You guys from the Burutu Palm in happier days in West Africa may like to know what eventually happened to her, indeed you can still see her,or what remains of her,if you take a holiday in Mombasa on the other side of the continent.
Built in 1952, by Short Bros,Pallion,Sunderland the m.v.Burutu Palm had a comparatively short life of 15 years with Palm Line. In 1967 she was sold to Greeks(renamed TYHI),then again in 73 to Globe Navigation Ltd.,Singapore (renamed GLOBE STAR.)
On 27th April 1973 , at .about sunrise and whilst ,on a voyage from Iskenderun to Karachi with a cargo of 10,000 tons of malt wheat, the GLOBE STAR was calling into Mombasa for fresh water,when she ran aground on Leven Reef.This was attributed to the vessel approaching too close to the harbour entrance,and on being instructed to return to the anchorage turned to starboard instead of port.
Attempts were made to shift her by tugs,then by discharging some wheat,to all no avail.
Six months later the wreck became a tragedy when two divers and three support workers who tried to rescue them,were killed when they were overcome by fumes on the water surface from the rotting wheat.
After another 5 years,what remained of the wreck was cut down to the low water mark and today just the engine block,known locally as the ‘4 Apostles ‘remains, a haven for marine life,and extensively used by diving clubs
This story is one of many ,along with photographs,included in an excellent book entitled ‘Shipwrecks & Salvage on the East African Coast by Kevin Patience,an historian and diving/salvage company boss.He is also a member of this site.
Ned M iddleton. -Review on Amazon of ‘Shipwrecks & Salvage on the East African Coast
“Very few books cross my desk which are able to impart an important message before I have begun to read them. This was such a book and the message was that the amount of research undertaken by this author was not just thorough, it was complete.
Kevin Patience enjoyed a formative career in the RAF at which time he learned scuba diving. During a posting to Malta in the sixties he located and identified a WW2 Spitfire on the seabed which was later raised and presented to the Malta War Museum - where it is still on display. The salvage bug had bitten and, in later years, he went on to become a professional salvage diver and author.
Having been intrigued by the sight of naval guns from the WW1 cruisers, HMS Pegasus and SMS Königsberg outside Fort Jesus, Mombasa as a schoolboy, his return to that country in the early eighties as head of a salvage company was the beginning of a long and fruitful career along the East African coastline. No, this book is not his story, this is a compilation of the many, many ships which were wrecked in that part of the world before, during and after his time there.
As I have said so many times before, the key to writing anything about shipwrecks is "research, research and even more research." In this book we find the details, and often tragic accounts, of 240 ships. What is, perhaps, even more credit worthy is that the author has uncovered so many historic photographs - often several of the same vessel.
With the shipwrecks listed in alphabetical order, this book reads like a collection of short stories. These are followed by brief details of another 10 vessels and then a section which covers over 50 Tugboats used throughout the region spanning a period of more than 100 years.
Altogether, a very pleasing book and one which should be of interest to any shipwreck enthusiast.”
NM
