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Draft:The SS Sobraon

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The SS Sobraon was a passenger ship operated by the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) in 1900. It regularly traveled from Britain to India and the Far East to transport passengers, mail, and cargo. On April 23, 1901, the SS Sobraon ran aground on the rocks in a sea ravine on the north side of Siyin Island. The hull was severely damaged, and it sank.

History

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In 1900, the SS Sobraon was built by the Caird Company in Greenock, Scotland. The ship number was 293. Its official number was 109253, and the communication signal was RKNB. SS Sobraon was a two-masted sail, steam-powered composite construction (timber and iron frame) freighter with a length of 137.16 m and a width of 16.46 m. This freighter had a registered tonnage of 7,382 tons, a net tonnage of 4,411 tons, a maximum speed of 16 knots, and a registered capacity to carry 171 passengers. It was one of the most advanced commercial passenger freighters at the time.[1]

After being launched on February 17, SS Sobraon and its sister ships, the SS Assaye and SS Plassy, were sold to the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company on April 4 for 1605,515 pounds. The SS Sobraon then launched its maiden voyage on April 26, heading to Shanghai and passing through Mumbai along the way.[2] SS Sobraon operated regularly from the UK to India and the Far East to transport passengers, mail, and cargo.

The Story of the Sinking

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In the early morning of April 24, 1901, the SS Sobraon encountered heavy fog while sailing near Dongyin Island in Matsu. Owing to poor visibility, it violently crashed into the North Reef on the north side of Siyin Island. When the shipwreck occurred, the captain in charge of the voyage, Wibmer, calmly directed the rescue and urgently dispatched another merchant ship from Shanghai, the SS Coromandel, and a French warship to engage in rescue operations. Fortunately, all the mail, items, 57 passengers, and 18 children on the freighter were safely evacuated without any casualties. The passengers were sent to sampans from Fuzhou for resettlement, and the mail was transported back to Europe by Norddeutscher Lloyd's SS Prinzess Irene.[3]

Due to heavy losses from this incident, the Customs Department of the Qing Dynasty planned to build Dongyong Lighthouse as a commemoration in 1902. Its construction was completed in 1904.[4]

Dongyong Lighthouse was constructed in response to this incident.

Freighter Wreckage

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In 2013, the Tung Yung Community Development Association applied for a subsidy from the Lianjiang County Government to conduct the SS Sobraon wreckage exploration. After a six-month underwater exploration, divers from the Bureau of Cultural Heritage’s underwater archeology team and the Taiwan Ocean Security Conserve Association (TOSCA) discovered the wreckage of the SS Sobraon in Dongyin waters in August 2014.[5][6][7][8][9][10]They salvaged more than 10 pieces of hull structures, including copper U-shaped ship parts and a Chinese-style dragon-patterned double-eared copper furnace. The main body of the wreckage suffered natural damage, such as wave impact and metal corrosion, as well as man-made damage, such as fish bombing and theft. Therefore, its preservation condition is poor. Divers reported seeing a plated section of the hull, a mast, and one of the twin propellers.[11] The cultural relics salvaged from the sea were later kept in the Dongyin Township Office.[12][13]

Since the SS Sobraon was rich in research potential for studying shipbuilding technology and the development of navigation and trade during the 19th century, the Bureau of Cultural Heritage listed it for management and maintenance and registered it as an underwater cultural asset in 2015.[14]

In December 2022, No. 20 Zhongliu Village was planned to be the Dongyin Township Underwater Museum site. A permanent exhibition with the theme of “The Secret of the Iron Pit Sleeping in the Dongyin Sea for 120 Years” is displayed with relics from the SS Sobraon. [15][16]The exhibition includes the salvaged cultural relics and ship history, which enables the audience to gain an in-depth understanding of the SS Sobraon.[17][18][19]

  1. ^ 施國隆等撰稿 (July 2019). 2018文化部文化資產局年鑑學報. 台中市:文化部文化資產局. pp. 89–90. ISBN 9789860596601.
  2. ^ 臧振華、劉金源、黃漢彰、楊光哲 (2018). 《臺灣附近海域水下文化資產普查計畫報告輯第二階段報告》. 臺中市: 文化部文化資產局.
  3. ^ Ship Fact Sheet. "SOBRAON (1900) - P&O Heritage" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-11-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)
  4. ^ "東引島燈塔-燈塔專區". Retrieved 2024-11-20. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  5. ^ 陳民峰 (7 July 2014). "馬祖東引島附近海底發現百餘年前英國沈船蘇布倫號". RFI - 法國國際廣播電台. Retrieved 2024-11-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  6. ^ "Divers locate British ship which went down in 1901 off Taiwan". www.telegraph.co.uk. July 2014. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  7. ^ Smith, Lydia (July 2014). "Wreckage of Lost British Ship SS Sobraon Sunk in 1901 Discovered Off Taiwan Coas". International Business Times UK.
  8. ^ "蘇布倫號百年前沉船 撈出部分物件 | 公視新聞網 PNN". 公視新聞網 PNN. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 2024-11-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  9. ^ 即時新聞. "沉沒百年英籍輪船 遺骸現身東引 - 生活". 自由時報電子報. Retrieved 2024-11-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  10. ^ 綜合報導 (29 June 2014). "謠傳載有中國歷史文物 英國百年沉船蘇布倫號東引現蹤". ETtoday新聞雲. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  11. ^ "Liner Wrecks - P&O - Sobraon". www.linerwrecks.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  12. ^ 中華民國文化部. "蘇布倫號沈船大公開 英國法庭當年已有調查 文化部緊急發函連江縣府妥善保護水下文化資產". www.moc.gov.tw. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  13. ^ 臧振華、薛憲文、黃漢彰 (2020). 《臺灣附近海域水下文化資產普查計畫報告輯第三階段報告》. 臺中市: 文化部文化資產局.
  14. ^ "澎湖黑水溝水下考古 十年有成--中央廣播電台". 馬祖日報. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  15. ^ "馬祖日報-東引鄉水下博物館開放時間異動 每週三休館". 馬祖日報. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  16. ^ "中柳村20號將展開修復 規劃為蘇布倫號沈船遺物展覽空間". www.dongyin.gov.tw.
  17. ^ 邱筠 (18 February 2022). "蘇布倫號主題展 探索東引120年海底沉船秘密". 中央社 CNA. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  18. ^ "蘇布倫號主題展 探索東引120年海底沉船秘密". 三立新聞網. Retrieved 2024-11-21. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  19. ^ "東引老屋化身水下博物館 一窺沉船與考古文物". 新唐人亞太電視台. Retrieved 2024-11-21.