Overview

• The wreck was located 246 feet below sea level off Plymouth by diver Dominic Robinson and his team.
• A broken plate bearing the Cunard Steamship Company logo provided definitive proof that the vessel is the SS Nantes, built in Glasgow in 1874.
• The Nantes collided with the German sailing ship Theodor Ruger in November 1888 and sank roughly ten hours later despite the crew’s use of mattresses to plug hull breaches.
• Only three crew members survived the tragedy after the coal-laden freighter en route from Liverpool to Le Havre went down.
• The June 2025 announcement follows a 2024 dive that first pinpointed the site and offers closure to descendants and maritime historians.