Penarth Dock, South Wales - the heritage and legacy

Volume Ten - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Even more aspects - The Lloyd's Register at Penarth Dock . . .

Ship Turns Turtle - Norwegian Vessel's Crew Landed at Swansea. - 'About 4 p.m. on Friday, 14 shipwrecked sailors, of the s.s. Rollon, of Norway, which was capsized on Friday morning off Lundy Island, were brought to the Sailors' Home, Swansea. The vessel left Penarth on Thursday evening with coal for St. Malo. Very rough weather was experienced during the night, and at about 8.30 a.m. the cargo loosened, and the vessel turned turtle, precipitating its crew into the water. Only one boat could be launched, and that also was upset. Ultimately the vessel was sunk. Six men clung for an hour to the up-turned boat and others to a hatch. The whole of the men were in the water for about an hour. When quite exhausted, they were all picked up by an Admiralty boat and conveyed to Swansea. All the crew, consisting of Capt. Albert Hansen, 10 Norwegians, two West Indians, one Spaniard and one Swede, were rescued The men are being cared for by the Shipwrecked Mariners' Association.' - The Cambria Daily Leader [816] [361] 28th October 1916.

'The Norwegian steamer Rollon, which turned turtle during the gale in the Bristol Channel and sank, was frequently at Swansea. She should have been named the Rollover.' - from the Post Bag of the South Wales Weekly Post [210] [361] 4th November 1916.

	Owned at the time of her loss in 1916 by Wesenberg of Bergen, Norway, the steamship Rollon was on a voyage from Penarth to St. Malo with a cargo of coal when she collided with struck floating wreckage, capsized and sank.

The steel hulled, single screw steamer, 'Rollon' was built at the yard of Cumming & Ellis of Inverkeithing and was launched in May 1894 as the s.s. 'Metal' for owners, William Jacks & Company of Glasgow. Her vital statistics were 180.0 ft. long x 27.6 ft. breath x 11.4 ft. depth being of 611 gross and 294 net register tons. Following four changes of owner and name, in 1915, she became 'Rollon'. [425]