose due to the masts that stick up out of the water. Their degradation made it likely that they would crumble and fall onto the wreck below, posing a new risk of detonation. In 2026, work to remove the masts began at a cost of $12.7 million. The removal preserves the site for as long as possible, but the wreck remains in an exclusion zone and will likely continue to sit outside of Kent forever, as further efforts to remove the munitions are too risky despite how fascinating the shipwreck is.

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Of course, the trick is to remove the masts and make the wreck safe without detonating the explosives in the hold. Think Halifax 1917. 

Again, thank you to all of our friends who follow our posts, and while not all of the posts are of interest to everyone, apparently many of you often find something worth reading! We appreciate you!  

See you next time. Stay safe!

                                 Fair Winds,

                                      Old Salt