SS Oceana (1888)

SS Oceana was a P&O passenger liner and cargo vessel, built in 1888 by Harland and Wolff of Belfast. Originally assigned to the transfer of passenger and mail traffic from the United Kingdom to Australia, she was later assigned to the UK-to-India routes. On 16 March 1912 the ship collided in the Strait of Dover with the Pisagua, a 2850-ton German-registered 4-masted steel barque. She subsequently sank off Beachy Head on the East Sussex coast, with the loss of 9 lives.

Construction
Commissioned by P&O from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the 6610 LT vessel was floated out on 17 September 1897, and handed over from fitting out 26 February 1888. Identical to the later SS Arcadia, the 142.75 m with a beam of 15.88 m ships had four masts, two chimneys and a single propeller. Powered by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine, the resultant 7000 hp enabled a top speed of 15 knot. The ship was designed to carry a total of 250 first class passengers and 160 second class.

Operations
Ocean made her maiden voyage from London on 19 March 1888, travelling to Melbourne and Sydney via Colombo (Ceylon). Her last voyage on this passage started on 12 May 1905, after which she was placed on the London to Bombay route.

Sinking
On 15 March 1912, Oceana finished loading for her next trip to Bombay in the Port of Tilbury, under the command of Captain Thomas H. Hyde, RNR. On board were 40 passengers and a complement of 210 crew. She was also carrying £747,110 worth of gold and silver ingots, £3 million at present-day value (2010).

The following day she proceeding westwards at nearly full speed through calm seas into a strong head wind, within the Strait of Dover. In the opposite direction approached the Pisagua, a 2850-ton German-registered 4-masted steel-barque. Commissioned, owned and operated by F. Laeisz of Hamburg, she was on her way from Mejillones, Chile to Hamburg with a cargo of nitrate, sailing under full sail at a speed of almost 20 knot.

When the two ships were about a .5 mi apart, they mutually sighted. The captain of Pisagua burnt a warning flare, which was detected by the crew and senior officer on duty on the bridge of the Oceana, who then gave the order to turn the rudder to port. The pilot from Tilbury and for the Strait of Dover Mr Penny, who was at that time on board Oceana in the charthouse, came to the bridge and realized that this maneuver would not be sufficient. He called "hard to port", but before the Oceana could get out of the course, Pisagua hit Oceana amidships, creating a 40 ft gash in her side. The collision occurred 4 mi off of Beachy Head.

The pilot ordered the immediate closure of all the watertight bulkhead doors on the Oceana, whilst the captain ordered all crew and passengers to their muster stations and to stand by to abandon ship. Sending out an immediate distress signal, the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway passenger ferry TSS Sussex attended the scene, while two further paddle steamers and the RMS Ruahine waited by. While awaiting rescue the crew attempted to lower one of the lifeboats, during which it crashed to the sea and capsized, with a resultant loss of seven passengers and two crew. TSS Sussex managed to remove the remaining 241 surviving passengers and crew.

Although listing, Oceana was taken in tow by the Port of Newhaven tug Alert, stern first, at 08:00. But by 10:00 she had developed an adverse list, sufficient to see her propellor above the water. Captain Hyde and the crew who had stayed on board to help the tow now abandoned ship to the Alert, and watched from the tug as she sank in less than 20 minutes. Oceana sank close to the seaside resort town of Eastbourne in shallow water, settling on the sea bed with her masts and the tops of her funnels showing out of the sea at low tide.

Pisagua drifted off leeward after the collision, but managed to survive with severe damage to the bow and foremast. Towed to Dover for immediate sea-going repairs, she was then towed to Hamburg where she was condemned. Rebuilt as a whale factory ship operated by Søren L. Christensen, after being. On 12 February 1913, Pisagua was stranded at Low Island, South Shetland Islands. Although insured for NOK 318,000, she was subsequently condemned and written off at a loss to her owners.

After the sinking, P&O sued Laeisz, claiming damages for the loss of Oceana. Judgement was given that Pisagua was not at fault, due to a combination of factors, including that the obligation was on Oceana to give way to Pisagua under the "steam gives way to sail" rule.

Bullion salvage
The day following the collision and ship's sinking, P&O made agreement with the insurers salvage team to send in divers to recover the gold and silver ingots. Divers initially entered the Captain's cabin and opened his safe, to recover the keys to the ship's five strongrooms. This enabled them to open three of the five strongrooms, while two had to be accessed using a lump hammer and cold chisel. The salvage operation lasted ten days. A notable history item of the day, the salavage operation was filmed by George Albert Smith of Brighton, using his new and innovative Kinemacolor system, the first successful color motion picture process.

Wreck
In July 1912, the wreck was blown up by the Royal Navy as it posed a danger to shipping.

Oceana is today a popular wreck diving site. Located 15 nautical miles east from Newhaven, at low tide the wreck lies in less than 24 m of water, upright and protruding 10 m above the sea bed. Resting on an even keel on a gravel seabed, the bows are upright and mostly intact. The superstructure has collapsed, but the sides of the vessel are vertical and complete with portholes. Divers can view inside the engine room from above to see the four boilers and the 10 m 7000 hp triple-expansion steam engine. Being close to the shore, the wreck attracts a large amount of sea life.

Divers have found singular gold and silver ingots since, the last being recovered in 1996. The ship was carrying a memorial plaque to the 800 men of the 1st Nottingham Regiment, who had died in India from 1819 to 1838, mainly from local diseases. The plaque was recovered by divers Geoff and Jamie Smith from the Tunbridge Wells Sub-Aqua Club in August 2009, and after restoration and preservation presented to 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment in October 2009. It is presently displayed in the regiments museum within Nottingham Castle.