AN IRISH SEA SHIPWRECK once thought to have been a submarine has been identified as HMS Mercury, a WW2 minesweeper. The 68m paddle-steamer sank in 1940 after being damaged by a mine it was trying to clear off southern Ireland.
Researchers at Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences worked with maritime archaeologists at Bournemouth University to make the discovery. They have collaborated for some years to identify Irish Sea wreck-sites through a combination of multibeam sonar-scanning from Bangor’s Prince Madog research vessel and archival examination.