SCREW PROPELLER OF 1917 SHIPWRECK OF SS BELEM CORNWALL

A large metal screw propeller of the 1917 SS Belem shipwreck is revealed after storms and a very low spring tide (on 20 Mar 2015)It is somewhat incongruous with its beautiful but treacherous natural coastal surroundings. The 1,925 ton Portuguese steamship SS Belem (formerly the German SS Rhodos) became stranded and wrecked in thick fog near Northcott Mouth, Cornwall, SW England, UK on 20th November 1917 while on passage from Gibraltar to Barry with ballast. The crew of 33 including two Royal Navy gunners (she was armed with a light gun aft), were brought ashore by rocket apparatus. She soon broke her back and was deemed a total loss, being later mostly broken up for scrap. The ship's remains are rarely visible unless heavy seas erode the deep covering sand and there are very low tides .

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