Lorraine Shearer recounts the tragic last voyage of the SS Norge, which sank after hitting Rockall in fog almost 100 years ago. The wreck of the vessel has finally been discovered by a team of divers determined to spotlight one of the worst maritime disasters in the Atlantic.

Part One

The SS Norge, which went down after hitting Rockall with the loss of 582 passengers and 45 crew. At the time it was the biggest maritime disaster in Atlantic waters.

Helmer Fosmo and his new bride Karen stared out at the neverending expanse of sea in front of them and dreamed of their new life in America.

For it was the land of prosperity which the 21-year-olds so desperately wanted to be a part of.

Helmer had begged and borrowed to gather enough cash together to buy their tickets for the trip from Norway to America during June, 1904.

The couple set off on board the Danish steam ship SS Norge, alongside more than 700 other passengers and 68 crew, hoping for a better life.

Tragically, only 168 people – including Helmer and his wife – would touch American soil after a terrifying ordeal off the west coast of Scotland.

The ship struck Rockall, which lies 400 miles from Orkney and 140 miles from the nearest land at St Kilda, in thick fog and sank in 20 minutes.

While many aspects of the tale mirror that of the doomed maiden voyage of the Titanic, the disastrous events surrounding the SS Norge are virtually unheard of.

Thanks to a team of divers and Stromness-based wreck researcher Kevin Heath all that is about to change.

For Kevin’s detailed four-year research and knowledge of the sea has led to the discovery of the wreck of the Norge, although he is keeping the exact location secret.

He told The Orcadian: “It is where it should be according to the research.”

The “unsinkable” Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank in 1912 on her maiden voyage, with the loss of 1,513 lives, gripped the world and continues to fascinate.

While the loss of the British passenger liner – at the time the largest moving man-made object – has been the subject of many films, including a Hollywood blockbuster and documentaries, the S/S Norge has been largely forgotten.

Kevin, (40), has been working alongside a team of divers from across the UK, all interested in the Norge – Ian Trumpess, Stromness-based skipper of the boat Invincible and a diver himself, John Womick, Ian Whittaker, Vic Young, Jeff Keep and Ian’s deckhand Clive Hewison.

But their trip to Rockall at the beginning of July was beset with problems.

“Jeff Keep, a diver, went down first and after 20 minutes encountered two Porbeagle sharks and had to abort,” Kevin said.

“Two to three hours later, three divers went down but the shotline was off the side of the reef and the divers found themselves in 65 metres of water. Two of them were diving on air so they had to abort.”

Clive Hewison trapped his fingers in a bulkhead door and had to be airlifted off the boat to Stornoway and then the weather turned bad.

But they have not given up and intend to dive on the wreck again, gathering photographic evidence for a Danish television company, who want to make a documentary about the ill-fated ship.

Rockall, which stands alone in the middle of nowhere is 83ft across, 65ft high and 100ft wide.

Kevin explained the scale of the disaster: “The sinking of the Norge was the biggest peacetime loss Denmark had ever had in its naval history and it was the biggest loss of life in the Atlantic before the Titanic.”

The Norge, built in 1881, sailed between Norway and America taking emigrants from Scandinavia to New York.

Most passengers were in bed when the vessel struck.

But out of the many tales of tragedy also emerged tremendous human determination and heroism brought to life by the survivors.

Peter Nelson and Helmer and Karen, our young lovers, were among the lucky ones to be picked up by a Grimsby trawler, Silvia, and taken to the English fishing port.

Mr Nelson told the Grimsby News of July, 1904: “I was lying in my bunk waiting for breakfast. I had previously got up and washed. We heard a slight bump followed directly by another bump. I rushed on deck and saw at once that something serious had happened.”

He rushed to get in one of the lifeboats which managed to get clear of the ship.

“We saw two of the other boats capsize due to heavy weather and because no one could navigate them. The captain was on the bridge and appeared to be keeping a cool head. He had backed her off the rock and you could see her going down.

“She filled so fast that in ten minutes after striking the reef the deck of the ship was level with the sea and in another ten minutes the stern was completely under water. It was a terrible sight to see the struggling passengers and to hear their distressing cries. The sea at that time was one mass of struggling folk, men, women and children gasping and choking in the water.”

Clear of the mass, the lifeboat survivors watched as the ship also met a watery grave.

A young girl on Peter’s lifeboat had been orphaned.

“No wonder the child wept and we wept with her,” Peter said. “All Tuesday we drifted, we had a limited supply of food, but not knowing how long we might have to fight against the loneliness of the ocean, or what we may yet have to endure, we were afraid to eat, even if the sorrows would have allowed us to take much food.”

As night arrived, their hopes of a rescue were dashed, for that day anyway. They stared into the dark night and as a new day dawned they were desperate.

“About 8am on Wednesday, however, our sorrows were quite forgotten by a new joy which sprang up with the appearance of a steamer apparently steaming in our direction. We were nearly frantic with delight. We waved our clothes, shouted till we were hoarse, and almost upset our boat in our endeavour to attract attention,” Peter said.

After being picked up by the Silvia, the fishing boat passed through the shoal of dead bodies. The mate picked up the body of a mother who was clasping her two infants to her chest. She had a lifebelt on, and having satisfied himself that the young family were dead, the mate threw off the belt in order that the body of the mother and her precious burden might sink.

A young lad of 17 displayed deep brotherly love. He found a place in the lifeboat but on spotting his sister he readily gave it up to her. However, Ole Olsen, who was believed to be drowned, was among the survivors landed at Stornoway.

It is also believed that a mother hid her young child beneath her skirt while in one of the lifeboats, so the child could receive a proper burial on land.

Part Two >