AH-WR-1329

Darlington

Iron-Hulled Steamer · United Kingdom · Lost 1886 · Bermuda

An 1886 iron steamer carrying cotton and grain to Germany that ran onto Bermuda's Western Reef after her captain failed to post a lookout.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Darlington was an iron-hulled steamer built in 1881 by Swan & Hunter of Newcastle, England. On a voyage from New Orleans to Bremen, Germany carrying cotton and grain, Captain Richard Ward failed to assign a lookout in unfamiliar waters and misjudged the ship's position, running her onto Bermuda's Western Reef on 22 February 1886. All 23 aboard were rescued, but an attempt to refloat the ship failed and a Marine Board of Inquiry found Ward negligent. The wreck lies in about 20 feet of water, largely intact but collapsed onto her port side, close to the buried remains of an unidentified Spanish galleon.

Vessel

Built: 1881
Builder: Swan & Hunter
Yard: Newcastle, England
Material: Iron
Length: 285 ft
Beam: 36 ft
Tonnage: 1990
Propulsion: Steam, 250-horsepower compound inverted engine, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: February 22, 1886
Cause: Navigational error
Location: Western Reef, Bermuda
Water: Atlantic Ocean off Bermuda
Voyage: New Orleans, Louisiana → Bremen, Germany
Cargo: 5,152 bales of cotton and 15,000 bushels of grain
Aboard: 23
Lives lost: 0
Master: Richard Ward

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20 ft
Condition: Fairly intact but collapsed onto herself, lying on her port side; boilers, propeller shaft, and deck winches visible along with the rudder near an intact stern.
Orientation: Lying on port side
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Protected under the Bermuda Shipwreck Certificate Program and Bermuda Dive Sites program, with a 300m no-fishing limitation