Rosalie Moller

The 3963 ton, 115 metre long ship began life in the ship yards of BARCLAY and CURLE, at Glasgow as the FRANCIS in 1910. In 1931 she was sold to the Reederei Moller Line of Skandinavia and reregistered in Shanghai under the British flag. For the next few years she operated along the east coast of China between Shanghai and Tsingtao, until in 1938 with war on the horizon she was recalled to Liverpool and under the new command of Captain James Balsom she undertook collier duties, delivering coal to Royal Navy bases.

Constructed: 1910 (Glasgow, Scotland)
Wrecked: 1941
Length of ship: 115m (377ft)
Wreck location: Between Gobal & Quisum Islands, Egypt.
Depth range of wreck: 20m to 46m

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Final Voyage

When war broke out she made several successful trips running the gauntlet to Gibraltar. In 1941, after a much needed overhaul, she left Britain bound for Alexandria, via the Cape of Good Hope, with yet another cargo of coal. With the Gibraltar straits closed due to the Axis forces there was no access via the Mediterranean, so the longer route via the cape had to be undertaken. Stopping at Durban and Aiden on route, she finally entered the Straits of Gobul, in the Egyptian Red Sea, and was ordered to anchorage H to await further instructions.

In the early hours of Oct 8th 1941, two days after the sinking of the Thistlegorm, she was at anchor in the area between Gobal and Quisum Islands (designated anchorage H). It was here that she was attacked by a staffel of HEINKEL 111 bombers. Two bombs exploded in number 4 hold causing heavy damage in the starboard quarter. She rapidly filled with water and began to settle. The weight of her cargo plus the water kept her in a level attitude. She sank quickly with the loss of only two lives, the survivors taking to the lifeboats.

Discovering the Wreck

In one official report she is listed as having been raised and salvaged at the end of the war. However, it was rumours of a 'sister ship' of the Thistlegorm and conflicting reports of a vessel named St. Francis (Francis was her original name) which lead us to look for the ship. An old map marked with 'Anchorage H' gave us a starting point; that clue had come from the HMSO publication of British Vessels lost at sea 1939-45. After months of searching we found her intact, upright and in pristine condition.

The Wreck Today

She now lies on a sandy, muddy bottom with her Titanic like bow down into the sand - truly a magnificent sight. The port anchor is up and the starboard down. Her forepeak, complete with winch gears and deckhouses, can be easily explored. There is the traditional lamp and paint room.

Access to the crews quarters still eludes us - the entrance is well concreted with a skin of coral. There is no foc’sle due to her design. Both masts stand proud and straight - the substantial cross bracing makes a perfect shelter for many hundreds of glass fish - and are flanked with winches. The foremast boasts a magnificent crows nest in 22mtrs. Fish shoal around the cross bearers and the mast bases make superb photo studios.

Moving aft, the bridge is alive with glass fish. It is easy to swim from room to room or down the inboard companionways (once the local inhabitants permit entry), as all the wooden floors and bulk heads have long since rotted away. Officers and engineer's rooms, dispensary and doctors room are all on the deck level. The captain's quarters and dining room are above. The wooden wheelhouse has gone. Slabs of concrete, serving as armoured plating, hang precariously above. All the timber has rotted away making access very easy. Brass fittings, lamps and porthole drip trays lie buried in the silt, which has accumulated over the years due to the lack of current.

The single funnel has sadly toppled over, dragged there by a grapple from some skipper incapable of locating the wreck correctly. Most handrails are intact and the lifeboat davits are swung out shrouded in a ghostly cloud of silversides. A poignant vision.

The in board companionways separate the saloon from the guests quarters and likewise the engineers accommodation. Again all the wooden divisions have long gone. A deck galley sits proud, complete with 16 portholes in its ventilators, and there are store rooms with several axles within. The engine room at 46 metres is totally intact with gauges still in place and is easily accessible. The low pressure pot had us confused for a while, as lying on top of it was a porthole. Metal from the bomb blast has damaged the skylight above the engine room knocking the porthole out to where it lies today. The engine room is a sight to behold, intact handrails, workshops, gauges, telegraph all as they were the day she sank. So much to explore, but time and deco considerations are never on our side.

Many of the workshops still retain an air of working life; pots and pans await the next meal in galleys, bulk head lamps waiting to be serviced in the workshops. Sadly many of these items have now 'disappeared' due to a minority of light fingered divers.

The holds still contain her cargo of coal. The damage to her starboard quarter is evident but the stern is intact and the steering assembly plain to see. The steering boss and metal hoop are all that remain of the huge wooden wheel, long since devoured by marine worms.

Over the stern section is a metal framework, once covered in canvas. It acted as a foul weather canopy. There is a second galley below the aft lifeboat deck; added when she was refitted in 1939, and aft of the 5th hold is a ‘tween deck with store rooms which included a potato room and a post room! Most of the handrails are still intact here and hard corals have encrusted many surfaces.

If the bow section is the land of the grouper, then the stern belongs to over sized lionfish and big eyes. Large shoals of fish including tuna, jacks and snapper can be found around the wreck. Because of the limited bottom time it takes several dives to fully appreciate this wreck and great care must be taken due to the depth and sometimes reduced visibility. Good planning and surface support is required for this challenging dive.

The extra skills and experience needed to dive this wreck, plus a crew with equal abilities, should help keep this beautiful ship wreck safe from the desecration that thoughtless divers and guides have bestowed on her 'sister ship' the Thistlegorm. Long may she rest in one piece.

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