Environmental Impact - Sunken Wrecks
HMS Port Napier

HMS Port Napier (c) Coda

Built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson for Port Line, she was taken over by the Admiralty during construction, and converted to a mine layer.

During a gale, while at anchor in the Kyle of Lochalsh on November 26th 1940, the newly completed ship was loading mines at the Kyle of Lochalsh on 27 November, 1940 when fire broke out on board. To describe HMS Port Napier as a floating bomb when she was tied up to the pier at Kyle of Lochalsh was almost an understatement. Just loaded into her six holds were 550 sea mines and 6000 shells for her 10 antiaircraft guns.


The loading of mines into the new ship's holds had just been completed when a fire broke out aboard. All efforts to put it out failed and the blaze grew larger and larger. The evacuation of the people of Kyle and of Kyleakin on Skye on the other side of the narrow neck of Loch Alsh began at once.

Everyone in the naval base realised that when Port Napier blew up she would level every house within miles. Despite this, Navy tugs pulled her well out into the loch before casting her adrift. Moments later, a massive explosion blew part of her sky-high and bits of superstructure landed on the shore of Skye. But, amazingly, none of the mines went off and have since been removed After this the ship settled onto her starboard side in the attitude we see today, her port side showing at low tide.

Local photographer 'MacPherson' was commissioned to photograph the boat, however, due to official secrecy embargoes, the darkroom was situated on the boat itself. It appears that since its refit, no photographic records of this boat are in existence as they are thought to have been destroyed during the fire.