Brazil
The Nebula was a mixed steamship, powered by steam and sail, flying the Brazilian flag, built in 1875 by the C. Mitchell & Co. shipyard and belonging to the Companhia Carioca de Navegação. In February 1892, she was sailing from Pernambuco to Rio de Janeiro with sugar, aguardente and corn when fire broke out off Abrolhos. The captain tried to put in at Caravelas, but on 17/02/1892 the ship struck, ran aground on the edge of the Parcel das Paredes and was lost, and the crew and passengers were saved. The impact against the reef was so violent that it broke off the bow, which now lies about 10 m apart from the rest of the ship.
The wreck was discovered in 2003 and identified by pieces engraved with the name NEBULA and the company's star symbol. News of the sinking was only located in period newspapers in February 2014; until then it was not known whether the Nebula had sunk or been sold. A porcelain egg cup bearing the inscription S. S. NEBULA, removed from the wreck in 2010, reinforced the identification in 2019.
The engine room is regarded as one of the most complete among Brazil's shipwrecks, with two spare propellers, two four-cylinder steam engines and the boiler. The funnel, lying beside the hull amidships, still shows the company's star, and mast reinforcements with belaying pins for securing the sail lines are a reminder that she also sailed under canvas. Abandoned for many years, the ship was covered by the corals of the Parcel das Paredes from amidships to what remains of the bow, fused into the chapeirão. The wreck is surrounded by reef fish.
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