The missing ship was found after 111 years

Sydney. The Glenbank wreck lay on the seabed for 111 years before a group of West Australian fishermen discovered it. For although it is known that the Finnish ship sank in a storm, its final abode is still unknown.

There is a dramatic story of survival: when a freighter went down off the coast of Western Australia in stormy weather in 1911, only a 22-year-old sailor managed to save himself. Andil Kitala (Anti Ketola) was engaged in fraud with a third mate when disaster struck and the ship sank.

A lone survivor

After confusion and panic, only Kitala, the third mate and the ship’s cook were afloat. As with “Glenbank,” the remaining 24 board members also disappeared. When a huge wave crashes over the three survivors, Kitala is suddenly completely alone. Only the young Finnish sailor returned. He never saw his two companions again.

Kitala clung to a piece of wood and ended up washing up on Legendre Island off the coast of Western Australia. He had to survive there for three days – he lived on raw shellfish – until finally a pearl boat found him and rescued him.

The film crew solved the mystery

The wreck disappeared for more than 100 years, although one survived in Kitala. A group of Western Australian fishermen spotted a 73-metre-long vessel in Dampier Marine Park off the coast of Western Australia. Press release Disney+ streaming service and the Western Australian Museum. The discovery was reported to the Western Australian Museum by the Disney+ crew filming the series Shipwreck Hunters Australia. Its archaeologists finally confirmed the ship’s origin and identity.

Wreck Hunter: “It was incredibly exciting for us”

In the series, the filmmakers tell the story of a cargo ship built in Scotland and its crew, all but Kitala, who lost their lives. “It was incredibly exciting for us when we first found the ship,” said Johnny Debnam of Shipwreck Hunters Australia.

They surveyed the ship and filmed the underwater “huge wreckage” as sharks, turtles, dolphins and other marine life swam around them. “The team was able to interpret important evidence on the seabed,” Debnam said. Combined with research in the archives, they succeeded in uncovering the “unbelievable story of the ship”.

Unsecured cargo turned out to be the ship’s undoing

Glenbank once called Balla Balla in Western Australia in November 1910 to transport copper ore from the fifth continent to Britain. The ship’s crew consisted of more than 20 sailors – including Russians, Norwegians and Finns – who were under the command of Captain Fredrik Moberg. The team’s research and accumulated evidence suggest that Glenbank sank due to unsafe inventory of copper ore. During a heavy storm the cargo slipped and the ship capsized relatively quickly. The hull and deck were apparently broken.

According to Western Australian Museum marine archaeologist Deb Sheffey, the “Glen Bank” discovery is an important piece of the puzzle for better understanding the history of world trade at the turn of the century. As the archaeologist put it, he gives voice to “those who tragically lost their lives on that fateful day in 1911.” The weather, which was unusually good for the year, allowed him to record measurements and details that helped shed light on the tragic shipwreck, the researcher said.

The film crew documenting the discovery also found Matti Latva-Banula, Kitala’s grandson, in Finland as part of their research. He is now in his eighties and doesn’t even know that his grandfather had such an amazing past. “When he lived back in Finland, he never talked about it,” Latva-Banula said. “We don’t even know what happened to Auntie.” From now on, however, the story will “live on” in the family, said the Finnish descendants of the shipwreck’s only survivor. “All children and grandchildren will know about it.”