SS Carmen (1963)

The SS Carmen was a Panamanian steam cargo vessel, originally built of steel at Sunderland by William Doxford & Sons Ltd. Historic England records conflicting build dates of 1920 and 1930, but her recovered bell is engraved “IRON CHIEF 1930 SYDNEY”, showing her earlier identity before later names including Stagpool, Granny Suzanne, and finally Carmen. She was a substantial freighter of about 112.9 metres long, 16.1 metres in beam, and around 4,240 gross tons, powered by a triple-expansion steam engine. On her final voyage she was carrying bauxite from Takoradi, Ghana, to Burntisland. Not glamorous cargo, admittedly, but bauxite has better wreck appeal than another dreary hold full of ballast and disappointment.

On 13 June 1963, Carmen was caught in thick fog in the Dover Strait and collided with the Turkish steamship Sadikzade, about 4.5 miles east of the South West Goodwin light buoy and 9.6 miles east of St Margaret’s Bay. She sank with the loss of two crewmen, while the collision set off an absurdly grim chain reaction: Sadikzade then collided with the Greek motor vessel Leandros, which in turn collided with the British tanker Clyde Sergeant. Today, Carmen lies upright and largely intact in around 44 to 45 metres, with her funnel around 30 metres and superstructure rising into the low 30s. For divers, she is a superb deeper Channel wreck: intact, dramatic, well identified, and carrying the unmistakable scar of a fog-bound collision in one of the busiest seaways on Earth.