Ghost ship is a term used most often in works fiction, a ship afloat, unmanned. The term can also refer to an actual ship that is (often as a vision) seen after it has sunk, or discovered at sea without a crew on board. Legends and reports of ghost ships are common throughout the world. In most cases they are associated with some kind of shipwreck. Usually ghost ships depict scenes of their crash, which they can repeat over and over again. This is especially true on nights when there is a storm.
Joyita - M. V. Joyita
This ship was found in 1955 in Pacific Ocean. It was heading towards Tokelau when something happened. The rescue team was already equipped, but the ship was found only after 5 weeks. The joystick was badly damaged, and there was no cargo, crew, passengers or lifeboats on board.
After a detailed investigation, it turned out that the ship's radio wave was tuned to a distress signal, and several bloody bandages and a doctor's bag were found on board. None of the passengers were found, and the secret of the ship was not revealed.
Octavius - Octavius
Octavius is considered a legend, the ghost ship whose story is one of the most famous. In 1775, the Herald came across the Octavius while sailing along Greenland.
Herald's team boarded the ship and found the bodies of passengers and crew frozen from the cold. The ship's captain was discovered in his cabin, in the middle of filling out a log book with the year 1762 marked on it. Based on the legend, the captain bet that he would return to Great Britain via the Eastern Route in a short time, but the ship got stuck in the ice.
The Flying Dutchman - De Vliegende Hollander
The Flying Dutchman is the most famous ship a ghost. The ship was first mentioned in the book A Voyage to Botany Harbor by George Barrington (1770s). Based on history, the Flying Dutchman was a ship from Amsterdam.
The captain of the ship was Van der Decken. When a storm began near the Cape of Good Hope, the ship was sailing to the East Indies. Van der Deccan, determined to continue the journey, went mad, then killed one of his assistants and vowed to cross the cape.
Despite all his efforts, the ship sank and, according to legend, Van der Decken and the ghostly ship are doomed to wander the seas forever.
Mary Celeste
This is a merchant ship sailing on the Atlantic Ocean and abandoned by its crew. The ship is in very suitable conditions with sails raised and sufficient supplies of food. But the crew, captain and boats of the Mary Celeste mysteriously disappeared. There were no signs of a struggle. You can also exclude the version of pirates, because the crew's belongings and alcohol remained untouched.
The most likely theory is that technical problems or a storm forced the crew to abandon ship.
Lady Lovibond
The captain of the ship, Simon Peel, recently got married and was going on a cruise to celebrate the joyful event. Despite the omen that the woman on board was unfortunate, he took his wife.
The journey began on February 13, 1748. Unfortunately for the captain, one of his assistants was also in love with his wife and, out of anger and jealousy, led the ship to the sandbank. Lady Lovebond and all her passengers sank. According to legend, since the shipwreck the ghost has been seen every 50 years near Kent.
Baychimo - The Baychimo
This steel cargo ship was abandoned and drifted on the seas near Alaska for 40 years. The ship belonged to the Hudson Bay Company. It was launched in the 1920s, transporting skins and furs. But in 1931, Beichimo found himself trapped in ice near Alaska. After several attempts to break through the ice, the team abandoned the ship. IN heavy storm the ship escaped the trap, but was badly damaged, and the company decided to abandon it. Surprisingly, Beichimo did not sink, but continued to float for another 38 years near Alaska. The ship has become something of a local legend. It was last seen in 1969, again frozen in the middle of the ice.
Carroll A. Deering - Carroll A. Deering
This ship sailed near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 1921. The ship had just returned from a trading trip from South Africa. It ran aground in Diamond Shoals, an area with a high history of shipwrecks. When help arrived, it was discovered that the ship was empty. There was no navigation equipment and logbook, as well as 2 lifeboats. After careful research, it turned out that several more ships mysteriously disappeared almost at the same time. According to officials, this is either the work of pirates or some kind of terrorist organization.
Ourang Medan
The history of Urang Medan began in 1947 when 2 American ship received a distress signal off the coast of Malaysia. The caller introduced himself as a member of the crew of the Urang Medan, a Dutch vessel, and allegedly said that the captain and the rest of the crew were dead or dying. The man’s speech became more and more unintelligible until he disappeared with the words I’m dying. The ships quickly sailed to help. When they arrived, they found that the ship itself was intact, but the entire crew, including the dog, was dead, their bodies and faces frozen in terrible poses and expressions, and many were pointing their fingers at something invisible to the eye. Before rescuers could figure it out, the ship caught fire. The most popular theory for the crew's death is that the ship was carrying nitroglycerin without special packaging, and it leaked into the air.
High Aim 6
One of the mysterious “sea” stories of our time is associated with the Taiwanese ship High Aim 6. The ship High Aim 6 was discovered off the northwestern coast of Australia in January 2003 without a single soul on board. The ship left the port back in 2002. The holds of High Aim 6 were filled with tuna, which was already beginning to spoil. They tried to give different explanations for the disappearance of the crew: it could have been captured by pirates, however, the safety of the cargo and the absence of damage on the ship refutes this version; the High Aim 6 team was suspected of transporting illegal immigrants, but after opening the holds, this version was abandoned; the threat of sinking of the ship could hardly exist, since it was in good condition. The main version of the events that occurred on the ship High Aim 6 is the version of the crew mutiny and the murder of the captain. The testimony of the only sailor whom the investigators managed to find and one more circumstance speaks in her favor. Two weeks after the discovery of the High Aim 6 vessel, a person called the police from the phone of an engineer on the High Aim 6 vessel and told about a riot on the ship and the death of the captain and engineer. According to him, the team went home. There is still no other information about the fate of the ship’s crew and its owner. And it’s unlikely to appear.
Caleuche
One of the most famous legends Chile describes Caleuche as a ghostly ship that appears every night off the coast of the island of Chiloe. According to legend, the ship carries the souls of people who died at sea. Those who have seen it say that it is very beautiful and bright and is always accompanied by the sounds of music and the laughter of people. After appearing for a few seconds, it disappears again or goes under water. They say that souls on the ship regain the life they had before.
Iron Mountain
It is clear that the ship could get lost and sink in huge ocean or the sea, but how can a ship disappear in a river without a trace? In June 1872, the S.S. Iron Mountain traveled from Vicksburg to Pittsburgh along the Mississippi River. When the ship did not arrive at the appointed time, a tug was sent to it. After several days of searching, the ship was found, and part of the cargo it was carrying appeared on the surface of the water. The ship simply disappeared.
Bel Amica
Schooner in “ classic style” was found off the coast of the island of Sardinia, without a crew on board. This ghost ship was discovered by the Italian coast guard in 2006. In the cabins of the sailing ship there were French maps of the North African seas, a Luxembourg flag, remains of Egyptian food and wooden boards with the name “Bel Amica”. Italian authorities discovered that the ship had never been registered in any country. Since the vessel was misclassified as antique, it soon attracted public interest, but it was soon discovered that it was a modern yacht owned by a man from Luxembourg who had probably failed to register it for tax evasion purposes.
Schooner Jenny
“May 4, 1823. No food for 71 days. I'm the only one left alive. “The captain who wrote this message was still sitting in his chair with a pen in his hand when this message was discovered in his journal 17 years later. His body, and the bodies of the other 6 people aboard the British schooner Jenny, were preserved in cold weather Antarctica, where a ship was frozen in ice and led to the death of people. The crew of the whaling ship that discovered Jenny after the disaster buried the passengers, including a dog, at sea.
Marlborough
The sailing ship Marlborough was built at a shipyard in Glasgow. It was considered quite reliable for ocean voyages. The sailing ship was commanded by Captain Heed, a knowledgeable and experienced sailor. On the last voyage, the Marlborough carried 23 crew members and several passengers, including one woman. Leaving New Zealand for England, a sailing ship loaded with frozen lamb and wool disappeared in 1890. Last time he was seen on April 1 in the Pacific Ocean between the entrance to the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn - in an area that sailors, not without reason, call the “ship graveyard.” An investigation by maritime authorities was inconclusive. The sailboat was considered missing, a victim of the rocks off Cape Horn. In these ominous places, a storm rages 300 days a year, the wind and waves are helped by the current, dragging doomed ships here and throwing them onto formidable rocks... But 23 and a half years later, in October 1913, near Punta Arenas off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, that is, almost in the same place, the Marlboro appeared - the ship was again under full sail! The sailboat seemed untouched. Everything was in place. Even the crew was where they were supposed to be on a sailing ship. One person is at the helm, three are on the deck at the hatch, ten are on watch at their posts and six are in the wardroom. The skeletons were in rags left over from their clothes. It seemed that the people were struck down by some sudden attack, a mysterious force. The log book was covered with moss and the entries in it became illegible. Other papers were found to have been eaten away by insects. The sailors from the ship that met the sailing ship in the ocean were perplexed... First of all, they counted the skeletons: it turned out that there were ten fewer of them than there were people on the Marlborough, according to information from 23 years ago. Where are the absent ones? Have they died before? Were they landed on any shore? Were they washed off the deck by the waves after death, or were they blown from the masts by the wind in a moment of tragic “stunning confusion”? As always in such cases, a version of an epidemic or poisoning was put forward. The captain of the ship that discovered the Marlboro made an accurate report of everything he saw. Inclement weather did not allow him to tow and deliver the ghost ship to the port. However, what was stated in his report was confirmed under oath by everyone who witnessed this meeting. Their testimony was recorded by the British Admiralty. "Marlboro" was never seen again. Apparently, he died on one of the stormy days.
Anyone who worked as a sea worker knows how romantic and... boring it is. How easy it is sometimes to earn an order of magnitude more in the ocean than on land, and how sometimes difficult it is to endure the whims of Neptune, from natural storms to unexpected arrests of ships in inhospitable ports of countries of the fifth and seventh world. It’s like nothing happens or changes on the endless horizon for weeks, and then suddenly you come across something that makes your eyes sparkle and your skin shiver. For example, in the middle of the Atlantic a catamaran is discovered with no signs of life on board, but with freshly caught fish. Or a buoy that was lost 100 years ago and has been floating somewhere for some reason since then.
Visiting a ghost ship is not an acquired taste. No matter how brave the sailor Sinbad was, when he stepped onto the deck of the Flying Dutchman, the old sea wolf could easily, excuse me, shit himself out of fear. In the age of GPS and genetic engineering, most people, even the shamelessly brave ones, are still...
Most “meetings” with ghost ships are pure fantasy, but we can’t escape real encounters either. At the same time, everything is quite understandable and necessarily decorated with heart-warming stories and epithets. Without which our unusual world would be too boring.
Losing a vessel or ship in the infinity of the world's oceans is not so difficult. And it's even easier to lose people.
1. "Carroll A. Deering"
The five-masted schooner Carroll A. Deering was built in 1911. The vehicle was named after the shipowner's son. Deering carried out cargo flights, the last of which started on December 2, 1920 in the port of Rio de Janeiro. Captain William Merritt and his son, who served as chief mate, had a crew of 10 Scandinavians. Father and son Merritt suddenly fell ill, and a captain named W. B. Wormell had to be hired as a replacement.
Leaving Rio, the Deering reached Barbados, where it stopped to replenish provisions. Temporary XO McLennan got drunk and began to insult Captain Wormell in front of the sailors, provoking a riot. When McLennan shouted that he would soon take the captain's place, he was arrested. But Wormell forgave him and bought him out of prison. Soon the ship set sail and... it was last seen “ghostly” on January 28, 1921, when a sailor from a lightship was called out by a red-haired man standing on the forecastle of a schooner passing by. Red reported that the Deering had lost its anchors. But the lighthouse worker was unable to contact the emergency service because... His radio was out of order.
Three days later, the Deering was found stranded near Cape Hatteras.
When rescuers arrived, it turned out that the ship was completely empty. No crew, no logbook, no navigation equipment, no lifeboats. In the galley, undercooked naval borscht was cooling on the stove. Unfortunately, the schooner was blown up with dynamite out of harm's way, and there was nothing more to explore. The Deering crew is believed to have disappeared without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle.
2. "Baichimo"
The trading ship "Baichimo" was built in 1911 in Sweden for the Germans and was designed to transport the skins of northern animals. After the First World War, the German skin carrier came under the British flag and cruised along the polar coasts of Canada and the USA.
The last voyage of the Baychimo (with a live crew and a load of fur on board) took place in the fall of 1931. On October 1, off the coast, the ship fell into an ice trap. The crew left the ship and went to seek shelter from the cold. Not finding people, the sailors built a temporary shelter on the shore, hoping to wait out the cold and continue sailing when the ice thawed.
On November 24, a snowstorm broke out. And when it calmed down, the sailors were amazed to see that the ship had disappeared. At first they decided that the transport with furs sank during a storm, but a couple of days later a walrus hunter said that he had seen “Baichimo” 45 miles from the camp. The sailors decided to save the precious cargo and abandon the ship - it still wouldn’t survive the winter. The crew and furs were delivered deep into the mainland by plane, and the ghost ship "Baichimo" was encountered by sea workers here and there, in the waters of Alaska, repeatedly over the next 40 years. Last fact documented in 1969, when "Baichimo" Eskimos were seen frozen in arctic ice Beaufort Sea. In 2006, the Alaska government announced an official search for the legendary ghost ship, but the operation was unsuccessful. Unfortunately or fortunately?
3. "Eliza Battle"
The Eliza was launched in 1852 in Indiana. It was a luxury river steamer, on which only the rich and statesmen rode - with their wives and children. On a cold night in February 1858, bales of cotton caught fire on the deck of the ship, and a fire fanned by a strong frosty wind engulfed the wooden steamer. The Eliza Battle was sailing along the Tombigbee River. 100 people died in the smoke and fire, and another 26 were missing. The ship sank at a depth of 9 meters and rests at the wreck site to this day.
They say that during spring floods, when full moon at night you can see a river steamer emerge from the bottom and move back and forth along the river. Music is playing on board and a fire is burning. The fire is so bright that the name of the ship is easily read - "Eliza Battle".
4. Yacht "Joita"
"Joita" was a luxurious "unsinkable" yacht that was owned by Hollywood film director Roland West from 1931 until the war, then was converted into a patrol boat and served off the coast of Hawaii until 1945.
On October 3, 1955, the Joita set sail for Samoa with 25 souls on board and a less-than-functional engine. The yacht was expected on the Tokelau Islands, 270 miles from Samoa. The voyage was supposed to last no more than two days, but even on the third day “Joita” did not arrive at the port. And no one gave an SOS signal. Airplanes were sent to search, but the pilots found nothing.
5 weeks passed, and on November 10 the yacht was found. She was still floating, but it was unclear where, with the engine running at half power and a strong list. 4 tons of cargo disappeared, as did the crew and passengers. All clocks stopped at 10-25. Despite the fact that the encrusted yacht was unsinkable, all life rafts and vests disappeared from the Joita. The investigation established that the ship's hull was undamaged, but the fate of the crew and cargo remained unclear.
Someone put forward a charming version. They say that this is the work of the surviving Japanese militarists, who have dug in on a lonely island and are making pirate attacks.
“Joita” was repaired, the engine was replaced, but no one wanted to go out to sea on the ghost ship, and in the mid-1960s the unsinkable mystery was sawed into pieces.
The most famous of the ghostly sea Vehicle- this is the “Flying Dutchman”, the eternal evil wanderer who was promoted in “Pirates” Caribbean Sea" Before the Hollywood fairy tale, “The Flying Dutchman” was encountered on the pages of books, in the music of Wagner and the songs of the Rammstein group. It's time to see each other face to face. We continue our nightmare sea voyage and right ahead we have the most...
5. "VolatileDutchman»
Not everyone knows that the “flying Dutchman” is not the nickname of the ghost ship itself, but its captain.
The "Flying Dutchman" refers to several different ghost ships from different centuries. One of them is the real owner of the brand. The one with whom the trouble happened at the Cape of Good Hope.
The legend says: “The captain of the ship, Hendrik Van Der Decken, was rounding the Cape of Good Hope, heading to Amsterdam. It was difficult to go around the cape due to the monstrous winds, but Hendrik vowed to do it (yes-yes-yes!), even if it means fighting the elements until the very end. doomsday. The team asked to protect themselves from the storm and turn the ship back. Nightmarish waves were pushing the ship, and the brave captain was singing obscene songs, drinking and smoking some kind of weed. Realizing that it would be impossible to convince the captain, part of the crew rebelled. The captain shot the main rebel and threw his body overboard. Then the heavens opened, and the captain heard the voice “You are too stubborn a person,” to which he replied: “I never looked for easy ways and never asked for anything, so dry up before I shoot you too!” And he tried to shoot into the sky, but the pistol exploded in his hand.
The voice from heaven continued: “Curse you and sail across the oceans forever with a ghostly crew of the dead, bringing death to everyone who sees your ghost ship. You will not land in any port and not know peace for a moment. Bile will be your wine, and red-hot iron will be your meat.”
Among those who subsequently met the “Flying Dutchman” were such experienced and non-superstitious persons as Prince George of Wales and his brother, Prince Albert Victor.
In 1941, on a beach in Cape Town, a crowd of people saw a sailboat heading straight for the rocks, but disappeared into thin air just as it was about to crash.
6. "Young Teaser"
This nimble corsair schooner was built in 1813 with one purpose: to plunder the merchant ships of the British Empire that sailed to the port of Halifax (Nova Scotia). At that time, what we call Canada belonged to the British, with whom there was great resentment after the 1812 dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States.
From Nova Scotia, the fast "Teaser" brought back good trophies. In June 1813, the corsairs of the English administration were chasing the schooner, but the Young Teaser managed to escape into magically thick fog. A few days later, the schooner was cornered by the 74-gun British battleships La Hogue and Orpheus. It was decided to board the Young Teaser. As soon as the five boarding boats approached the ship, the Teaser exploded. Seven British survived and told how a corsair with the rank of lieutenant ran to the arsenal of a schooner with a burning piece of wood and looked crazy. Most of the dead privateers found rest in unmarked graves in the Anglican cemetery in Mahone Bay.
Soon, one after another, eyewitnesses of strange phenomena began to appear. They allegedly saw the Young Teaser afloat on fire. Next summer, curious local residents organized a boat trip to the site of the schooner's sinking to get a closer look at the ghost. And a ghost the size of a ship, allowing itself to be admired, disappeared in a puff of fire and smoke. Since then, tourists from all over the country flock to Mahone Bay every year. And “Young Teaser” explodes in their eyes again and again. The ghost especially likes to appear on foggy nights with a full moon.
The ghost ship Octavius is believed to have been discovered by whalers off the west coast of Greenland in October 1775. The Octavius had a dead crew on board, each of the sailors seemingly frozen at the moment of death. The captain froze with a pencil in his hand over the magazine, next to him stood a frozen woman, a boy wrapped in a blanket and a sailor with a keg of gunpowder in his hands.
The horrified whalers grabbed the ghost ship's logbook and found out that the last entry dates back to 1762. That is, Octavius has been frozen for 13 years.
In 1761, the ship sailed from England to South Asia. To save time, the captain decided not to go around Africa, but to build a short but dangerous Arctic route along the northern coast of America. Let us remember that neither the Suez nor the Panama Canal existed in the project. Apparently, the ship was frozen in ice in the northern waters and was the first to dare to sail the northwestern route long before the advent of icebreakers.
No one else saw Octavius.
8. "Lady Lovibond"
In February 1748, Captain Simon Reid took his young wife Annetta aboard the Lady Lovibond for his honeymoon in Portugal. At that time, the presence of a woman on a ship was considered bad omen.
The captain did not know that his first mate John Rivers was head over heels in love with Reed’s wife and was going crazy with jealousy. In a fit of rage, Rivers wandered up and down the deck, then grabbed a coffee dowel and killed the helmsman. The bad first mate took the helm and led the schooner to Goodwin Sands, in the southeast of England, on the shores of Kent. The Lady Lovibond ran aground and the entire crew and passengers of the schooner were killed. The verdict of the investigation was “accident”.
50 years later, a phantom sailboat was seen from two different ships sailing along the shoals of Goodwin Sands. In February 1848, local fishermen observed the remains of a shipwreck and even sent lifeboats, but they returned empty-handed. In 1948, the ghost of "Lady Lovibond" in a green glow caught people's eyes again.
A ghost ship makes itself known every 50 years. So if you don't yet have specific plans for February 13, 2048, you might want to make a note on your calendar. Goodwin Sands almost destroyed more ships, how Bermuda Triangle. Next to the Lady, two warships rest at the bottom.
"Mary Celeste" is the most great mystery throughout the history of navigation. To this day, there is debate about the reasons for the mysterious disappearance of 8 crew members and two passengers from the ship.
In November 1872, the brigantine Mary Celeste sailed with a cargo of alcohol from New York to Genoa under the command of Captain Briggs. Four weeks later, the ship was discovered near Gibraltar by the captain of the Dei Grazia, who was friends with Briggs and was not averse to having a drink with him. Approaching the Mary Celeste and boarding the brigantine, Captain Morehouse found the ship abandoned. There were no living or dead people on it. The cargo of alcohol was intact and, apparently, the brigantine was not caught in a strong storm and was afloat. There were no traces of any crime or violence. What could have caused the gallant Captain Briggs to evacuate so hastily is unclear.
The ship was moved to Gibraltar and repaired. After repairs, the Mary Celeste worked for another 12 years and hit a reef in the Caribbean Sea.
Versions of the sudden devastation of the brigantine are different, and there are many of them. For example, an explosion of alcohol vapor in the aft hold. Or the collision of the Mary Celeste with a floating sand island. Or the conspiracy of Captains Briggs and Morehouse. Someone even talked seriously about the machinations of aliens.
10. "Jian Sen"
The list of ghost ships continues to grow even today.
An Australian patrol aircraft spotted an 80-metre tanker of unknown origin in the Gulf of Carpentaria in 2006. The name of the ship, “Jian Sen,” was blotted out, but was quite readable on all the documents that customs officers managed to find on the empty tanker. There was no evidence that Jian Sen was illegally fishing or transporting illegal immigrants. There was quite a lot of rice.
It is assumed that the ship was being towed without a crew, but the cable broke. The drift of the ghost ship continued for more than one day, so the Jian Sen engines could not be started. The ship was sunk in deep water. There, in the depths, it is beautiful and peaceful. Politicians have said that on such tankers, Indonesians illegally transport drugs and migrants.
Six ships from World War II have disappeared from the bottom of the Java Sea. Dutch and British authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. In their opinion, the ships were stolen for the sale of scrap metal. However, the Indonesian navy does not share this point of view.
In 1942, during World War II, a battle took place in the Java Sea Japanese fleet against the fleet of the Netherlands, USA, Britain and Australia. It ended in a decisive victory for Japan, and three Dutch ships, six British and an American submarine went to the bottom of the sea, where they remained until recently.
In 2002, amateur divers discovered the wreckage of Dutch ships - the light cruisers De Ruyter and Java, as well as the destroyer Kortenaar.
The ships became the grave for more than two thousand dead soldiers.
One of the missing ships is the Dutch light cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter before it was sunk in 1942
A few days ago, Dutch authorities began preparations for the 75th anniversary of the battle. Divers went down to the bottom of the sea to photograph the remains of the ships, but they were unable to do so. Both cruisers and a significant part of the Cortenar disappeared.
Dutch Defense Minister Janine Hennis-Plasschaert reported her missing on Tuesday. “The Battle of the Java Sea is part of our collective memory,” she said. - The wreckage bears silent testimony tragic events and provide the backdrop for many stories about the horrors of war and the camaraderie between crew members. We have launched an investigation to find out what happened to the wreckage. Desecration of a war grave is a serious crime."
The disappearance of the ships greatly saddened 82-year-old Theo Dorman, the son of the Dutch Rear Admiral Karel Dorman, who commanded the cruiser De Ruyter and died along with the crew, and was later recognized national hero. “I’m upset,” Theo said, “but I’m not angry. Anger will get you nowhere. It has been the custom for centuries not to disturb the graves of sailors. But that’s exactly what happened.”
A day later, the British Ministry of Defense reported that their ships, the cruiser Exeter and the destroyer Encounter, had also disappeared. Only a fragment remains of the hundred-meter destroyer Electra. The American submarine Perch also disappeared.
All that was left of the ships were depressions that were visible using sonar.
The Ministry of Defense said the British government had contacted Indonesian authorities to express serious concern about what had happened and asked them to investigate and "take appropriate action to protect these sites from further interference."
“This battle has claimed many lives, and we expect that these places will be respected and left untouched,” the ministry commented on the situation. At the bottom of the sea near Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia there are more than a hundred ships and submarines from the Second World War. They attract illegal collectors of scrap metal and trophies from sunken ships. The cost, for example, of propellers - the part most interesting to looters - is estimated at more than $2.5 thousand per ton.
Moreover, the weight of one propeller can exceed ten tons. "They're using explosives to separate the pieces of metal from each other," said Andy Brockman, an archaeologist involved in the investigation. “The engine room alone contains a variety of non-ferrous metals, copper and brass, which are highly valued on the scrap market.” In order not to attract undue attention to themselves, looters often disguise themselves as fishermen.
This outrages war veterans, historians, the government and all those who want to preserve the last homes of dead sailors. You can often hear about cases of plundering the remains of sunken ships in the Java Sea. For example, last year the Malaysian military caught a group of Vietnamese red-handed who were sawing and lifting the wreckage of one of the ships from the Second World War from the water. And in 2014, the remains of British ships, the cruiser Repulse and the battleship Prince of Wales, were stolen, becoming the grave of 800 sailors of the Royal Navy. Also two years ago, the US military discovered an “unauthorized burial violation” of the cruiser Houston, on which the remains of 650 sailors and marines rest.
On Earth, everything that can disappear regularly disappears. These are planes, trains, cars, river and sea vessels, people. In this case, we will touch on such a topic as missing ships. Over the history of human civilization, a lot of similar cases have accumulated. But there is no point in listing them all, since many of them are extremely similar. The ship was sailing, disappeared, and no one ever saw it again. Therefore, we will dwell only on individual tragic episodes that give a general idea of the problem.
"Evredika"
In July 1881, the British Navy training ship Eurydice disappeared without a trace in the Irish Sea. That day was extremely calm. But suddenly a storm broke out. It is believed that it began so suddenly that the ship's crew was unable to react in any way. sudden change weather conditions. The ship with its sails raised sailed in an unknown direction, and no one heard anything about it again.
There were 358 people on board. But subsequently neither lifeboats nor people were found. The ship seemed to evaporate into thin air. A few years later, rumors spread that the Eurydice had become a ghost ship. The silhouette of the ship was seen several times in the fog. But the strange ship did not respond to the signals and disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.
"Mary Celeste"
In December 1887, the British ship Mary Celeste disappeared without a trace. He set off towards the Azores and disappeared into the waters of the Atlantic. The crew consisted of 29 people. The ship was carrying a large number of alcohol in barrels. A year later, a boat was discovered near Cape Roca in Portugal. Judging by the inscription on the side, it belonged to the missing ship. But neither the Mary Celeste herself nor the people were ever found. Hypotheses have been put forward about a mutiny on the ship, an attack by pirates, infectious disease, about the attack of mysterious sea monsters.
10 years have passed, and sailors suddenly started talking about an eerie ghost ship sailing near the Portuguese coast. Someone stated that they clearly saw the name of this ship. It was called "Mary Celeste". The crew consisted of the dead who considered it their duty to greet passing ships. A few years later, the conversations died down, and the authorities attributed this phenomenon to the rich imagination of the sailors.
When considering such a topic as missing ships, one cannot help but mention the Danish sailing ship Copenhagen. In December 1928, the above-mentioned ship sailed from the shores of Uruguay and headed for Australia. It was a sailboat with 5 masts, and was equipped with radio communications, an auxiliary engine and boats. The ship was considered a training ship and was manned by 60 cadets. Some of them belonged to wealthy Danish families. The last time the ship made contact was on December 22, and after that no one heard anything about it.
A variety of theories have emerged regarding the disappearance of the Copenhagen. The prevailing version was that he hit an iceberg and sank. In 1931, a report appeared that allegedly sailors from time to time see a ghost ship with 5 masts in the coastal waters of Australia. IN beginning of XXI centuries, on the island of Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean, the wreckage of an old ship was found. Experts suggested that they belong to the missing Copenhagen.
"Erebus" and "Terer"
In May 1846, two ships, the Erebus and the Terer, sailed from the coast of England and headed north. They set themselves the goal of crossing the Northwest Strait and getting from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Both crews numbered 134 people. The expedition was led by John Franklin. Not a single person returned from this voyage. It was suggested that the ships were stuck in the ice, and people tried to get to the continent, but died. Already in our century, the sunken wreckage of one of the ships was discovered. A logbook was also found. It stated that Franklin died in June 1847.
In 1979, the ship Sings left Philadelphia, heading for Port Said. On board there were about 14 tons of wheat. But people never received this valuable product, since the ship did not arrive at its destination port. Communication with him was maintained for many hours, but then suddenly stopped. The ship did not send an SOS signal, and its owners did not report it missing for a whole week. “Sings” and the team members were never found. The ship seemed to have disappeared into the vast ocean waters.
"Witchcraft"
Another incident involving missing ships occurred in the fall of 1968 in the waters of Miami. During a party, a hotel owner and two guests wanted to admire the city lights from aboard his personal yacht. The company went out to sea about 2 km from the coast. At the same time, the yacht was fully operational. But after 2 hours, a radio message was received from her to send a tug, as the ship had broken down. The coast guard requested the coordinates and launched a flare. The tug reached the indicated place after 25 minutes, but did not find the broken Witchcraft. Rescuers searched for several days coastal waters, but neither the yacht nor the people on it were ever found.
Most often, ghost ships are found in North Atlantic. However, it is impossible to name the exact number of wanderers - it changes from year to year. According to statistics, in some years the number of “Dutch” ships drifting in the North Atlantic reached three hundred. Quite a lot of ghost ships drift in sea areas far from shipping routes and rarely visited by merchant ships.
At times, The Flying Dutchmen remind us of themselves. Either the current carries them to coastal shallows, or they are thrown by the wind onto rocks or underwater reefs. It happens that the “Dutch” ships, which do not carry running lights at night, become the cause of collisions with oncoming ships, which sometimes have serious consequences.
"Flying Dutchman"
This was the name of the ghost ship, controlled by the dead. It is believed that this is either a ship that was supposed to sink, but for some reason did not, or a victim giant squid or octopus.
Meeting the “flying Dutchman” at sea is considered a bad omen - such a meeting foreshadows death.
"Marlboro"
1913, October - the schooner Marlboro was brought by a storm to one of the bays of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The captain's assistant and several crew members boarded and were shocked by the terrible sight: dead bodies of crew members, dried up like mummies, were scattered throughout the sailing ship. The sailboat's masts were completely intact, but the entire schooner was covered in mold. In the hold it was the same: dead crew members everywhere, dried up like mummies.
The investigation established incredible fact: a three-masted sailing ship left the port of Littleton in early January 1890, it was heading to Scotland, its home port of Glasgow, but for unknown reasons it never arrived at the port.
But what could have happened to the crew of the sailing ship? Did the calm deprive him of his sails and force him to drift aimlessly until all his supplies were exhausted? drinking water? How could it happen that a sailboat with a dead crew did not crash on the reefs after 24 years of drifting?
"Orung Medan"
1947, June (according to other sources - early February 1948) - British and Dutch listening stations, as well as two American ships in the Strait of Malacca received a distress signal with the following content: “The captain and all the officers are lying dead in the cockpit and on the bridge. Perhaps the whole team is dead." This message was followed by unintelligible Morse code and short phrase: "I'm dying". More signals was not received, but the place where the message was sent was determined by triangulation, and one of the American ships mentioned above was immediately sent to it.
When the ship was discovered, they found out that its entire crew was indeed dead, including even the dog. No visible injuries were found on the bodies of the victims, although it was obvious from the expressions on their faces that they were dying in horror and severe agony. The ship itself was also not damaged, but members of the rescue team noted an unusual cold in the depths of the hold. Soon after the inspection began, suspicious smoke began to appear from the hold, and the rescuers were forced to hastily return to their ship. Some time after this, the Orung Medan exploded and sank, making further investigation of the incident impossible.
"Seabird"
On a July morning in 1850, residents of the village of Easton's Beach on the coast of Rhode Island were surprised to see a sailing ship heading towards the shore from the sea under full sail. He stopped in shallow water. People came on board to find coffee boiling on the galley stove and plates laid out on the table in the cabin. But the only thing Living being on board there was a dog, trembling with fear, huddled in the corner of one of the cabins. There was not a single person on the ship.
Cargo, navigation instruments, maps, sailing directions and ship documents, everything was in in perfect order. The last entry in the logbook stated: "Abeam Brenton Reef" (this reef is located only a few miles from Easton's Beach).
It was known that the Seabird was carrying a cargo of timber and coffee from the island of Honduras. But even the most thorough investigation conducted by the Americans did not reveal the reasons for the disappearance of its crew from the sailing ship.
"Ebiy Ess Hart"
1894, September - in Indian Ocean The three-masted barque Ebiy Ess Hart was spotted from the board of the German steamer Pikkuben. A distress signal fluttered from its mast. When the German sailors landed on the deck of the sailing ship, they saw that all 38 crew members were dead, and the captain had gone crazy.
Unknown frigate
1908, October - not far from one of the major Mexican ports, a half-submerged frigate was discovered, with a strong list to the left side. The sailboat's mast topmasts were broken, the name was impossible to establish, and the crew was absent. There were no storms or hurricanes in this area of the ocean at that time. The search was fruitless, and the reasons for the disappearance of the crew remained a mystery, although many of the most various hypotheses.
"I want"
1953, February - the sailors of the English ship "Rani", being 200 miles from the Nicobar Islands, discovered a small cargo ship "Holchu" in the ocean. The ship was damaged and the mast was broken. Although the lifeboats were in place, there was no crew. The holds contained a cargo of rice, and the bunkers contained a full supply of fuel and water. Where the 5 crew members could have disappeared is still a mystery.
"Kobenhavn"
1928, December 4 - the Danish training sailing ship Kobenhavn left Buenos Aires to continue its circumnavigation. On board the sailing ship there was a crew and 80 students from the maritime school. A week later, when the Kobenhavn had already covered about 400 miles, a radiogram was received from the ship. It reported that the voyage was successful and that everything was fine on the ship. Further fate the sailing ship and the people on it remain a mystery. The ship did not arrive at its home port, Copenhagen. They claim that he was subsequently met several times in different corners Atlantic. The sailboat was supposedly sailing under full sail, but there were no people on it.
"Mary Celeste"
1872 is one of the most famous ghost ships The Mary Celeste was found abandoned by its crew for no apparent reason. The ship was quite good, strong, without damage, but throughout its existence it often got into unpleasant situations, which is why a bad reputation was attached to it. The captain and his crew of seven people, as well as his wife and daughter, who were also on board at the time of transportation of the cargo - alcohol, disappeared without a trace. The ship, when discovered, was in good condition with sails set and sufficient supplies of food. There were no signs of a struggle. You can also exclude the version of pirates, because the crew's belongings and alcohol remained untouched.
"Joita"
To this day, the history of the motor ship “Joita” remains a mystery. The ship, which was considered lost, was discovered in the ocean. The ship was without crew or passengers. “Joita” is called the second “Mary Celeste”, about which A. Conan Doyle wrote: “The mystery of this ship will never be solved.” But if the events that took place on the “Celeste City Hall” took place in the century before last, then the disappearance of people on board the “Joyta” dates back to the second half of the twentieth century.
"Joita" had excellent seaworthiness. 1955, October 3 - the ship under the command of Captain Miller, an experienced and knowledgeable sailor, left the port of Apia on the island of Upolu (Western Samoa) and headed for the shores of the Tokelau archipelago. He did not arrive at his destination port.
A search was organized. Rescue ships, helicopters and planes searched the vast ocean area. But all efforts were in vain. The ship and 25 people on board were listed as missing. More than a month passed, and on November 10, the Joyta was accidentally discovered 187 miles north of the Fiji Islands. The ship was half-submerged and had a large list. There were no people or cargo on it.
Schooner Jenny
“May 4, 1823. No food for 71 days. I'm the only one left alive. “The captain who wrote this message was still sitting in his chair with a pen in his hand when this message was discovered in his journal 17 years later. His body, and the bodies of the other six people aboard the British schooner Jenny, were well preserved thanks to the cold weather of Antarctica, where the ship was frozen in ice and killed. The crew of the whaling ship that discovered Jenny after the disaster buried the people, including the dog, at sea.
"Angosh"
1971 - at mysterious circumstances was abandoned by the crew of the Portuguese ship "Angos". This happened off the eastern coast of Africa. The transport "Angos" with a gross tonnage of 1,684 register tons and a carrying capacity of 1,236 tons left on April 23, 1971 from the port of Nacala (Mozambique) to another Mozambican port, Porto Amelia. Three days later, Angos discovered the Panamanian tanker Esso Port Dickson.
The ship was drifting without a crew, 10 miles from the coast. The newly-minted “Flying Dutchman” was taken in tow and brought to the port. After inspection, it turned out that the vehicle had suffered a collision. This was evidenced by the serious injuries he received. There were obvious signs of a recent fire on the bridge. Experts found that it could have been the result of a small explosion that occurred here. But it was never possible to explain the disappearance of 24 crew members and one passenger of the Angosh.
Submarine
1956 - an extraordinary ghost ship appeared in front of the residents of the island of New Georgia (from the Solomon Islands archipelago) gathered on the shore. It was a submarine drifting in the ocean. A skeleton, dried by the tropical sun, protruded from the cabin. The team was nowhere to be seen. The sea hulk was washed ashore by the wind and waves. It was determined to be an American World War II submarine. However, the fate of the crew remained a mystery.
Loading...
