Brass bolts identify 1860s British shipwreck off Inkoo

The Finnish Heritage Agency has identified a shipwreck off Inkoo as the British sailing ship Bedford, which sank in 1865, Yle reports.

Launched in Sunderland, England, in January 1864, the vessel was about 45 metres long. It made its maiden voyage to Hong Kong and sank less than two years later while sailing from St Petersburg to Amur with a cargo of 6,000 sacks of rye flour.

In October 1865, strong winds drove the Bedford onto a shoal near Rönnskär, where Finnish pilots came to help. All 19 crew members were rescued, and some of the flour was later recovered. After the wreck, the ship drifted toward Inkoo and struck a skerry.

Maritime archaeologists identified the wreck through archival records and features found during dives. Its bolts were made of brass rather than the iron more commonly used for fastenings, and its knees, which support the hull’s structure, were made of iron rather than wood.

Material analysis confirmed that two recovered bolts were brass. The metal became more widely used in shipbuilding after the 1840s. The wreck’s characteristics matched records of the Bedford’s sinking near the discovery site. The Finnish Heritage Agency is completing its final report on the find.