More information : Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:
18-JAN-1982: Well broken up. No more than a scattering of steel plating. Subject to heavy ground seas. Stands 1.5m high in general depth of 11m. (BSAC Wreck Register, Vol 4). (1)(12)
The wreck was partially salvaged by divers but broke in half on 24-AUG and sank below Bass Point where the greater part still lies. (2)
The MOSEL carrying emigrants drove at full speed in dense fog onto Bass Point. The 620 passengers as well as her crew and valuable specie cargo was saved. Amongst her broken plates concreted cargo items can be recovered. (8)(9)
Very little remains of her but bits of general cargo still surface from time to time. The remains of the LE VIEUX TIGRE almost rest on top of her. (10)
A penknife and some beads have been recovered fron this site. (Droit A/238). (11)
A 16" diameter porthole rim recovered from this wreck, Lizard Point. (Droit A/1997). (11)
4 white china figures approx. 9cm tall in poor condition, possibly table decorations, recovered from this wreck. (Droit A/3213). (11)
3 combs, 2 toothbrushes and a razor recovered from this wreck, 200 metres off Bass Point. (Droit A/3328). (11)
9 penknives, 3 mouth organs, 3 combs, 5 pairs of scissors, 2 nail brushes, 2 reels each of cotton and string, and a bale of cotton cloth recovered from this wreck, off the Lizard. (Droit A/4411). (11)
A lead pipe, a tin ingot, a valve, 9 concretions with various contents, a pair of scissors, 6 mouth organs, beads and buttons, 5 penknives and a brass fitting recovered from this wreck, off the Lizard. (Droit A/4463). (11)
Seen to lie approximately 84 metres due east of Bass Point. (13)
A binnacle, a compass and a gimbal recovered from the wreck of the MOSEL were sold at auction in 2002. (14)
Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:
' . . . drove ashore at 8 o'clock on Wednesday morning in thick fog whilst steaming at 13 knots. She struck immediately below the Lizard signal station which fired two rockets to summon the Lizard lifeboat, messages also being telegraphed to Falmouth for tugs. Five tugs, two lifeboats and numerous small craft all assisted to land the passengers without loss of life. At the same time the mail and specie on board were conveyed to Falmouth by the ROSETTA steam tug and the following day divers carried out an inspection. They reported her bottom smashed from stern to foremast, and that the sea was now over the main deck as far forward as the mainmast at low water. The Liverpool Independence Salvage Co. has arrived and pumps are now being inserted with the intention of refloating her . . . All the cargo saved is being forwarded to Falmouth . . . Work continues to refloat her . . . The ship parted in two at dusk and now a total wreck (2nd September, 7.40pm). (3)(4)
'The largest steamer that, so far as is remembered, ever came ashore in the neighbourhood of the Lizard . . . The North German Lloyd steamer MOSEL, bound from Bremen via Southampton to New York, with six hundred passengers and about one hundred crew on board, left Southampton at four o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, and in running down Channel in a thick fog, by same means, she got on the rocks immediately below the Lizard signal station. At the time she struck it is stated that the steamer was going at the rate of thirteen knots an hour, and so great was the concussion that the report was heard for a considerable distance. The high rate of speed at which the steamer was being impelled sent her three or four hundred yards on the flat ledge of rocks jutting out into the sea from the point of the beast, where she remains with several degrees list to the port and with her bottom very seriously damaged. The MOSEL is about 2000 tons burthen, and is beautifully fitted up and provided with every accomodation. Her commander is Captain Hesser and, with very few exceptions, the whole of the passengers and crew on board were Germans . . . ' (5)
MOSEL carried 620 passengers and a valuable cargo of specie, mail and 400 tons of English woollen goods when she struck Bass Point, in fog, directly beneath the Lloyd's signal station. Bullion, mail and some passengers were taken off and some of the cargo later transferred to tugs standing by. Soon after a fire broke out and the crew and remaining passengers abandoned the ship and were landed safely. (2)
Built: 1872 (3)(4)
Builder: Caird (3)(4)
Propulsion: Screw driven, 2 cylinder compound engines (3)(4)
Master: Julius Hesse (3)(4)
Crew: 115 (3)(4)
Passengers: 613 (3)(4)
Owner: Norddeutsher Lloyd (3)(4)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
LR 1880-1 No.1286 (M)
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