Dana (1921)

Dana was a Danish research vessel, best known for the circumnavigation of the world in the third Dana expedition of 1928–1930. The trawler sank in 1935 after a fishing vessel collided with it in fog.

Construction and design

The ship was built as an Admiralty in 1917 for military service.

Danish service

In 1921, John Quilliam was sold to the Danish Government. She was subsequently rigged as a deep-sea research fishing trawler. She was renamed Dana II, to avoid confusion with the motor schooner, which had served on the first and second Dana expeditions. Dana II replaced the previous Danish research vessel, served until 1935 and was herself succeeded by Dana III, built in 1937.

Collision and loss

Dana sank on 22 June 1935 in the North Sea following a collision with the German fishing trawler Pickhuben, of Cuxhaven, about west of Ringkøbing. The collision happened in dense fog at 6:07 AM when Pickhuben rammed Dana with great force about amidships. None of the 22 persons onboard Dana were injured in the collision and all managed to escape to Pickhuben. The ship sank ten minutes after Captain Hansen left the ship, the last man to do so. All personal belongings and large amounts of scientific material were lost. Danas captain directed Pickhuben to the nearby lightship at Horns Reef where the following telegram was radioed to the Danish Government:
At the following inquiry in Esbjerg and later also in Hamburg, full responsibility for the collision was attributed to the navigator on Pickhuben, who had steamed too fast in the dense fog and had failed to react to Danas warning signals.
The wreck of Dana was found in 2005 on the northern side of Horns Reef on the Danish west coast.