RED SEA WRECK EXPLORATION PROJECT | 2018
Laying in the northern Strait of Gubal, in the middle of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), also called the “shipping lane” at a depth of approximately 75 meters, is a shipwreck approximately 80 meters in length sitting upright, with severe damage to its bow.
The team believed the wreck to be a collier (coaling ship), as it has several cargo holds with winches between them, similar to the Rosalie Moller.
It’s position, in the shipping lane just east of Ashrafi Island, is one of the windiest parts of the Red Sea, making for very rough surface conditions. Additionally, its location, at the base of the Gulf of Suez, means extremely strong, ripping currents.
FINDING FULICA | RED SEA WRECK EXPLORATION PROJECT
IDENTIFYING THE FULICA (BILL ZANKE)
In trying to identify the wreck of the collier Fulica, there were several clues that helped me piece things together….
By looking into earthenware beer bottle from JJ & WH Allison I found out that in 1890, the Allison brewery merged with four other Sunderland area brewers to form Newcastle Breweries. The Suez Canal opened in 1869, so now I had a rough date range for the wreck.
I next downloaded a copy of Dictionary of Disasters at Sea in the Age of Steam and started cataloging all of the wrecks that met the criteria of what we knew. I had a general timeframe, its nationality (British), the rough dimensions of the wreck, its cargo load (coal) and the area where it sank. Still, there were over 7500 wrecks in the dictionary so the going was slow.
At the same time I was researching the imprint of the on the porcelain that was brought up from the wreck. At first I thought it was a potter’s mark, but after researching British pottery and looking at other shipwreck china I realized it wasn’t a potter’s mark, but the emblem of the steamship company that owned the collier. I started looking for steamship companies from the era with the initials “PS” but couldn’t make a match.
My big break came when I was cataloging the dictionary and ran across the steamship “Barita”. The Barita matched the general characteristics of our collier but the biggest clue was the ship’s owner; Porteous and Senier (PS). In researching Porteous and Senier, I came across the steamship owner’s flag, which was an exact match of emblem on the china brought up from the collier – I had the name of the ship’s owner!
The Barita wasn’t our wreck – She matched all of the characteristics, but sunk off from Galatz, not in the Red Sea. But now, with the name of the steamship company, I was able to track down a list of ships they owned and their disposition.
That’s how I found the Fulica:
FKD - Frog Kick Diving 