Belle of Spain was a steam cargo ship built in 1908 by the Northumberland Shipbuilding Co of Newcastle for Crow, Rudolf & Co of Liverpool.

The vessel was laid down at Northumberland Shipbuilding Co. shipyard in Howdon and launched on 5 December 1907 (yard number 149),[2] with Mrs. P. W. Bertlin, of Jesmond, serving as a sponsor.

After delivery Belle of Spain was immediately chartered for South American trade, and departed for her maiden voyage on February 9, 1908 from Hull via Dunkerque and St. Vincent.

During the trip, the vessel ran into more rough weather and had her steering gear damaged, and as a result she had to call in St. Lucia for repairs on September 10.

Belle of Spain proceeded then to Prince Rupert by rounding the Cape Horn, and called at Nanaimo on November 14 to replenish her bunkers.

[11] Upon unloading, Belle of Spain was chartered to carry phosphate rock from Ocean Island to Europe, and departed Victoria on December 21, 1909.

[13][14] Next, the vessel was chartered to transport coal from Newcastle to the West coast of South America, and left Bahía Blanca on June 16.

[17] Next, Belle of Spain proceeded to Puget Sound and loaded approximately 1,000,000 feet of redwood, over 50,000 railroad ties, wheat and flour for delivery to South American ports.

[19] From Philadelphia the ship sailed to Jacksonville and Savannah where she took on, among other things, 3,300 tons of phosphate pebble and 6,145 bales of cotton, respectively, for delivery to Bremen and Hamburg.

Upon unloading, the ship departed from Cardiff on May 18, 1912 for the West coast of South America and returned to Antwerp on November 5 with a cargo of nitrates.

[34] The vessel was able to depart Havre on October 17 and took course to Jacksonville via Dunkerque and Cardiff and reached Florida on November 20 to load 3,200 tons of phosphate hard rock for delivery to Danzig.

[35] Next, the ship sailed to Savannah and took on board 7,236 bales of cotton and departed on November 26 for her return trip to Bremerhaven, reaching it on December 19.

During the first one, the ship left Hamburg on January 20, 1914 and returned to Rotterdam on April 12 after visiting the ports of Charleston, Savannah and New York City.

After spotting the Grådyb Lightship the ship started steering towards the entrance to the harbor and after approximately 20 minutes sent a signal to inform about her arrival.

Unbeknown to the captain, due to the war all land lighthouses were turned off and were only lit when ships were observed outside the entrance to the harbor channel.

After the plumb showed the depth of only 10 meters, the engines were immediately put to "Stop", but it was too late as the ship hit the ground shortly thereafter.

[40] Next day a storm arrived, with strong winds and the heavy seas, and two vessels, Olga and Vildanden, came from Esbjerg to Nygaards assistance.

As the weather did not improve in the next several days the ship was abandoned and on December 7 it was reported that Nygaard has been driven about a mile closer to the coastline and subsequently sank.