This wreck, believed to be the BESTWOOD, is 78m long x 13m wide, and stands 8.9m proud of the seabed. The hull lies with its keel orientated 120/300 degrees. The bows are to the northwest.

Event and Historical Information:
The BESTWOOD was a steel-hulled steamship or collier built by S P Austin & Sons ltd, Sunderland, in 1913 (yard number 270). Technical and configuration specifications are given as 2248gt, 1487nt; 280ft long x 40ft 5in breadth x 18ft 5in depth; 1 deck (weather deck), 4 bulkhead, quarterdeck 116ft, boat deck 53ft, forecastle 29ft; screw propulsion powered by twin boilers linked to a triple expansion engine producing 221hp; machinery by Northeast Marine Engineering Co Ltd., Sunderland; official number 135288. The collier was owned by W France & Fenwick Co Ltd and was registered in London. On 29 July 1917, it was on passage from Cardiff to the naval base at Milford Haven when it was in collision with the London registered steamship LEANDER. The BESTWOOD foundered 12 miles southwest of the South Bishop lighthouse with the loss of all 16 crewmembers. The wreck was relocated by HMS BULLDOG in April 1983.

Sources include:
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1917 Part II Table A pg36 (3)
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, pg107
HMSO, 1988, British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-18 and 1939-1845, pg18
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
UK Hydrographic Office Wrecks and Obstructions Database. ? Crown Copyright and database rights. Reproduced by permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the UK Hydrographic Office (www.ukho.gov.uk).

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, July 2009.