Malin Head · Ireland · Wreck
SS Laurentic
22 of the 3,211 gold bars she carried are still unaccounted for
Photo: AnonymousUnknown author · Public domain
The shallowest of the named ships off Malin Head, Laurentic was mined in January 1917 and lies between Fanad and Malin Head in 30 to 40 metres. Salvage work and more than a century of strong current have broken her up, though large parts such as her Scotch boilers are still recognisable. She went down carrying about 43 tons of gold.
Where it is and how deep
55.3036° N, 7.5908° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
At 30 to 40 metres Laurentic is the shallowest of the named ships off Malin Head, and the one dive on this ground that does not begin with a steam out to 70 metres of water. The shot still goes in at slack water: more than a century of strong current has run across this wreck and still does, and it decides both when the boat goes and how long anyone gets on the steel.
There is no intact ship to swim here. Years of salvage work and that current have broken her up, so what you dive is a debris field with recognisable pieces standing out of it. Her Scotch boilers are the clearest of them and the most reliable thing to navigate by. She was 167.8 metres long with a beam of 20.5 metres, and the wreckage is spread over more ground than a single dive covers.
Laurentic is a national monument, and a licence from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has to be in hand before anyone gets in the water on her. She is dived look-only. The licence and the current are the two things that shape the day; the depth, by the standards of Malin Head, is the easy part of it.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Laurentic
- Type
- Steamship
- Length
- 167.8 m (551 ft)
- Sunk
- 1917
- Cause
- Struck a mine laid by SM U-80, with a second mine exploding abreast of her engine room
- Lies
- Much broken up on the seabed between Fanad and Malin Head, in 30-40 m
Laurentic was 167.8 metres long with a beam of 20.5 metres. At 17:55 on 25 January 1917 she struck a mine laid by SM U-80, and a second mine exploded abreast of her engine room; she went down between Fanad and Malin Head. She was carrying about 43 tons of gold bars, 3,211 of them, and the salvage operation that followed recovered 3,186, leaving 22 unaccounted for. That work, and more than a century of strong current, have left the wreck much broken up, though large parts such as her Scotch boilers are still recognisable.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Malin Head: May–Sep only, and even then the charter runs on a handful of settled days; Atlantic swell closes the ground for weeks.
Know before you go
- More than a century of strong current runs across this wreck. The dive is planned on slack water and the working window is short.
- The ship is broken and spread out, so the shot is easy to lose in the debris. Fix your position on a recognisable feature such as the boilers.
- A licence from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is required before diving: she is a national monument and is dived look-only.
Photos from SS Laurentic
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
Rodhullandemu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
RMS Laurentic · Egbert de Pauw on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the SS Laurentic?+
She lies between Fanad and Malin Head in 30 to 40 metres, which makes her the shallowest of the wrecks dived off Malin Head. Strong current still means the dive is planned around slack water.
Is there still gold on the Laurentic?+
She went down with about 43 tons of gold bars, 3,211 in all. Salvage recovered 3,186 of them and 22 remain unaccounted for. The wreck is a national monument, dived under licence and look-only.
Sources
- SS Laurentic (1908) — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- The White Star liner Laurentic underway at sea with her two funnels and clipper bow. by AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Broadside view of Laurentic steaming with light smoke trailing from her funnels. by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Weathered family gravestone recording a relative lost aboard HMS Laurentic in January 1917. by Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Cold-water diving: is it worth the drysuit?Cold water · 8 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
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