A WRECK off the coast of Alderney has been identified as a ship which vanished 140 years ago.
SS Virago, which was carrying a cargo of metalwork and machinery, including two steam engines, was sailing from Hull to Odessa – then part of the Russian Empire – when it sank.
All 26 crew died, with just one body being found.
The remains of the ship were first identified during a survey for the planned FAB electricity link between France, Alderney and the UK in 2009.
A dive team explored the site this summer, and discovered it was an 86-metre iron-hulled ship. Taking cameras 40 metres down into the darkness, they were able to record the remains of the vessel and its cargo of agricultural machinery and coal in great detail.
Thanks to the diligence of old-fashioned newspaper reporting at the time, detailed registry documents and months of painstaking research by diver John Paul Fallaize, it was identified it as SS Virago, built on the Humber by the Earles’ yard.
It is not known what caused the ship to sink, but it is believed it may have struck Alderney, or a reef off the island, in thick fog.
A 30-minute documentary on the find was recently shown at the island’s 70-seater cinema.
During the event, a member of the dive team said they were planning to conduct a more detailed survey of the site and carry out research into the lost crew.
