the Fylgia tragedy

The beginning of the end for Steamship Fylgia

The sinking of the Steam Ship Fylgia was a big story of that time and was a major maritime tragedy for Sweden.

The ship was a general freight merchant vessel built in 1919 at Limhamns Shipyards Company Limited at Gothenburg. So at five years old in 1924 it had sailed on many successful voyages and this one began as all those voyages before.

Fylgia had in recent weeks sailed to Marseilles in France where she loaded goods with the next port being Porvoo in Finland. From Porvoo she sailed to Gävle, Sweden where she arrived on Sunday 12^th October.

Leading up to its departure on 15^th October 1924 the Fylgia was loaded with 280 lengths of (Olrog?) timber at the port of Gävle, some 180 kilometres north of Stockholm in the Gulf of Bothnia. She travelled north with a crew of 20 men to Sundsvall then Kramfors arriving the 20^th, then Härnösand, Sweden where she departed 21^st October for Malaga and Cartagena, Spain, to deliver the load of mainly timber and other goods including empty drums and engines.

Storms

The region is known for wild weather such as heavy snow, strong winds, dense fog, zero visibility and heavy seas. It was this degree of weather that the Fylgia sailed towards on the morning of Wednesday October 22^nd.

On the night of Wednesday, October 22, 1924, the Baltic and Bothnia Seas were hit by the first snowstorm. A schooner “Gerda” had made it to Svenska Björn but cold northwest winds blew her back towards Gotland. The schooner “Alfrede” was also on its way to the Ångerman River but the ship was wrecked at Fårö and the same fate befell the brig “Bornholm”, another of Sweden’s last brigs. She blew up at Salvorev. The schooner Hilde from Bremen ran aground at Kullboda and her deck load of split wood flew like matches in all directions. http://www.gavledraget.se/Ingvar_H/Gerda.pdf

From the Gerda’s logbook

“Harsh storm from WNW, the foresail had to fail, which broke in the starboard keel, then the mainsail was fixed, constantly increasing wind from NW, with hurricane-like gusts, high breaking sea, from which the ship tosses enormously, even the railing in the water, the ship as a whole is severely tempted, cloudy rain and gusty air.”

So it was a bad night and set to get worse

First indications of a disaster

The snow was falling thick all morning of Wednesday 22^nd with dense fog, zero visibility and heavy seas but by the afternoon it was easing and it was only now that the lighthouse at Örskär raised the alarm that a Steamship was stranded at Högkallegrundet. The lighthouse keeper could only see the bow, half folk mast and part of the chimney visible above the water and the sea was breaking heavily over the wreck. No identifying features of the name of the ship could be observed at this early stage. Fears were growing for the crew as survivors still on-board would be impossible and the only hope would be crew who may have taken to lifeboats or perhaps swam to shore.

A man in Norrboda had heard a ship sounding its steam whistle repeatedly at 9am on that morning but that was the only signal, no one on the nearby settlements of Gräsö and Örskär heard any alarms although the hilly rocky terrain and bad weather may have prevented sound reaching any settled locations.

As news travelled people hoped that the crew had launched the lifeboats and reached safety ashore somewhere on the isolated sparsely populated coastline. By Thursday morning some 24 hours after the accident it was announced from Öregrund that a steam ship had run aground and then sank.

Rescue efforts

A lifeboat was sent out from Singö on the Thursday, they reached Örskär but had to turn back due to the high seas

Some fishermen from Norrboda in the islands near Fluttuskär set out to help. They had better luck as they approached from the south which provided more shelter from the weather

Near the accident site they first found of a number of timber planks and boards, and then a buoy stamped Fylgia and a name plate stamped Fylgia. They also found some clothes, boots and two shattered lifeboats.

Next they found several buoys without a name and a number of doors and other fittings from the vessel. They then made a gruesome discovery, parts from a completely broken man – a lung, a piece of the larynx and viscera.

The rough seas and winds had distributed the timber planks over the bays and rocky shores of the dozens of small islands east of Gräsö. By this stage some 80 men were out searching however the debris made the search for possible survivors very difficult.

The entire ship had been broken into four parts, three of which had broken away. 

Identification of the vessel

To start there were several Fylgia ships of that era, this is the largest, constructed of steel, and was built in 1919

Steam Ship, S/S Fylgia belonged to Rederiaktiebolaget Swedish Lloyd in Gothenburg. She was built in 1919 in Limhamn in Sweden and measured the net tonnage of 1069, and loaded approximately 700 standard timber.

At Fluttuskär waybills were found on the Friday. They were dated 2^nd September and issued on the steamer Fylgia of Gothenburg at Manchester where she was bound with a cargo of wood pulp. There was also a pair of buoys

Recovery

By this time the authorities realized there were 20 seamen aboard the Fylgia and later they were advised of another person missing, he being a passenger on board.

Over the next four days bodies were recovered. The frantic rescue and salvage efforts centered on the small location of Gräsö. A corpse was found on rocks five nautical miles south of the wreck site, the body was not badly damaged but the clothing was mostly torn away. On Friday there were about 80 boats with 150 men on them scouring the rocky inlets and bays to search for survivors and the dead. Friday evening reports came through that four more bodies were found, two on Bredbådan, and at Klyndorna which is a group of rocks southeast of the accident site the rescuers found another two crew members, one floating in his lifebelt.

The cargo of timber, which was spread over a wide area was salvaged over the next year and auctioned off.

Investigations and possible causes

Evidence of the time of the disaster was supported by the engineer’s pocket watch which stopped at 10:30 and another crew members watch at 10:35 together with the witness who heard the steam whistle is assumed that the accident occurred around 9 o’clock on Wednesday.

Locals testified that the waves were that high that morning that they likely struck the chimney of the Fylgia

The actual cause of the grounding and sinking was never fully determined. Of course there were many theories including the deck cargo being too high, poor navigation, incorrect ship handling, or mechanical fault, and also possible they were searching for a protected place to find safety or even seek help for anyone injured.

In regards to deck cargo, Captain Plomgren at departure “recorded his satisfaction with the load condition and that the ship was firm”, also the pilot who took her out in Härnösand testified that “the steamer was perfectly rigid without the least sign of bias” She was loaded with 693 timber planks of which 250 were above deck. Customs officials at Härnösand stated after the incident that they thought the deck cargo unusually high also the crew of a motor vessel ‘Bore’ passing Fylgia also stated after the incident that the deck load was too high. It was noted that usually the best timber was loaded in the hull and the poorer timber, less secure and perhaps more prone to movement, was above deck possibly contributing to a moving load in bad weather which may have affected rudder control and she became unmanageable.

Heeling Deviation

Another theory was the so-called heeling deviation. It occurs when the magnetic forces on an iron or steel vessel changes as the ship heels to one side. Perhaps the Fylgia deck cargo shifted and she had a listing bias. This bias may have resulted in the compass being off to as little as one or two degrees leading to the vessel being off course in this narrow and treacherous sea lane.

Yet another theory was that poor weather and some questionable navigation caused the officer on duty, either Captain Plomgren or First Officer J. A. Andersson, when passing Gavle Bay to Örskär to not clearly see the west coast line or Bjorn’s lighthouse. The wind was north-easterly to northerly. He may have changed course to clear the Gräsö peninsular but closer to Örskär than anticipated with strong winds he misjudged the approach being somewhat further south than expected. What contradicts this theory is that between 1am and 5am the visibility was relatively clear. At this interval the Fylgia should have been abeam Lövsta Bay, and should have observed both Bjorn lighthouse and Örskär.

The victims

Only eight bodies were recovered of the twenty-one men and only four of the eight were identified.

On the Sunday of the two bodies discovered at Bredbådan one body had two rings, one ring had the inscription ‘John W. Bredberg’ and the other ring had ‘Ingeborg 20/11/07’. It later turned out to be a Second Engineer John William Bredberg from Gothenburg.

The second body at Bredbådan was distinguished by a tattoo with 1902 on one arm. It was the sailor Karl Felix Nilsson from Oskarshamn. Both Bredberg and Nilsson and were wearing life-belts.

At Klyndorna on Sunday, 2nd Engineer Frey T. Johansson from Gothenburg was recovered, he was wearing a life jacket. He was identified by a ring on his finger with the inscription FT. They suspect he was asleep when the accident occurred owing to his shoes being on his feet but the laces were not tied. The second man recovered from Klyndorna was Donkeyman Gustaf Albert Lindfors from Järved.

Once the news spread it was determined that there was a passenger on board. An employee of Boliden’s mechanical workshop in Stockholm had sent a batch of engines, a fitter by the name of Karl-Erik Pettersson, a 24-year-old from Stockholm was accompanying the equipment for installation at the destination.

The aftermath

The sinking was widely reported in the media and affected many people. Among others, the widow of Captain Plomgren received condolences from both the Queen and the Prime Minister, Hjalmar Branting, he wrote:
“Government shares with our entire country the feeling of grief suffered by you and all the families of those who in fulfillment of his duty of victims of the terrible accident.”

The ships Chef, Knut Simon Strand from Harnes, just outside Gävle deserves special mention. He was the son of the fishmonger in Harn. He had been at sea several times on other steamers, but been at home all summer. But now he was out again, and would embark on the steamer ‘Thyr’ which is also docked in Gävle for loading. Another Chef ‘Mattson’ from Fager Bay in Upland, would sign on Fylgia. But when Fylgia was ready for departure and it was arranged that the two Chefs swapped ships.

Today

After 100+ years the wreck is now very tattered. The top is, at times only a few feet below the water surface and extends down to the relatively shallow seabed. There are however still large sections intact and many timber planks from the cargo are still contained within the outline of the wreck. There are videos available on YouTube showing divers investigating the remains of the Fylgia

A small curio shop containing nautical items nearby the wreck site has some artifacts from the wreck that were salvaged over time

Location

The wreck is adjacent Högkallaren near Gräsö, east coast central Sweden

GPS Coordinates : N 60° 31.161′ – E 18° 30.287′ click for exact location of the sinking on google maps

the other Fylgias

The steel steamship Talavera was launched from the Walker yard of William Dobson, Newcastle on 27th April 1889. In 1917 she was purchased by Rederi A/B Svenska Lloyd, Gothenburg in 1917 who renamed her Fylgia. Unfortunately their ownership was to be short lived as she was to become a victim of the German U-boat’ s ongoing attacks in the North Sea. On 24th January 1918 she was en route from Gothenburg to Rouen with a general cargo of iron, steel and wood under the command of her captain M V Edstrom. Fylgia suffered a direct hit from the single torpedo fired from UC-49 and sank quickly. Three crew were lost. https://www.scottishshipwrecks.com/fylgia/

Another Fylgia, built in 1922 of Porvoo Finland Captained by Arne Lönnqvist also struck rocks and sunk in December 1955 at Borgsbredan just before Headskär in Sweden, only 100 kilometers south approximately from the Fylgia sinking in 1924

There was also the Swedish Navy Armored Cruiser Fylgia (officially HM Fylgia). She was launched at Finnboda shipyard in 1905 and delivered to the Navy in 1907. The ship was decommissioned in 1953. The Fylgia was 115.1 m long, and the beam was 14.8 m. The displacement was 4,310/4,980 tons. Speed: 21.5 knots. Complement: 322 men. On 12 December 1927, HM Fylgia collided with the Brazilian cargo ship SS Itapura at Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. All crew were safe and the HM Fylgia was repaired.

Fylgias crew list

Memorials to the victims

Oscar had been the Captain or Master of several ships before the Fylgia, in 1919 he was Master of the Steamship Domald, and between 1920 to 1921 he was Master of the Steamship Graecia.

Facts

Built in 1918-19 Limhamns Shipyards Company Limited
  New Building: 12
  Ordered: October 1 1917
  Launched: December 20 1918
  Delivered: May 17, 1919
  Client and Owner: Rederiaktiebolaget Swedish Lloyd, Gothenburg
  Ship Construction type: Steel
  Registration Number: 6126
  Signal: KBSQ
  Tonnage: 1 526.55 1 069,68 GRT NRT 2350 DWT Below deck: 1183.64
  Dimensions: 72.94 x 11:58 x 4.98 meters depth in the room: 5.01 m
  Home port: Gothenburg
  Machine: 3-cyl. Triple Steam Engine 700 on the IHK, the yard’s own
  Place: 1.2 m ground a cable length N of Högkallegrundet, Gräsö
  Load: 427 std in the Wood in rummet/265 std Wood Deck. And 10,496 kg cargo (16 m3)

Sources

• References include article written by Goran Nilsson http://www.sportdykare.se/dykplatser/16130/fylgia-ss-hogkallaren.html
• Source: http://www.divecorner.se/sidor/index35.html
• http://stigsandelin.öregrund.se/fylgia.htm
• Ingvar Henricson http://www.gavledraget.se/Ingvar_H/Gerda.pdf
• Details provided from Oscar Plomgren’s Grandson, Bengt Plomgren
• and General Google sources
• Compiled Jeff Meurer

30/8/2011