Motor vessel · lost 1973 · Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom
Glen Shiel
A formal investigation at Glasgow Sheriff Court laid the loss of the Glen Shiel, and of five of the six people aboard her, on her master's failure to make her ready for sea. Built at Peterhead by Livingston & Co Ltd, the motor coaster left Ayr under Tom West with coal for Portree, but the tarpaulins had never been put over her main hatch boards.
Spray from a south-westerly breeze worked into the hold for about half an hour until she lurched over to port and went down. Of the three who got clear, the mate John McInnes and the second engineer were lost in the water, and James Scott, 21, of Portrush came ashore on Troon's South Beach hours later and recovered.
She lies on her port side north-west of Ayr harbour, intact apart from her mast and propeller blades, taken off in 1977; her hull is now opening up and her coal lies spread around her.
- Type
- Motor vessel
- Lost
- 1973
- Tonnage
- 196 GRTdiesel
- Location
- Firth of Clyde, United KingdomFirth of Clyde
History and LossLost 1973 · Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom.
Owned by G & G Hamilton Ltd and working for Glenlight Shipping Limited, she left Ayr Harbour around 12.40am on 29 June 1973 with 215 tons of coal, bound first for Shieldhall and then Portree, with four crew and one passenger. Her crew were alerted only shortly before she sank. The second engineer went under after three hours in the water and the mate 30 minutes later; James Scott stayed afloat another three hours.
Lost 1973.
Condition of the WreckIntact.
Intactness
She lies on her port side about 2.75 miles WNW of Ayr Harbour, bow pointing south, in about 25 metres. By July 2022 holes were appearing in the upper starboard hull and the bridge was more open; the stern remains intact, with the rudder over to port and the propeller boss in place.
Notable Features
- Cargo remains
- Mast
- Propeller
- Stern section
Sea-Surface Temperature by Month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface temp | 8.3° | 7.3° | 7.2° | 8.3° | 10.3° | 12.7° | 14.6° | 15.2° | 14.3° | 12.7° | 11.3° | 9.7° |
Additional Details10 further fields held for this wreck and not shown above.
- Builder
- Livingston & Co Ltd
- Propulsion
- Diesel
- Loss date
- 1973
- Latitude
- 55.4860° N
- Longitude
- 4.7191° W
- Water body
- Firth of Clyde
- War grave
- Not recorded
- Protected
- No
- Permit required
- No
- Condition
- Intact
Sources and VerificationEvery fact on this page traces to a published source.
- Historic Environment Scotland (Canmore, NRHE)inspire.hes.scot · Official record6 facts
- UK Hydrographic Officedatahub.admiralty.co.uk · Official record3 facts
- NOAA / NASA JPL MUR SST v4.1coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov · Institution or archive1 fact
- Scottish Shipwrecksscottishshipwrecks.com · Secondary source9 facts
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Historic Environment Scotland.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right.
- JPL MUR MEaSUREs Project. GHRSST Level 4 MUR Global Foundation Sea Surface Temperature Analysis (v4.1). PO.DAAC. https://doi.org/10.5067/GHGMR-4FJ04
A further 5 fields were derived from the wreck’s recorded position rather than taken from a source.
Licences and credits for the open data used on this site are on the Attribution page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Glen Shiel?
Glen Shiel is the wreck of a motor vessel, off Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom. Glen Shiel was lost in 1973.
How did the Glen Shiel sink?
The cause of the loss of Glen Shiel is not recorded in the sources held; the loss is dated 1973.