Rosalinda Wreck - Abrolhos

Hard research: Throughout many years, people thought that this wreck, one of the most famous of Brazil, was named Rosalina (sunk in 1939). Contributing to this thesis, a letter was published in the 90’s by a diving magazine where a reader sends some technical information on a ship named Rosalina, supposing it was about the same ship. Unfortunately,at the time of the publication, they didn’t check those information extracted from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). It wasn’t related to the ship that sank in Abrolhos, and it was about another ship named Rosalina, a Panamanian ship built in 1941.

Diving in Abrolhos in 2001 with my friend Zig, we discussed about the type of engine presented in the wrecks and the time mentioned for the wreck in 1939.

Researching in the newspapers at that time, there wasn’t any news about the sinking. Was it possible for a boat to sink in our coast in 1939, in the middle of the Second World War, and not be noticed?

Besides, a photo from the National File (extinct 1959 Mail Morning Journal) showed the mast of the ship out of the water and still painted. That fact condemned the date of 1939.


View of the bow out of the water.

To worse the facts, the published registers of the supposed Rosalina, indicated its construction in 1941 and its nationality was doubtful, some said it was Panamanian and others said it was Italian. There were several mistakes in the History.

The responses to my letters to the Panamanian Ship Register denied any register of a Viento Del Sur Company or of any ship named Rosalina. The History was getting worse.
A set of ten letters after a “simple” but surprising answer appeared from the Marine Technical File, in the words of CT Silbert:

“After searching our files, we could find a message dated November 01st 1955 warning about the sinking of an Italian ship named Rosalinda on October 28th 1955 in Abrolhos. Very truly, CT SILBERT”.

Another visit to the National Library, for an afternoon job full of dust and deception. There was nothing there.

After searching newspapers, the facts appeared confirming dates, names and places at last. The difficulty was in the fact that Rosalinda wreck was in the middle of the greatest politic crisis in the country.

The vice-president Café Filho, who had taken over Getúlio Vargas government in 1954, was substituted because of reasons of illness, and at his place Carlos Luz took over (the President of Deputy Chamber). He, by the way, faced a strong opposition, mainly from some militaries. At the end, he gave up and Nereu Ramos took over.

Carlos Luz, Carlos Lacerda and other ministers, left RJ quickly aboard of the Cruiser Tamandaré. During the escape, the ship came through Guanabara Bay and it was target of shots coming from Leme Fort. As the country democracy was falling down, the events which buried Rosalinda weren’t noticed by the newspapers at that time.


Command rudder in the bow.

Background
The Italian ship Rosalinda, sailing in October 1955 toward Salvador, with a cargo of cement and beer, crashed and remained stuck in the reefs of Abrolhos Parcels. When the water reached the basements, the crew abandoned the ship in a lifesaving boat. They sheltered in Santa Bárbara Island, where the Abrolhos Lighthouse is.

By the travel term number 81 of October 1955, it was determined by the State Army the exit of the towing boat Tridente from Rio de Janeiro, in order to try to rescue the damaged ship.

The commander of the towing boat, Vinícius Carvalho da Silva, ordered the Tridente to leave at 12:55 a.m. on October 30th 1955 from the port of Cobras Island in Rio de Janeiro. After a two-day travel, the towing boat reached the place on November 01st, at 06:32 a.m. They certified the boat had already sunk. The rescue was impossible.

By the travel term number 82, it was ordered to the towing boat Tridente, the rescue of the Rosalinda crew living in the Island, transporting them to Salvador, BA.


Passage through the several decks.

Description

It’s laid correctly at the bottom of the sea, stuck between two heads of reefs. The hull is practically intact and we can pass under it by two edges of the bow. The ship is broken in the middle. In the breaking part there are the caldrons and engines. The bow is shallower than the stern. By the bow we can see the bow hooks, heads of tying, the stairs, and the entrance of the first basement (stowage).

The second basement is linked to the first and there’s a mast with its ladder on it.

In the middle of the ship, the hull is broken to port side and we can see two caldrons and engines like Triple Expansion Engine. Behind the engines, we can find two more basements, held by masts and hooks.

The penetration can be done in its three basements and part of the cabin. Part of the cement cargo still remains there. All deck structure such as, hooks, masts and cranes might be seen on the ship. The upper part of the cabin on the bow, there isn’t anymore. Behind it we can find the rudder, in open waters, from the stern. Coming out of the deck toward the bottom, we can reach the propellers and the rudder stuck in the reefs.


Cement cargo.

BASIC DATA **Name of the ship:**Rosalinda
Date of sinking: October 28th 1955
LOCALIZATION **Place:**Abrolhos **State:**BA. **Country:**Brasil **Position:**Abrolhos Parcels. **Latitude:**17° 57’ 32” South
Longitude: 038° 38’ 42” West
Minimum deepness: 0 meters
Maximum deepness: 20 meters
CURRENT CONDITIONS: Intact

TECHNICAL DATA
Nationality: Italian
Length: 102,2 meters
Mouth: 13,3 meters
Dislocation: 5.000 toneladas
Type of boat: cargueiro
Material of the hull: aço
Power: propeller
Cargo: cement and beer
REASON OF SINKING: crash

By: Maurício de Carvalho / www.naufragiosdobrasil.com.br