Secrets of a 300-Year-Old Shipwreck

The pilot blamed its sinking on the crew being drunk, and now archaeologists have discovered even more about the doomed Providentz vessel

- ARISTOS GEORGIOU

RESEARCHERS HAVE SHED NEW LIGHT ON A sunken ship lost in the 18th century off the coast of Norway in intriguing circumstances.

The wreck of the Providentz was discovered in late 2020 in the sea near the town of Mandal-located in the south of the country-around 300 years after its sinking. Investigations conducted earlier this year have now yielded fresh insights into the vessel.

The Providentz was an Irish merchant ship that sailed out of Cork harbor in Ireland bound for Arendal, Norway, on September 22, 1721.

At the time, the ship, which belonged to the influential Lavit family of Cork, was laden with a cargo of butter, corn, grain and malt, according to archaeologist Sarah Fawsitt.

On October 16, the vessel arrived close to Mandal, where it waited for better weather conditions before completing its journey. A couple of weeks later, a local pilot came on board to help guide the ship safely back out to sea-a normal practice.

But despite fine weather and ample moonlight on the early morning of November 9, the ship grounded among the islets and reefs off Mandal, ripping a hole in the port side of the vessel. The Providentz quickly sank, although the crew managed to escape unharmed.