P & O Liner Oceana

P & O Oceana

The 6.610 ton P & O Liner Oceana was built in 1888, She was 468ft long and had a Beam of 52ft. Whilst en route from London to Bombay with 40 passenger and a complement of 210 crew she was sunk on 16th March 1912 after colliding with the Pisagna, a 2850-ton Germen 4 masted steel barque. The Pisagna herself did not sink but was towed into Dover for repairs. Nine of the Oceana’s crew were drowned when their lifeboat capsized.

This has got to be one of the most interesting wrecks on the south coast, She rests in only 24mtrs of water at low tide and in places stands 10mtrs high.

The wreck rests on an even keel with the bows being upright and mostly intact, as you work your way back towards the stern all the superstructure has collapsed down but the sides of the vessel are still ship shape. As you get towards the engine room you come across an amazing sight, there are 4 boilers sat in pairs slap bang in the middle of the wreck, these huge round lumps of metal still in perfect condition if sunk only yesterday. Around the boilers there are big troughs full of scallop shell, mostly empty now. As you pass the boilers you are met by this huge upright structure which stands some 10mtrs high, it is infact the ships 7000hp triple expansion engines.

Every diver will find something of interest on this dive, Whether it will be the sea life of crabs, lobsters, scallops or the many species of fish that have made it their home, or portholes that are still in place or maybe even one off the silver bars & gold ingots that were left over from the ships cargo of £747.110 worth of gold and silver ingots when the ship was salvaged.

The Oceana sits on a gravel seabed and usually has good visibility.