Nil

Grounded as a result of dense fog that covered the entire Galician coast, the boat, disoriented, anchored in an area five metres deep from where it called for help because it did not know its position. On board were 20 crew members and 12 passengers; all were saved.

At first, the Nil’s valuable cargo was taken by the locals who flocked to Arou beach. There were automobiles, machinery, fabric, silk, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, flour, champagne and cement travelling from Bordeaux (France) to Dakar (Senegal) and Bathrust (Gambia).

The Nil captain, Huarsch, went so far as to fire his pistol at a group of people, injuring one of them. It was even necessary to call in two fishing steamships so that, on board, the authorities could keep watch over the shipwreck. On the 21st, the gunboat Dato was dispatched from Ferrol to protect the sunken ship from pillage.

The Guardia Civil and the police soon began to seize goods that were already in the commercial circuit of the region. Finally, the cargo was recovered and the Nil was scrapped.

Characteristics

Steam, triple expansion, 10 knots, 2,769 GRT, 91.4 x 13.4 m (91.4 x 13.4 m).

Built: 1920, Pusey & Jones, Wilmington (Delaware) No. 1012. Steel hull.