A UK diving team has begun work to identify a century-old shipwreck in Langstone Harbor, Portsmouth.
The operation is funded by a Portsmouth City Council grant through the Portsmouth 100 program. The program aims to celebrate the city’s centenary and promote local heritage.
The team aims to confirm whether the remains are those of the dredger Withern, which reportedly sank in 1926. The wreck’s identity remains uncertain because another dredger, the Witham, went down nearby in 1912 under similar circumstances, and both vessels were lost while moored in the harbor.
The team conducted dives earlier this month and plans further dives in July and August. The team believes that the site raises more questions than answers. Contemporary accounts of the sinking imply the vessel settled overnight with no crew aboard, leaving the circumstances of its loss unclear.
The team hopes that modern survey methods and underwater archaeology techniques will finally resolve the mystery and bring a forgotten piece of Portsmouth’s maritime past back into public view.
According to Riley Conway, a member of the Nautical Archaeology Society’s Sub-Aqua Club:
“This project is about more than just a wreck. It’s about uncovering a piece of Portsmouth’s history that’s been lost for 100 years and sharing it with the community.”
