Steamship · 1873–1889 · Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom
Ovington
As the Ovington went down by the bow, a large explosion tore her apart, and part of her bridge, with its compass binnacle and bell, came ashore on Bute the next day. She was an iron steamship of 697 tons gross, launched at Sunderland by Osbourne & Graham in 1873.
Bound from Glasgow for Hamburg with charcoal and ammonia, she had slowed to anchor off Toward Point in fog and snow when the steamer Queen Victoria, whose master took her stern light for the Skelmorlie Buoy, struck her on the port bow. Some of her crew climbed across to the other ship before she sank within minutes, and five were lost.
She rests upright about a mile south of Toward Lighthouse, her port side breaking up, with bow and stern sections and an anchor recorded.
- Type
- Steamship
- Year built
- 1873Osbourne & Graham, Sunderland
- Lost
- 1889Explosion
- Tonnage
- 697 GRTsteam
- Depth
- 35 m
- Location
- Firth of Clyde, United KingdomFirth of Clyde
Deeper than 114 of the 185 wrecks on the map with a recorded depth.
History and LossLost 1889 · Explosion · Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom.
Captain William Gorley and twelve crew took her out of Glasgow at about 9pm on 28th December 1889, dropping the river pilot at Greenock at 11:15pm. Off Toward Point, slowing with every light lit, she was rammed on the port bow by the Queen Victoria, which opened her side forward of the bridge. The ships stayed locked together briefly, and she was gone within five minutes.
Built 1873 by Osbourne & Graham, Sunderland; 16 years in service. Lost 1889, explosion.
Condition of the WreckBroken.
Intactness
She sits upright on a seabed of about 35 metres, with deck level near 32 metres. Most of the hull holds together, though the collision-damaged port side is slowly falling away. Her hardwood planking has rotted, and every stern deck beam has fallen in since her discovery in March 1984.
Notable Features
- Anchor
- Bow section
- Stern section
Sea-Surface Temperature by Month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surface temp | 8.2° | 7.2° | 7.1° | 8.1° | 10° | 12.1° | 14° | 14.6° | 13.8° | 12.4° | 11.2° | 9.7° |
Additional Details10 further fields held for this wreck and not shown above.
- Builder
- Osbourne & Graham, Sunderland
- Propulsion
- Steam
- Loss date
- 1889
- Latitude
- 55.8547° N
- Longitude
- 4.9687° W
- Water body
- Firth of Clyde
- War grave
- No
- Protected
- No
- Permit required
- No
- Condition
- Broken
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 record2 facts
- NOAA / NASA JPL MUR SST v4.1coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov · Institution or archive1 fact
- Scottish Shipwrecksscottishshipwrecks.com · Secondary source12 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 Ovington?
Ovington is the wreck of a steamship, off Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom, at 35 metres. Ovington was destroyed by an explosion in 1889.
How deep is the Ovington?
Ovington lies at approximately 35 metres, Firth of Clyde.
How did the Ovington sink?
Ovington was destroyed by an explosion on 1889, off Firth of Clyde, United Kingdom.