Wreck of RV Belgica
Shipwreck site
- Position
- About 68.8° N, 16.5° E (within about 10 km)
- Sank
- —
- Cause
- —
- Depth
- —
Protection status
Location generalised to protect a war grave
The position shown is generalised to within about 10 km. The exact position is not published.
A military vessel lost in 1940, during a world war, by enemy action. Wrecks lost in war are treated as war graves.
This wreck may be the last resting place of those who died aboard. Please treat it with respect.
How this was decided: Voydar's protection rules, from the sources we hold, confidence 85%. When in doubt, Voydar generalises the position.
Belgica was a barque-rigged steamship that was built in 1884 by Christian Brinch Jørgensen at Svelvik, Norway as the whaler Patria. In 1896, she was purchased by Adrien de Gerlache for conversion to a research ship, taking part in the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1901, becoming the first ship to overwinter in the Antarctic. In 1902, she was sold to Philippe, Duke of Orléans and used on expeditions to the Arctic in 1905 and from 1907 to 1909. In 1916, she was sold and converted to a passenger and cargo ship, serving Spitsbergen from the Norwegian mainland under the name Isfjord. In 1918, she was sold and renamed Belgica, being converted to a factory ship. Requisitioned by the British in April 1940, she was used as a depôt ship, being scuttled when the Franco-British Expeditionary Force evacuated Harstad in northern Norway.
History from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA.
About this wreck
RV Belgica is a recorded shipwreck site. Voydar shows wreck locations alongside live ship traffic, free, from Wikidata and public hydrographic records.
Use this data
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