Basil: Sank in 1917 (40 mtr). She is upright and her engine is exposed. The decks have
collapsed and her cargo of shells is visible.
British Expeditionary Force Transport No 0608, the peacetime
name of which was Basil, could get a steady 10 knots out of
her 334hp triple-expansion engine, three boilers and single
prop. Captain Edward Whitehouse used that top speed to
dodge the German U-boats as he made regular runs across
the Channel. Built in Belfast in 1895, the 3225 ton, 338ft-long
ship was originally named Mourne,
but when sold in 1898 to
the Booth Steamship Co of Liverpool was
renamed Basil, the second ship in its fleet to bear
that name. When she was requisitioned late in
World War One to carry troops, horses and
feed, and munitions across the Channel to France,
the Royal Navy mounted a 4.7in gun on her.