The photo above shows the S.S.Jebba in here final resting place where local boats standing by to assist. The Jebba was a British Ocean Liner built by Sir Raylton Dixon & Co. of Middlesbrough in 1896. She was a steel ship of 3813 tons with a length of 107m and beem of 14m and had one three cylinder triple expansion engine (Richardson T & Sons) for propulsion giving it a speed of 12 knots. Her owners from 1898 to her time of loss were Elder Dempster Lines Ltd of the Aftrica Steamship Co. Liverpool.
The original owners, Cie Belge Maritime Du Congo (C.M.B.C),
named her SS Albertville but parted with her in 1898 and was re-named S.S.Jebba by the new owners.

In thick fog ,in the early hours of March 18, 1907, she ran aground near Bolt Tail ,almost on top of the wreck of the ‘Ramalies’  She was carrying ivory, rubber, palm oil, pineapples, bananas and the mail from Nigeria and the Gold Coast. At the time there were 76 crew and 79 passengers on board and her distress rockets were soon seen on land and the  lifeboat was soon on the scene. The lifeboat was not made use off as all the crew and passengers were safely brought ashore using a bosuns chair. The two fishermen, Isaac Jarvis and John Argeat, who had organised the rescue were both awarded the Albert Medal for their bravery. After the storm had settled all the cargo was recovered and although some salvage of the hull was done she gradually broke up and it is now difficult to distinguish her from the rocks and seabed.

The Jebba today lies at 50 14 094 ; 03 51 701  exactly in the same position she was wrecked in 1907. The depths in the area are 5-10m and although most of the brass has been salvaged there are plenty of pieces welded to the rocks and if you are lucky you may come across one of those ivory tusks from the cargo. The boilers stand nearly 2m high yet are often not recognised as they look so much like a rock.

The following photos show how, what’s left of the wreck, are buried in the sand or the rocks (Images Sue Mitchell)