Paris
15 February 1941
In transit from Blyth to
London with a cargo of coal the 1,509
ton, 250foot long steamship Paris
was built at Copenhagen in 1927
for the Currie Line. The Paris
suffered a collision with the
Danish vessel "Selvik"
as two convoys came together. The
"Selvik" was said to be
traveling at great speed but was
not badly damaged. Towed to Mill
Beck and grounded there, the
"Paris "soon became a
total wreck. The "Selvik"
survived the war and was broken
up in 1955.
The Paris was stripped to
the waterline by a professional
team, however the bronze
propeller was not removed and
remained for many years. Local
diver Dick Fewster remembers that
if he stood on the tip of the
prop' his head was out of the
water. It was at some point cut
off by divers and taken,
presumably for scrap.
Little remains today of
the Paris apart from a few bent
steel plates, bits of machinery
and her single boiler which once
powered the 132hp 3-cylinder
triple expansion engine. On a low
tide the boiler can be seen
breaking the surface off the
scaurs at Mill Beck. The fitting
on the upper side of the boiler
has caused damage to several
unwary fishing boats over the
years!
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