Historic paddle steamer sinks off coast of Wales while being towed to new owner in Northern Ireland

Boat built in 1922 could not be saved – but no one hurt

A historic paddle-steamer boat has sunk off the north Welsh coast while being towed to a new owner.

The MV Oliver Cromwell, built in 1922, went down during a journey to Northern Ireland, sparking calls to emergency crews.

The 36-metre vessel did not have anyone on board and did not contain any fuel when it sank in the Irish Sea, 10 miles west of South Stack, near Anglesey, on Saturday afternoon.

Coastguards from nearby Holyhead, as well as the RNLI, were called to the stricken ship around 2pm but they could not prevent it going down. It finally sunk around 5pm, the Daily Post reports.

The ship, which was converted to a riverboat hotel in 1993, was heading to Coleraine after being sold to a new owner.

Coxswain Tony Price said: "It was very sad to see such a lovely vessel sink like that, but fortunately no one was endangered and the lack of fuel on board meant there were no environmental issues."

Additional reporting by PA