MV Akka
{{short description|Swedish cargo ship and Scottish dive site}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Akka 1942 Grängesberg–Oxelösund.tif |Ship caption= Akka under way, probably in the Scheldt }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= Sweden |Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Sweden}} |Ship name= Akka |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= Trafik Ab Grängesberg–Oxelösunds |Ship operator= {{lang|sv|M Waldenström|italic=no}} |Ship registry= Stockholm |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= A/B Götaverken |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= 568 |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= 6 May 1942 |Ship sponsor= 26 July 1942 |Ship completed= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship refit= |Ship identification= *{{IMO Number|3008535}}
|Ship fate= ran aground, 1956 |Ship status= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type= cargo ship |Ship tonnage= {{GRT|5409}}, {{NRT|3553}}, {{DWT|8960}} |Ship displacement= |Ship length= *{{cvt|442|ft|10|in|1|abbr=on}} overall
|Ship beam= {{cvt|56.7|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship draught= {{cvt|25|ft|10+3/4|in|abbr=on|2}} |Ship depth= {{cvt|24.3|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship decks= 1 |Ship power= *6-cylinder {{lang|sv|Götaverken|italic=no}} diesel |Ship propulsion= 1 × screw |Ship speed= {{convert|12|kn|km/h}} |Ship capacity= |Ship crew= 1956: 33 |Ship sensors= *as built: wireless direction finding
|Ship notes= sister ships: Sarek, Sagged, Suorva, Saivo }} |
MV Akka was a Swedish cargo motor ship that was built in Gothenburg in 1942. In 1956 she ran aground in the Firth of Clyde. Six of her 33 crew were killed. Her wreck, off Dunoon, is now a wreck diving site.
''Akka''-class ships
Akka was the lead ship of a class of five single-screw motor ships that A/B Götaverken built for Trafikaktiebolaget Grängesberg–Oxelösunds between 1942 and 1944. Her sister ships were Sarek; Sagged; Suorva; and Saivo.{{cite web |title=M/S Akka |work=Fakta om Fartyg |language=sv |access-date=15 May 2025 |url= https://faktaomfartyg.se/akka_1942.htm}}
Building and registration
{{lang|sv|Götaverken|italic=no}} built Akka as yard number 568. She was launched on 6 May 1942, and completed on 29 July. Her lengths were {{cvt|442|ft|10|in|abbr=on}} overall{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1955|loc=Akebono Maru Mo. 8}} and {{cvt|434.5|ft|abbr=on}} registered. Her beam was {{cvt|56.7|ft|abbr=on}}; her depth was {{cvt|24.3|ft|abbr=on}}; and her draught was {{cvt|25|ft|10+3/4|in|abbr=on|2}}. Her tonnages were {{GRT|5409}}; {{NRT|3553}};{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1943|loc=AKI–ALA}} and {{DWT|8960}}.
Her single screw was driven by a six-cylinder, single-acting, two-stroke diesel engine. It was rated at 744 NHP{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1943|loc=AKI–ALA}} or 4,200 bhp, and gave her a speed of {{convert|12|kn|km/h}}.
Akka was equipped with wireless direction finding.{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1943|loc=AKI–ALA}} By 1948, she was equipped with radar.{{sfn|Lloyd's Register 1948|loc=AKB–AKS}}
{{lang|sv|Grängesberg–Oxelösunds|italic=no}} registered Akka in Stockholm. Her Swedish official number was 8535, and call sign SFMN. When IMO Numbers were introduced, hers was 3008535.
Loss
On 4 April 1956, Akka left Oxelösund for Glasgow with a cargo of iron ore. On 9 April she entered the Firth of Clyde. At about 21:00 hrs that evening, her steering gear failed, which led to her grounding her on the Gantocks. Her port side had been holed for almost half her length, and water was rapidly filling her number two hold. Master, Captain Sundin, ordered her engines reversed, but this only hastened the ingress of water to her holds and engine room.{{cite web |url= https://www.scottishshipwrecks.com/akka/ |title=Akka |website=Scottish Shipwrecks |date=17 February 2017 |access-date=15 May 2025}}{{cite web |last=Macdonald |first=Rod |title=MV Akka |work=Shipwrecks of Scotland |url= http://www.rod-macdonald.co.uk/index.php/Scottish-Wrecks/mv-akka.html |access-date=15 May 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220031755/http://www.rod-macdonald.co.uk/index.php/Scottish-Wrecks/mv-akka.html |archive-date=20 December 2016 |url-status=dead}}
Captain Sundin gave the order to abandon ship. Within three or four minutes of striking the rocks, Akka heeled over to port, and sank. This caused a swell, which swamped those lifeboats that had been launched, and throwing their occupants into the sea. Three crewmen were killed on the scene, and a further three died on the way to hospital.
Wreck
Akka lay on the seabed, with only her two mastheads showing above the surface of the sea. Three months later, a passing fishing boat collided with her wreck. Metal Industries, Limited of Gare Loch then removed her masts, and the upper two levels of her bridge superstructure, to eliminate the hazard to navigation. The rest of the wreck lies intact on an even keel. The seabed is {{convert|30|m}} below the sea surface at her bow, and {{convert|40|m}} below the surface at her stern.
Akka is the largest shipwreck in the Firth of Clyde that divers can reach by using compressed air. Divers can explore much of the wreck, but risks include disturbance to the mud causing poor visibility. The wreck is rich in fauna, including sea anemones; hydroids; nudibranches; sea squirts; and many species of fish. Seals are frequent visitors.
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |year=1943 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=II.–Steamers and Motorships of 300 tons. Trawlers, Tugs, Dredgers, etc. Sailing Vessels. |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Southampton City Council |url= https://plimsoll.southampton.gov.uk/shipdata/pdfs/43/43b0041.pdf |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1943}} }}
- {{cite book |year=1948 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I. A–L. Steamers, Motorships, Sailing Vessels, &c. |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1949AL/page/n65/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1948}} }}
- {{cite book |year=1955 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I Register of Ships |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |via=Internet Archive |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1956/page/n68/mode/1up |ref={{harvid|Lloyd's Register 1955}} }}
- {{cite book |last=Macdonald |first=Rod |year=1993 |title=Dive Scotland's Greatest Wrecks |place=Edinburgh |publisher=Mainstream Publishing |isbn=978-1851585328}}
{{1956 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akka}}
{{coord missing|Scotland}}
Category:Cargo ships of Sweden
Category:Maritime incidents in 1956
Category:Ships built in Gothenburg