Perlen
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Perlen
sank at Munkholmen under a storm outside Trondheim city
16. March 1781. The ship was taken as a prize by the
Irish buccaneer Luke Ryan that operated under a doubtful
"letter of marque" given by Benjamin Franklin in
America. This means an authorized document to perform
pirate operations against the enemies shipping. During
his career Luke Ryan hijacked a total of 114 British
ships before he was taken prisoner and sentenced to
death. Originally the ship was named Delamere and was
from Liverpool in England, but was given the name Perlen
after being sold in Bergen ( Norway ) for 3200
riksdaler. The ship was a frigate ship and laid in March
1781 at anchor in Trondheim loaded with tiling. At night
of 16. March it blew up to a storm and to rescue the
ship they dropped the anchor, but ended up being
grounded at Munkholmen. Four men of the crew perished in
the accident. The wreck debris of Perlen was found
approx 200 years later, and in 1975 the site was
excavated by Norwegian Maritime Museum. The excavation
is described in detail in the book "Fregattskipet
Perlen 16.Mars 1971: Utgraving 1975" ( Norwegian
language only ). Items from the excavation can be seen
at the NTNU museum in Trondheim. What little remains
that's left of her rest on a depth of approx 15 to 20
meter near Kjerringberget.
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| 63° 27' 18" N, 10° 26' 20" E   Illustration (left): Luke Ryan from the "Hibernian Magazine" in 1782 Illustration (right): The frigate Randolph, frigate class of the era Courtesy of Naval History Want to know more about Luke Ryan? Visit History Ireland |
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