Israel Holds First Memorial Dive for Seven British Sailors Lost Near Nahariya 115 Years Ago
A formal memorial ceremony was held on Thursday morning approximately 900 meters off the coast of Nahariya, Israel, at a depth of about 10 meters, to honor seven British sailors who perished 115 years ago when their merchant ship sank. The event marked the first official remembrance of the crew members who died in the 1911 wreck of the British coal steamer Ardo. Attendees included Tom Thaps, the British Deputy Ambassador to Israel, divers from the Putzker Diving Club in Gesher Haziv, and underwater photographer Amir Weitzman from AQUAZOOM.
For decades, Israeli divers and fishermen believed the wreck site was that of an old Turkish ship. However, a chance archival discovery revealed last year that the ship was actually British. Marine archaeologist Prof. Ehud (Udi) Galili and Weitzman uncovered documents about a trial involving the captain of the Ardo, which had run aground on a kurkar reef during a storm in December 1911 while carrying about 10,000 tons of coal from Newport, England, to Haifa. The captain mistook the lights of the village of Az-Zib (Achziv) for Haifa’s port lights, leading to the grounding. During rescue attempts, a lifeboat capsized, causing the deaths of seven crew members.
The ship’s iron hull remained visible above water for decades until the Israeli Navy blew it up in the 1960s to clear navigation routes. Following the archival revelation, Weitzman contacted the British Embassy to organize the memorial dive. The Deputy Ambassador participated in the underwater ceremony, placing a wreath on the rusty boilers of the wreck and describing the experience as "fantastic" and a meaningful tribute to the sailors’ memory.
Weitzman and the divers hope to locate relatives of the lost sailors to invite them to a larger future memorial event. The ceremony not only honored the sailors but also corrected the historical record about the shipwreck, which had been mistakenly identified for years. The event highlighted the collaboration between historians, divers, and diplomats in preserving maritime heritage and commemorating those lost at sea.
