Orissa POST Exclusive
monalisa patsani
post news network
Bhubaneswar, August 23: It may not be the HMS Carron, after all. Researchers studying a shipwreck thought to be of the British naval vessel reported to have sank off the Puri coast July 6, 1820, have located artefacts that appear to indicate otherwise.
A team of scuba divers led by Sabir Bux had discovered the wreck in 2010. Based on its location, it was believed to be that of the HMS Carron that had run aground somewhere close to the coast off the Konark Sun Temple, then known among mariners as the Black Pagoda.
HMS Carron was a sailing ship made of wood. But during the preliminary studies of the wreck site — about 6 km from the northern stretch of the Konark coastline — the researchers found boilers, a cabin and frames that could not have belonged on that ship. But researchers still believe the wreck found could be of a ship built in the 1880s.
Research on the wreck had started in 2014. A team from CSIR National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, had taken up the work and it recently published a report containing its findings.
Sila Tripati, the principal technical officer with the team, said: “We are still exploring various aspects related to the wreck. Initial investigation and maritime records available in archives of Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi suggested that it could be the HMS Carron. But the boilers and steam engine found are incongruous with that ship.”
The wreck lies on the “sandy seabed at a depth of 6 to 8 metres”. According to the researchers, it is now covered in suspended material, fishing nets, rope, mussels and seaweed. Low visibility has been a major hindrance to the study.
The researchers have also located another wreck in the vicinity, which might be the Carron. “We need to explore the other wreck, too, to come to a concrete conclusion. Without recovering parts of the ships and analysing them we can’t confirm anything,” Sila said.
“A major portion of the boilers and other remains are buried in the seabed and the currents in these shallow waters are strong. The boilers discovered at the site are comparable with those found at wrecks of the Amee Shoals, Goa, and Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep. The anchor chain was lying some distance from where the ship lay, which suggests that the anchor must be planted in deeper waters,” Sila said.
The researchers believe the ship may have been pushed towards shore by strong currents and inclement weather. “The captain might have dropped in deeper waters, but the ship still drifted towards the shore and was grounded. We found parts of the ship scattered along the seabed,” Sila said.
While the researchers are yet to be certain of the age of the wreck, they have found certain datable items to hypothesise. “The iron bolts and the piece of eccentric shaft found appear to belong to a triple expansion engine possibly from the 1880s. We have also found a steam or water pipe from the site; but it is difficult to ascertain where it came from in the absence of connecting flanges,” Sila said.
The researchers are now also focusing on information about another wreck that may have occurred in the same area around the period the Carron sank. “We are studying the hydrographic charts related to Orissa region to get information on past shipwrecks,” Sila said.
Historians and archaeologists said the findings were interesting and called for promotion of such exploration. “If they have found a boiler and a steam engine, then the shipwreck could not be of the HMS Carron. The location the wreckage did appear to match with that of HMS Carron. But so far no proper survey has been done of wrecks and archival records remain the only sources of information about maritime disasters,” archaeologist professor KK Basa said.
He called for greater central and state support to promote such exploration. Sunil Patnaik, the secretary of Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies (OIMSEAS), which had supported the diving expedition, believes it is important to recover some of the items from the sea to do a thorough study. “To know more about the ship we need to bring up some parts of the ship and that is a very difficult task,” he said.
Sabir, the diver credited with discovery of the wreck, said: “I had discovered the wreck based on information fishermen had given me. They said their nets were getting entangled and torn while shipping in that area. My team has been visiting the wreck regularly to inspect its condition. During my earlier dives I had seen two decks but now the upper deck has collapsed.”
According to Sabir, the place has potential for tourism, too, as many tourists are interested in diving to take pictures or videos of the wreck. “Blast fishing was prevalent in the area, but now fishermen have stopped doing it considering the tourism prospects of the area,” he says.
