SS El Grillo
| Company type | Steamship |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipping, Oil tanker |
| Founded | 1922 |
| Founder | Armstrong W. G. & Whitworth Co. Ltd. |
| Fate | Sunk by German air assault on 10 February 1944 |
| Headquarters | Liverpool , United Kingdom |
| Owner | The Bowring Steamship Co. |
SS El Grillo was a British oil tanker that was sunk by a German air assault at Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, on 10 February 1944, with no loss of life.[1][2]
During World War II, Iceland maintained neutrality but was occupied first by Britain in May 1940 and later by the United States in April 1941.[3]
The name "El Grillo" translates from Spanish as "The Cricket".[4]
History
Constructed in 1922 by Armstrong W. G. & Whitworth Co. Ltd., located in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the steamship El Grillo was operated by The Bowring Steamship Co., headquartered in Liverpool.[2][5]
On the day of 10 February 1944, while anchored at Seyðisfjörður carrying bunker oil cargo, the vessel was armed as a Defensively Equipped Merchant Vessel (DEMV), equipped with anti-aircraft weaponry and depth charges.[1]
The ship came under attack from three German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 "Condor" aircraft belonging to I./KG 40 based in occupied Norway, sustaining severe damage.[6] To prevent further risk to itself and other vessels in Seyðisfjörður, the captain chose to scuttle El Grillo.[7]
Wreck
The remains of El Grillo rest upright on the floor of the fjord at Seyðisfjörður, positioned at depths ranging from 22 to 45 metres. It stands as one of Iceland's most frequented diving destinations.
Until the early 2000s, the wreck was still releasing oil. In 2002, a Norwegian firm was contracted to extract approximately 2,000 tonnes of oil that remained onboard. Concurrently, efforts were made to remove unexploded munitions from the vessel. The Icelandic Coast Guard believed that many of the more accessible shells had already been retrieved by scuba divers.
Despite these measures aimed at reducing environmental risks, oil leakage from the wreck has persisted, with the most recent observation recorded in August 2021.
El Grillo beer
In the mid-2000s, Eyþór Þórisson, a restaurateur based in Seyðisfjörður, crafted a beer using his own recipe and named it after the sunken tanker El Grillo. The bottle’s front label displays an image of the ship as it sank, while the reverse label narrates the tanker’s sinking story.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Search and Clearance of Explosive Ordnance from SS El Grillo Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine Icelandic Coast Guard website, published: 26 March 2002, accessed: 17 June 2011
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 C.T. Bowring & Company / Red Cross Line The ship list, accessed: 17 June 2011
- ↑ Gunnar Karlsson, A Brief History of Iceland, published: 2000, page: 59-59, accessed: 17 June 2011
- ↑ Google language translation: El Grillo accessed: 17 June 2011
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWreck - ↑ 10.2.1944 – Nordmeer (in German) Württembergische Landesbibliothek website, accessed: 17 June 2011
- ↑ . www.divethenorth.is EL GRILLO (Wreck) http://www.divethenorth.is/diving/el-grillo-wreck&title=EL GRILLO (Wreck). Retrieved 17 June 2011.
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External links
65°09′N 13°36′W / 65.15°N 13.60°W Template:February 1944 shipwrecks