Princess

On the afternoon of 23 August, when Princess approached Gotland, a strong south-westerly wind was blowing in a thick, heavy fog. Because of the limited visibility, it was suddenly – and belatedly – discovered that land was there right in front of the ship. Despite the fact that the engine had been slowed down and the rudder turned, she ran aground on the eastern side of Östergarnsholme.

The next day, the salvage steamer Hermes arrived at the scene and immediately made an attempt to pull the ship free. But when Princess began to take in an alarming amount of water, the attempts came to a halt. Instead, some of the cargo was transferred to Hermes. The crew also left the vessel. On 25 August, the ship broke in half and the stern sank to a depth of 23 metres with the amidships sections left on the rocks.

In October 2018, maritime archaeologists from the Museum of Wrecks conducted a survey of the wreck site.

Of the ship’s original length of 75 m, an approximately 45 m long part of the hull’s aft section remains. Several wide planks in the wreckage suggest that the deck was probably built of wood. At most, the hull rises a couple of metres above the seabed. There are a few bricks just in front of the stern, possibly indicating that the ship’s galley was located in the stern. In the middle of the wreck, propeller tubes with shafts are visible.

The results of the survey prompted the County Administrative Board of Gotland to declare Princess an ancient find.