SS Castilian


SS Castilian was carrying a cargo of munitions to Lisbon when she struck East Platters Rocks, near The Skerries, Anglesey, Wales and sank on 12 February 1943.
In 1987 a Royal Navy clearance vessel spent several months removing unexploded ordnance from Fydlyn Bay nearby believed to have come from the wreck. In 1997 the location of the wreck on East Platters Rocks was designated under section 2 of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 with a exclusion zone regarding scuba diving activities because of its potentially dangerous cargo.

Other boats with the same name

The Castilian, 7441 tons, of the Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers, launched in 1899, wrecked that same year on her maiden voyage in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.
There were two other Ellerman Lines ships called SS Castilian. The first, ex-Umbilo, was purchased in 1909 from Bullard, King & Co renamed Castilian, 1917 torpedoed and sunk by U-61 off Ireland. The third built 1955, 1963 renamed City of Peterborough, 1964 reverted to Castilian, 1971 sold to Maldives renamed Maldive Freedom.
In 1868 an even earlier Castilian was wrecked on Porthmadog Bar.
The Castilian of London, 1,063 tons, sailing from Quebec to Liverpool with a cargo of timber was wrecked under Harlech on 6 December 1868. Three of the crew drowned attempting to reach land. The Lifeboat John Ashbury saved 18 lives including the son of the owner. On 14 December she was being dismantled, and the deck load discharged, previous to an attempt to tow her off.

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