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PORT-VENDRES

Epave du Saumur

Along with L'Alice Robert and L'Astrée, Le Saumur is certainly one of the most beautiful wrecks on the Côte Vermeille.

Round trip

Wreck

Set off safely under the supervision of scuba diving professionals from all the ports on the Côte Vermeille.
Argelès-sur-Mer: Argelès Plongée: 06 78 48 76 30 / 06 83 89 96 90 - Residence Santa Maria Rue des Matelots Aquatile Diving: 06 16 51 31 06 - Residence Atalaya 2 Place Magellan Archipel Plongée: 04 68 95 71 03 / 06 25 59 35 77 - 8 Résidence les Villégiales La Sirène Plongée: 04 68 81 60 58 – Camping la Sirène, route de Taxo Collioure: CIP Collioure: 04 68 82 07 16 - 24 Rue Ravin du Coma Xeric Port-Vendres: Paradise for bubbles: 06 70 55 69 18 - Quai Fanal Tech of Plongée: 06 58 55 41 04 -2 Quai Fanal CAP Port-Vendres: 04 34 12 09 27 - 4 rue Jules Ferry Scuba Passion: 06 07 56 03 73 - Plage des Tamarins Route de la Jetée Banyuls-sur-Mer: Rédéris Diving: 04 68 88 31 66 - Quai A Port Parking Méditerranée AquaBlue Diving: 04 68 88 17 35 - 5 Quai Georges Petit Blue diving: 07 85 75 67 45- 10 quai Georges Petit Cerbère: Aloès Plongée: 06 33 33 18 44 - Résidence les Aloes Cap Peyrefite Plongée Cap Cerbère: 04 68 88 41 00 - Route d'Espagne

The Saumur was a French freighter built in 1920 by the Forth Shipbuilding & Engineering Corporation shipyards in Alloa, Scotland, on behalf of the Société Maritime Auxiliaire de Transport, of Nantes. Measuring 2955 tons, it was 99 meters long and 13 meters wide. It was operated by a crew of 30 sailors.
In 1929, it was bought by the Delmas-Frères and Vieljeux company. Requisitioned by the French State in 1939 to participate in the war effort, it was made available to the Société Maritime Nationale and armed with a cannon. He participated in the Norwegian campaign in 1940, which earned him a summons to the order of the Navy. On December 21, 1942, following the agreement between the Minister of the Vichy regime Pierre Laval and the Reich Commissioner Karl Kaufmann on the provision of the French merchant fleet to the Axis forces, the Saumur passed into German hands. Transferred to the Italians, it was renamed Tolentino. On May 21, 1944, while the Saumur was sailing off the coast of the Pyrénées-Orientales, carrying a cargo of iron ore, it unfortunately crossed paths with the English submarine HMS Upstart. Around 18 p.m. on May 21, the freighter was hit by 2 torpedoes, aft and in the middle, which sent it to the bottom, between Cape Béar and Port-Vendres. Today, the wreck lies upright on its keel in a depth of 46 meters, at the coordinates: latitude 42° 31' 509 N and longitude 3° 08' 018 E. Despite the impacts of the two torpedoes, the ship sank in one piece. The wreck is accessible to supervised N2 divers. (Sea Fortunes and Wrecks in the Gulf of Lion Natural Park 1850-2018 by Laurent Urios, Hervé Levano, Patrice Strazzera)

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