Seascape factors in the loss of the SS Waratah

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this paper is to identify possible sinking locations based on the interaction of meteorological fronts, Agulhas current, and bathymetric features. Method The route of the ship is reconstructed from historical documents, and the account of the following ship Clan Macintyre, using haversines. Findings: The analysis shows that the Waratah met the storm on the edge of the continental shelf of Algoa Bay. Multiple simulations were conducted to explore parameter variability, and the meeting location shifts accordingly, bracketing an area of 40nm by 10nm. It is proposed that the ship sank on meeting the storm at the continental shelf break, possibly near the head of a submarine canyon. Bathymetric details for the area are limited, but from the limited terrain information available, a prime location to search would be the Bird Island canyon (-34.235825°S 26.644556°E). Contribution: The work provides a new hypothesis, backed by detailed navigational modelling from the known facts, regarding where and how the ship sank. The novel contribution of this research is the combination of multiple disciplines, i.e. historical research, principles of maritime engineering, navigational modelling, meteorological phenomena, and oceanographic analysis, to reconstruct the ship's likely route and identify potential shipwreck locations.