SS Alesia (1896)

SS Alesia was a 5,114 GRT steamship built in 1896. In 1923 she wrecked at Texel, the Netherlands.

History
 United Kingdom
NameAlesia
Owner
  • Germany (1886–1919)
  • P&O (1919–1924)
Completed1896
Out of service1923
General characteristics
Tonnage5,114 GRT

History

Alesia was built in 1896 in Flensburg. It was measured at 5,114 gross register tons (GRT) and had a payload of 8,000 tonnage. After World War I, as compensation, ownership of the ship was transferred to England. The vessel became a ship of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.[1]

They were able to use the ship only for a relatively short time. Already in 1923 with among others an unusable engine she was towed by tugboat Hoheweg to Bremen for scrapping.[2] During a heavy storm she lost the tow and wrecked at Texel. The empty ship, without cargo and fuel, was thrown high onto the beach. All 13 people onboard were rescued.[3][4][5]

As the heavy ship was so high on the beach, the question was what to do with it. The municipality even considered purchasing the ship and using it as a tourist attraction. Despite the low value of the ship, a salvage contract was arranged.[2] Company named Dros made a "no cure no pay" contract to salvage the ship.[6]

The tugboats Dolfijn and Cycloop attached cables of 600 metres (2,000 ft) to the stern and were anchored in the sea. With heavy pulleys they managed to move the ship towards the sea, but only two metres (6 ft 7 in). In the meantime, after weeks of struggle, they managed to repair the engine and so the pumps and screws could work again. With the screws it was possible to dig a deep hole in the sand. The pumps moved water from one tank to another, for balancing the ship. This was important because there was a risk that the ship would break. During stormy weather, the holds were pumped full of water to prevent the ship from getting higher on the beach again.[7]

Over half a year later, at the beginning of June 1924 the ship had been pulled 50 metres (160 ft) towards the sea. On 4 June five tugboats tried to refloat the ship. A huge crowd of people came to the beach to see it happen. However the rope of Cycloop broke twice and the attempt failed. On 6 June, without an audience, they managed to refloat the ship.[7] The ship was then escorted to Nieuwediep.[1]

References
  1. "Een kranig stuk werk". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 10 June 1924 – via Delpher.
  2. "De stranding on 19 December 1923 en berging van de 'Alesia' in 1923 (deel I)". texelditweekend.nl (in Dutch). 25 October 2003.
  3. "Het Fransche stoomschip "Alesia"". De Standaard (in Dutch). 19 December 1923 – via Delpher.
  4. "Het Fransche stoomschip "Alesia"". Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 19 December 1923 – via Delpher.
  5. "De Alesia op Texel". Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 28 December 1923 – via Delpher.
  6. "Texel, 22 Dec". Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 29 December 1923 – via Delpher.
  7. "De stranding en berging van de 'Alesia' in 1923 (deel II)". texelditweekend.nl (in Dutch). 1 November 2003.
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