Efforts begin today to remove and detonate ordnance from four sunken iron ore carriers, torpedoed by German U-Boats off Bell Island during WWII.
The four ships once carried iron ore from Bell Island to the steel mills in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Neil Burgess, the President of the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, says the first attack occurred on September 5th 1942, sinking the Saganaga and the Lord Strathcona. The second attack occurred in November, sinking the Rose Castle and the PLM 27.
He says the damage done to the ships is “beyond belief.” He says between 60 and 70 sailors were killed, and it could have been even more than that.
(Multibeam image of the Saganaga shipwreck, courtesy Ken Keeping of Maritime Survey Services of CBS.)
Burgess says the ships are quite large, and while there are no traces of bodies, there are still plenty of personal effects in and around the wrecks.
Each ship was fitted out with a stern gun during the war, to defend itself, and at least one of the ships has between 50 and 60 of the shells used.
He says they’re a real danger and the military is coming in to remove the shells to make the wrecks safer.
The Department of National Defence, RNC and RCMP are all involved in the operation which will take several weeks.
The shells, once removed, will be safely detonated at a location in Makinsons.
