World War IDS Vaaren
DS Vaaren was struck by a mine on December 16, 1914, off Whitby. The ship was en route from Tyne to Naples carrying coke and coal. The bow sank first, and the propeller, which continued to rotate, killed three people. In total, 12 crew members and one British coastal pilot lost their lives in the sinking. Four individuals were rescued by a Scottish fishing vessel. (Sources: Sjøhistorie.no and Med norsk skib i verdenskrigen)
Maritime enquiry: Vaaren (Source: Sjøforklaringer over norske skibes krigsforlis, 1914-1918. B. 1 : 1914, 1915, 1916, via Nb.no)
The wreck of the Vaaren was discovered by members of the Scarborough Sub Aqua Club. The ship’s starboard navigation lamp was recovered and resorted by diver Andy Jackson and is shown here. This was done as a part of a project leading up to the 110th anniversary German naval bombardment of Scarborough, England, by Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre and the Scarborough Sub Aqua Club, led by historian Dr. David Pendleton. He has provided this desciption of the sinking of S/S Vaaren:
The brand new 1,090 ton Norwegian collier “Vaaren”, was carrying coal and coke from Newcastle to the Sicilian capital Palermo, via Naples. She had left Newcastle at 13.30 on 16 December 1914 and had kept up a speed of between nine to ten knots.
In the pitch black the “Vaaren” struck a mine around four miles N by NE of Filey at around 20.30. Several of the crew were killed instantly by the explosion. The heavily laden collier went down rapidly and she disappeared beneath the waves within three minutes. The rapidity of a sinking prevented the launching of lifeboats.
In a frantic effort, one lifeboat was hacked free of its davits by the crew, but it overturned when it hit the water. Seven sailors scrambled on top of the upturned hull, but the lifeboat drifted beneath the still turning propellor of the sinking ship, killing three men. It was a horrific sight for the survivors, who now faced a fight for their lives in the dark cold waters.
Four survivors, three Norwegians and a Scotsman, clung to the upturned lifeboat for two hours. In an immense act of bravery, the Grimsby trawler Cleon searched the minefield for survivors. The four men were hauled aboard the trawler and were later landed at Grimsby. They were incredibly fortunate. Inside three minutes thirteen sailors, ten Norwegians, one Dane, one Greek and Tom Davison, a North Sea pilot from North Shields, had been killed in the sinking.
On 21 December 1914, a hearing into the loss of the Vaaren was held at the Norwegian vice-consulate at Grimsby. Peter Henrik Haagenson, the consul for Norway and Sweden, chaired the proceedings, assisted by Thorkild Johannesen, captain of the Norwegian vessel Asturias from Kristiania (Oslo), and Anton Engelbert Sandberg, captain of the Swedish vessel Nord from Stockholm. The loss of the Vaaren was detailed by her senior surviving officer, Magnus Kjelstup of Bergen.
About DS Vaaren
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Nationality
11659
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Built
1914
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Wrecked
16.12.1914
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Carrier
Carl Traae, Bergen
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Tonnage
1785 dvt
