Tony Backhurst Scuba Travel Red Sea Wrecks The Kingston

As sailing ships gradually gave way to steamers in the second half of the nineteenth century it became necessary to establish coaling stations wherever the new steamers operated so they could take on re-supply with coal anywhere in the world. The route from Britain that led down past France, Portugal and Spain, through the Straits of Gibraltar and across the Mediterranean, through the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea and out into the Indian Ocean was a key trading route, giving shipping lines access to the lucrative markets of India and the Far East, and to bring back exotic goods for sale at home. Ships following the route would emerge from the Red Sea and pass the well established port of Aden prior to crossing the Indian Ocean, or could call at Aden after steaming back from India and before heading up the Red Sea. Either way, the port of Aden, in the small country of the same name, was perfectly situated to act as coaling station and it is no surprise that this became one of the most important coaling stations in the British world. If you’ve ever wondered why the British military were so interested in such a small country, it was to protect the port servicing the Indian trade routes.
Kingston - crows nest

The Oswald Shipyard of Sunderland built Kingston for the Commercial Steamship Company in 1871. She was iron built and carried a full sailing rig in addition to her two cylinder inverted compound steam engine. Like Dunraven she was typical of the second generation of transitional sail and steam vessels produced in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In January 1881 Kingston was loaded with and headed for Aden to supply the bunkering station.
Steaming at good speed through flat calm seas she ran onto Shag Rock just as the sun rose. She would have been steaming toward the sunrise, and even though she wasn’t steaming directly into the sun the light would have reflected off the water and blinded her lookouts. Given that flat calm there was no other way for her to master to know that she was about to hit a reef.
Kingston now lies at the northern end of Shag Rock with the bottom of her rudder in a maximum of 14m and her boilers on the reef slop only just below the surface. The force of the collision and the action of wind and waves means that the forward half of the ship has gone, but the after part is in good condition. When the current comes from the north, as it usually does, it splits to go around Shag Rock just a few yards from her port side, so divers are usually dropped in this area and can drift to the wreck on the current. Her rudder and prop are intact and easily seen, and looking up from here gives a marvellous view of her rounded and graceful stern.
Swim around the hull and you’ll enter an area of calm water where the wreck blocks the flow of water. Her two masts, both with crows nests, can be seen on the seabed next to her.
Ascending a little you can swim inside the hull. All the wooden decking is long gone, leaving her iron ribs open and exposed, and making penetration to her interior very straightforward. Just be aware that she has been underwater a long time, and is covered in the most fantastic profusion of hard and soft corals, and try not to touch or damage any of it.
Kingston

At deck level on the stern it is possible to see the mooring bitts, and various other fixtures and fittings can be examined as you move slowly forward. If the sea is calm enough it is possible to explore a little way forward of the boilers, but the water here is very shallow and calm is essential.
When you’ve finished your tour of the wreck swim off with the reef to your left and the wreck behind you. If the current is running it can sometimes pick you up and shoot you around the corner of the reef with a great swoosh, leaving you in the calm of the western face.
Shag Rock, named for the birds usually seen here, is one of the finest reefs in the Red Sea. Every surface seems to be covered by stunning displays of hard and soft corals and the fish life is superb, on and off the wreck. There are resident turtles and sometimes dolphins.
In some books you will still see this wreck wrongly identified as the Sarah H. When the first guidebook to the area was being written the author of that book dived the wreck and asked his skipper what it was called. Being a skipper, and therefore, by definition, omniscient, he couldn’t admit he didn’t know, so he said the wreck was the Sarah H, named for his wife.

Written and photographed by Mike Ward