AH-WR-0652

Dunnottar Castle

Sailing Merchant Ship · United Kingdom · Lost 1886 · The Hawaiian Islands

An iron-hulled British sailing ship wrecked at Kure Atoll in 1886 after a faulty chronometer put her onto the reef, prompting Hawaii's formal claim to the atoll.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The three-masted iron ship Dunnottar Castle was carrying coal from Sydney to California when a defective chronometer set her onto the reef at Kure Atoll on July 15, 1886. Efforts to jettison cargo and refloat her failed, and the crew abandoned ship for the deserted island. The rescue mission that followed led Hawaiian officials to formally claim Kure Atoll, fearing British annexation, and to later build a life-saving station there. No lives were lost in the wreck.

Vessel

Built: 1874
Builder: Not established
Yard: Glasgow, Scotland
Material: Iron
Length: 258 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: July 15, 1886
Cause: Navigational error
Location: Kure Atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Water: North Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Sydney, Australia → Wilmington, California
Cargo: Coal
Aboard: 28
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Position

Coordinates: 28.39° N 178.29° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Kure Atoll
Region: The Hawaiian Islands

General area only: coordinate of Kure Atoll from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.