Maritime record LWT 825 - Wreck of the Barkis

Broken remains of the 1976 wreck of an English motor tug which capsized and foundered while trying to tow another vessel into Lowestoft Harbour. Her remains lie just a mile NE of the Harbour.
Status: Site

Vertical datum: LAT
Horizontal datum: WGS 84
Quality of fix: Surveyed using DGPS located using echo-sounder.
Charted as BARKIS, 'notable debris' in the Marine zone.

Vessel structure:

'Area of broken wreckage' in position 52°28.57N, 001°46.28E at a depth of 4m in a general depth of 6m. (1)

Sonar dimensions: 10 x 5 x 2m. Orientation: 150°. Strong magnetic anomaly with 'smaller contacts within 90m of the wreck'. (1)

She was dispersed in 1977 (1, 14.1.77)

Documentary evidence:

'Steel hull, oil engine, single shaft. Capsized and sank following a collision while attempting to tow mv JUPITER into Lowestoft. One man lost. Later dispersed.' (1)

'Capsized leaving her bow showing above the surface. Three of her four crew were saved by the pilot boat, the fourth man lost. The wreck was later blown up as a navigational hazard.' (2)

'A second Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain/Mechanic Thomas Victor Knott for the rescue of three crew from the capsized tug Barkis. His son, Michael Knott, was awarded a Framed Letter of Thanks.' (3)

Where, when built and by whom are not known.
Propulsion: Screw-driven oil engine. (2)
Crew: 4 (2)
Crew lost: 1 (2)

No further information about the vessel can be found.

Date of loss qualifier: Actual date of loss