CARASA (POSSIBLY)

The SS Carasa was a Spanish steamship built in 1911 by William Pickersgill & Sons in Sunderland for the Cia Naviera Vascongada shipping company. For seven years, she plied the trade routes, a typical merchant vessel of her time powered by a triple-expansion steam engine. But her career was cut short by the escalating U-boat conflict of the First World War. On August 25th, 1918, while on passage from Bilbao, Spain, the Carasa was intercepted by the German submarine UB-92. A single torpedo struck the vessel, sealing her fate. She sank beneath the waves of the English Channel, becoming another maritime casualty of the Great War.

Today, the wreck of the Carasa lies at a depth of 38 metres off the coast of Cornwall. The years underwater have taken their toll, and the 86-metre-long hull is now broken and collapsing. However, key features like her two large boilers and the triple-expansion engine stand proud of the seabed, providing a focal point for the dive. The wreckage is often teeming with life; shoals of bib and pollack swarm the structure, while colourful cuckoo wrasse dart amongst the plates. Divers exploring the debris field may find conger eels peering from pipework and lobsters hiding in the shadows, making the Carasa a classic and rewarding UK wreck dive.