Akka Wreck

"History The Akka was built in Gothenburg, Sweden, in July 1942. Registered in Stockholm, measuring 133 metres in length with a beam of 17 metres and a draught of 7.75 metres. She was a cargo ship with six large holds covered by eight hatches. Her main deck was steel plated with a shelter deck beneath She was capable of speeds up to 12.5 knots, driven by 85 lbs. of pressure from two six cylinder oil engines. Her net weight was 3,053 tons with a gross weight of 5,409 tons. Amidships was her main superstructure above the engine room, this consisted of the galley, crew's mess rooms, hospital room. Behind these were the 1st and 2nd Engineers and Chief Engineers cabins. Flights of stairs on either side of the hull, led up to the lounge and saloon, to the sides around the funnel housing were officers cabins. Her main mast rose up from the rear of this. The next deck up being the boat deck where two lifeboats were swung from davits either side of the funnel, for'ard were the Captains quarters, above which the bridge deck was situated. The Akka came to grief after the steering failed following a course change, the engines were stopped, but the momentum carried her well on to the Gantock Rocks in the Firth of Clyde. The rocks ripped open her hull from hold No.2. The Captain tried to go astern, this only compounded the damage by increasing the hole to include the engine room. Within 3 or 4 minutes she heeled over and sank. Lifeboats did not have time to clear the suction, and the waves helped by the explosions from the boilers, sunk a number of them. Three crew went down with her, three later died and there were 27 survivors Diving The Akka lies in the position 55 56 43.0N 04 54 20.0W. On an even keel to the Northwest side of Dunoon Bank, she lies on a muddy slope facing down river. The Cardinal navigation buoy marking the main shipping channel is about 50 metres Southwest of the Akka's stern. At low water the depth to the bow is about 16 metres and the stern 24 metres. In 1962 a two boat drag wire cleared the waters above the Akka to a depth of approximately 14 metres. The best time to dive the Akka is at high water slack on a neap tide. In mid run the tidal stream can reach up to 2 knots around Dunoon Bank. Visibility can be as good as 10 metres, but still a little gloomy, so a good torch is essential. The holds do not carry anything of interest as she was transporting iron ore at the time of the sinking. The gunwales rise up about three metres from the main deck of the Akka, which affords you some protection against the current. The broken derrick stumps, now covered with sea life, indicate their position before the clearance sweep. Ropes and cables are strewn over the side supporting more sea life. The accommodation quarters amidships are left as a skeleton frame work, as much of the plating and the decking has rotted away. Great care must be taken as the frame work is now rotting and can easily collapse. It is possible to drop down into the hold in front of the bridge and exit through the hole which brought about her demise. One of the derricks has fallen across forward holds numbers two and three, this can be used as a good guide to lead the way to shallower water. Silt can cause a problem inside the wreck, so great care should be taken by properly equipped divers. Many dives can be made due to the size of the wreck." Source: http://www.admiral.org.uk/the_akka.htm Northwest side of Dunoon Bank