Short Note on The Ship Wreck of “Viscount Melbourne” In Northern Sarawak

Viscount Melbourne is an 800-ton UK registered cargo ship which was in operation during the time of Rajah James Brooke who ruled Sarawak from 1841. It was named after the first Prime Minister of Queen Victoria’s reign, William Lamb II as Viscount Melbourne. However, this ship was in fact a 680-ton carrier. It was built in Shields England in 1835 by an unknown builder.The ship is150ft. long and 47ft. wide. It is a three-masted timber cargo ship. The present maritime archaeology study is still trying to determine the wood type used in the building of the ship and at this stage assume its construction of Oak & Beech. An impression of the ship is shown in Fig. 1. The fate of the barque rigged British East Indian cargo ship, the Viscount Melbourne could very well have languished in obscurity if not for a set of unique circumstances that eventually led to her discovery, nestled at the bottom of a reef in the middle of the South China Sea about 90 nautical miles north of Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.