Crossword Genius

Ruth wrecked ship for convent superior (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

abbess

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'convent superior' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'ruth wrecked ship' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'ship' could be 'ss' (prefix in ship names eg SS Great Britain) and 'ss' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'abbe' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for abbess that I've seen before include "Nun in charge of a monastery" , "Superior of convent" , "Head of group of nuns" , "Superior of group of nuns" , "Principal of convent" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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