British Ship found...

An interesting find off the coast of Vilanova...

Copied and translated from local online newspaper Eix Diari

Four divers have found on the coast of Vilanova i la Geltrú a British steamer sunk during the First World War. The discovery was made about 100 meters deep off the coast of Garraf and the remains correspond to the Birdoswald, which in 1917 was hit by a torpedo from the German U-63 submarine that hit and sank it.

Divers Andrés Rebage Arango, Juan Romero Caneiro, Francisco Calero Obrero and Àngel Caballero Inglés are the madness of the drivers who located the ship, that fishermen on the Garraf coast knew as the Vapor dels Carros. With the help of the historian Josep Maria Castellví, a specialist in ships sunk in the First World War on the Catalan coast, the extraordinary find is brought to light, which places the accident on June 26, 1917, when the ship of steam - dedicated to the transport of hemp - made the trip between Livorno and Cartagena.

From what has been recorded, there were no casualties among the 123 people on board, but the captain was captured by the Germans. The dive that confirmed this story was made in early November and, according to the divers themselves, would be the first expedition to reach the ship and capture images at a depth of about 100 meters, as it is an especially complicated and risky exercise.

The Birdoswald was 110 meters long and was built in 1892.