The century-old shipwreck discovered in Sungai Pahang recently could contain answers to what really happened to the SS Amherst — a ship built in Glasgow back in 1886 that was sailing from Singapore to Kota Baru — in 1901.
The National Heritage Department believes the recent find by villagers of Kampung Tanjung in Paloh Hinai could solve the mystery behind what really happened to the Singapore-registered 108-tonne vessel, with 42 crew and 77 passengers on board.
The department’s Eastern Zone director Mohd Shukri Mohd Isa told The Star Online‘s Firdaous Fadzil that its officers were trying to learn more about the wreckage, which was first noticed when the water level at Sungai Pahang began to recede due to hot weather.
“If the facts are right, this could be Amherst. The ship was built in Glasgow and it was sailing from Singapore to Kota Baru with 77 passengers,” he told the portal.
“Unfortunately, we could not find the vessel registration number. It could be hidden beneath the sand. That number could provide us with more clues,” he was quoted further.
Details from this find were compared against notes from a 1901 inquiry at the Marine Court in Singapore into the sinking of the SS Amherst.
The find included a funnel, anchor rope, propeller and engine combustion chambe typical of vessels from that era.
The report said 12 archaeologists had visited the site. The department’s senior museum assistant (Underwater Archaeology Section) Khairil Amri Abdul Ghani was quoted as dismissing claims that the ship had been carrying gold.
“It’s a passenger steamship. We presume that she was not meant for a long journey judging from her features,” Khairil Amri said in the report.
Stories of a sunken ship had long been passed down through the generations among villagers in the area, and its discovery confirmed that it was not mere legend.
Kampung Paloh Hinai Development and Security Committee chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman had earlier told The Star that the sinking of the vessel was due to the ‘arrogant attitude of the captain’ and ‘after spirits were disturbed’.
