SL/E/BATT/M/18

This shipwreck is positioned at a maximum depth of 9m, about 3km off the coast of Navaladi, an area which is about 4km north of Batticaloa town. Constructed by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Howdon-On-Tyne (England), SS Sir John Jackson was employed as a cargo ship by Westminster Shipping Co. Ltd (London) starting from 1905. This iron-hulled vessel weighed 4231t and was 109.7m (360ft) in length and 14.6m (48ft) in breadth. The hull depth of the ship was 6.1m (20ft). Powered by triple-expansion steam engines with a single propeller, this vessel was of 372-horsepower and could reach a speed up to 12 nautical miles per hour. Having five boilers was the speciality of SS Sir John Jackson, which is the only such equipped steam ship found so far by the Maritime Archaeology Unit of Galle (MAU) within Sri Lanka.

On the 27^th of September 1908, the ship was on a voyage from Saigon (present-day Ho Chi Minh city of Vietnam) to Bordeaux (France) carrying a cargo of rice and maize. Since SS Sir John Jackson was in shortage of coal, the vessel was en route to Sri Lanka to fulfil their requirement and wrecked at the ‘Brennus Shoal reef’. Presently, the Bow (front) and Stern (rear) sections of the vessel can be clearly identified and the propeller and its shaft are also preserved at the wreck site.

dimensions : 109.7 x 14.6 x 6.1 m 

engine : 1 x 3-cyl. triple expansion steam engine, single shaft, 1 screw 

tonnage:  4231  grt , power:  372  n.h.p. , speed:  12  knots 

builder:  Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Howdon-On-Tyne ,   owner:  Westminster Shipping Co. Ltd. - Sir John Jackson, London