Cargo vessel · lost 1997 · Shetland, United Kingdom
Green Lily
A memorial near Grut Wick on Bressay honours Bill Deacon, the coastguard helicopter winchman who stayed on the deck of the Green Lily until her last ten crew had been lifted clear, and was then swept overboard.
The refrigerated cargo vessel had sailed from Lerwick in November 1997 with frozen fish for West Africa when, in a rising south-easterly gale, a fractured seawater pipe was followed by the failure of her main engine. She drifted towards Bressay as two tugs got lines aboard and each saw them part, and a third held her anchor chain only until that broke too.
The Lerwick lifeboat came alongside for a time, until the ship's rolling forced it away. She went ashore north of Bressay Light and broke up, and what is left of her, anchor and engine among it, lies scattered over a wide area.
- Type
- Cargo vessel
- Lost
- 1997
- Location
- Shetland, United KingdomNorth Sea
History and LossLost 1997 · Shetland, United Kingdom.
She left Lerwick at 9am on 18 November 1997 bound for Abidjan and Lagos, and early on the 19th, 15 miles south-east of Bressay, a seawater line fractured in her engine room. Shetland Coastguard sent a Pan Pan and then a Mayday Relay.
The lifeboat took off five crew before being forced away, and the coastguard helicopter lifted the remaining ten; winchman Bill Deacon was lost, and his body was recovered the next day off the South Isle of Gletness.
Lost 1997.
Condition of the WreckScattered.
Intactness
She broke up after coming ashore, and her smashed wreckage is reported spread over a wide area. Her exact position is uncertain: the inquiry gave one well offshore, while a photograph and the Grut Wick memorial place her near Grut Wick.
Notable Features
- Anchor
- Engine
Sea-Surface Temperature by Month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface temp | 8.1° | 7.3° | 7.1° | 7.5° | 8.8° | 10.6° | 12.3° | 12.8° | 12.2° | 11.3° | 10.3° | 9° |
Additional Details8 further fields held for this wreck and not shown above.
- Loss date
- 1997
- Latitude
- 60.1412° N
- Longitude
- 1.1353° W
- Water body
- North Sea
- War grave
- Not recorded
- Protected
- No
- Permit required
- No
- Condition
- Scattered
Sources and VerificationEvery fact on this page traces to a published source.
- Historic Environment Scotland (Canmore, NRHE)inspire.hes.scot · Official record5 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 source4 facts
- Marine Accident Investigation Branchgov.uk · Secondary source2 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 Green Lily?
Green Lily is the wreck of a cargo vessel, off Shetland, United Kingdom. Green Lily was lost in 1997.
How did the Green Lily sink?
The cause of the loss of Green Lily is not recorded in the sources held; the loss is dated 1997.