Freighter M V Murree 1989

latitude: 49°57,888'N longitude: 03°14,248'W and is upright in 60m of water. She stands 38m off the seabed.

The MV Murree was a 1981 ship of the SD18 type, which sank in the English Channel in 1989.

The SD14 (Shelter Deck 14) type was the successor class of Liberty Ships developed by the Austin & Pickersgill’s shipyard of the River Wear in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. 211 SD14 vessels were built. The MV Murree was one of three SD18 vessels – a larger and more advanced type based on the SD14 – built at Austin & Pickersgill’s Southwick yard. While the shipyard is closed today, the company line is now a member of the A&P Group.

Her working life was spent exclusively with the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. The name Murree connected the ship with an important Pakistani hill station. On 28 Oct 1989 she was on her way down the Channel from Tilbury to her home port of Karachi when she ran into a storm with hurricane-force winds

M V Murree 22 miles south east of Start Point after deck containers were dislodged and damaged the hull. Royal Navy search and rescue Sea King helicopters, of 771 Naval Air Squadron flying from RNAS Culdrose near Helston Cornwall, made a brave and difficult rescue of the 40 crew and passengers.A Film of the rescue appeared in the BBC television series 999. The subject was covered again by the BBC in 2013 in a John Sergeant documentary about the Westland Sea King Helicopter.

The wreck has subsequently become an attraction for sport diver

Select the image to take a dive tour of the Murree with “DIVERNET”










TypeTransport
BuiltAustin & Pickergill Ltd. Southwick, Sunderland
OwnerPakistan National Shipping Corporation
Tonnage11940 grt
Dimensions152 x 22.9 x 9.5 M
HullSteel
EngineSingle diesel engine on shaft
Speed15 kts
Yard No.1407
IMO/Off No.8000161
Built1981
Crew40