Background

The Roompot was a fast sailing, three-mast frigate, a type of ship that was used much for the Dutch trade to the East Indies in the period after the demise of the Dutch East India Company and before the advent of the age of steam.

Last voyage

On September 25, 1852 the Roompot sailed for Asia. She carried a crew of 22 sailors under captain de Boer. Some things are known about her last Asian voyage. On the 4th of February 1853, for instance, she was in Akiab (present-day Sittwe), on the west coast of Myanmar (Burma). There, a cargo of rice was loaded (500 last, which is 250 tons). It is likely that this was her cargo on the return voyage.

On the 28th of June she was back in Dutch waters. She requested a pilot but there was none available. On the 29th, in sight of the church spire of Westkapelle (in Zeeland) she ran aground and had to be abandoned. Three crew members drowned in the process. The vessel drifted from the sand bank and sank slowly in the fairway called Roompot. She met her final faith in the geographic location she was named after.

Discovery

The wreck was first spotted on sonar in 1991. The wreck was then located by amateur divers who found the ship's bell in 1992. At that moment the wreck was still in a perfect state. The iron frames were intact and even the capstan was still on deck.

In 2005, the wreck was assessed by a diving team of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. At that time the stern was gone and also the capstan. Parts of the bow had also collapsed. It was clear that the wreck was rapidly deteriorating.

RCE/V. Verlinden

Ship's bell of the Roompot.

3-mast frigate.

Yard: de Goede Intentie, Zierikzee (Zeeland, the Netherlands).

Owner: De Crane shipowners, Zierikzee.

Copper plated under the waterline.

RCE/P. P. de Crane

The Roompot frigate at a foreign coast, photo of a colored drawing by Jacob Spin, 1849.

The site is protected but a survey in 2005 showed much deterioration between 1992 and 2005.

• Bundel maritieme vindplaatsen 1, RACM en LWAOW, Amersfoort 2007.
• Overmeer, A.B.M.
  Aldus is de Roompot vergaan...: Waardestellend onderzoek van scheepswrak Roompot 1, gemeente Veere.
• Wrecksite.eu.