I was inspired to write this list because I’m in the Navy, and have
spent a great deal of time at sea. Although most of the time it is quite
boring, I have had the opportunity to see some beautiful, amazing and,
sometimes, strange things. Finding an abandoned Catamaran in the middle
of the Atlantic with no signs of life on board, apart from some recently
caught fish, and finding a 100 year old buoy that had been drifting
undiscovered for decades are two that come to my mind right now.
Also I would like to note that being on an abandoned ship, especially
a warship, is a very creepy experience. Knowing that it was once full
of life and is now empty is quite a strange and lonely experience.
Ghost Ships are defined as: “fictional haunted ships, or ones found
adrift with their entire crew either missing or dead, or one which has
been decommissioned but not yet scrapped”. I have therefore not included
supposed Haunted Ships such as the Queen Mary or the USS Hornet.
10. Carrol A. Deering
The Carrol A Deering was a 5 mast Schooner, built in 1911. Named for
the owner’s son, she was a cargo vessel and her final voyage found her
sailing from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, on December 2nd, 1920. The Master,
William Merrit, and his first mate, Sewall Merrit (his son), had a crew
of 10 Scandinavians. Both fell ill and Captain W. B. Wormell was
recruited as a replacement.
After leaving Rio, the Deering stopped in Barbados for supplies.
Here, the First Mate, McLennan, got drunk and complained to a fellow
Mariner about Captain Wormell, his incompetence at disciplining the crew
and his inability to Navigate the ship without the aid of McLennan.
McLennan was arrested after he was overheard boasting “I’ll get the
Captain before we get to Norfolk, I will”. Wormell forgave him, bailed
him out and the Deering set sail for Hampton Roads.
The Vessel was not sighted until January 28th, 1921, when a Lightship
keeper was hailed by a red haired man milling around on the foredeck.
The man told the Lightship keeper, in a foreign accent, that the Deering
had lost her anchors, but the Keeper was unable to relay the message
due to a malfunctioning radio.
3 days later, on January 31st, the Deering was found aground on
Diamond Shoals, off Cape Hatteras. Boarding of the ship was delayed due
to bad weather and eventually rescue personal made it on to the vessel
on February 4th. What they found made the Deering one of the most
written about maritime mysteries in history. The Deering was completely
abandoned. The logs and Navigation equipment were missing, as were 2 of
the ships lifeboats. The Galley was midway into preparation for the
following days meal. Unfortunately, the vessel was scuttled with
Dynamite before a full investigation into the mystery could take place.
The crews disappearance occurred in the Bermuda Triangle, and several
other vessels had disappeared in the same period and region as the
Deering, including the sulfur freighter Hewitt. Many theories became
popular during the investigation including Paranormal explanations,
mutiny, piracy and Rum-runners stealing the vessel to sail to the
Bahamas. The formal investigation ended in 1922, without any official
ruling on the mysteries surrounding the apparent abandonment of the
Carrol A. Deering.
9. Baychimo
Built in Sweden in 1911, the Baychimo was a Pelt trader along the
routes of North West Canada. She was given to Great Britain by Germany
as part of War reparations.
The 20 year old Cargo Steamers final (crewed) voyage occurred in
October 1931, carrying a cargo of fur. The vessel became ice packed off
the coast of the town of Barrow. The crew temporarily abandoned the
vessel and headed 1/2 a mile inland in search of shelter from the
freezing conditions. The ship eventually broke free of the ice a week
later, on the 8th October, and the crew returned, only to become trapped
in ice, again, on the 15th October. 15 crew members built a makeshift
shelter some distance away, intent on waiting out the winter and
eventually sailing the ship free.
On the 24th November, a blizzard struck. When it calmed, the crew
found that the Baychimo had vanished, presumed sunk in the storm.
Several days later a seal hunter informed the crew that he had sighted
the vessel about 45 miles from their camp. The crew tracked the vessel
to retrieve their precious cargo and left the Baychimo to its fate.
Over the next 4 decades there were numerous sightings of the Baychemo
along the coast of Canada. Several boardings were attempted, few were
successful, the ones that were often resulting in the salvagers becoming
trapped inside due to adverse weather conditions. The last confirmed
sighting occurred in 1969, 38 years after she was abandoned, she was
found frozen in an ice pack. In 2006, the Alaskan Government began an
operation to locate the ‘The Ghost ship of the Arctic’ but, to date,
they have been unsuccessful.
Trapped in Ice, floating or at the bottom of the ocean, the fate of the Baychimo remains a mystery.
8. Eliza Battle
Launched in Indiana in 1852, the Eliza Battle was a luxury wooden hulled paddle steamer regularly entertaining Presidents
and VIPs. Disaster struck on a cold night in February 1858, when the
steamer navigated the Tombigbee. A fire started on cotton bales on the
main deck and soon spread out of control. The strong winds helped the
fire spread quickly over the upper deck. Out of control, the Eliza
Battle drifted downstream, coming to rest at Kemp’s Landing. Men died in
efforts to save their loved ones and women died in their efforts to
save their children, though, fortunately, there were few aboard the ill
fated final trip of the Eliza Battle. Of the estimated 100 people on
board, 26 souls were lost, mainly attributed to death by exposure. The
ship sank in 28ft of water, and its wreck remains to this day.
During the spring floods, late at night during the full moon, it is
said the riverboat can be seen rising out of the water and floating up
the river with music playing and fires burning on the deck, sometimes
only the outline of the steamer is sighted. The fire is so bright a name
plate bearing the name Eliza Battle can be seen on the side of the
vessel. Local fisherman believe that sighting the Eliza Battle is a sign
of an impending disaster and ill omens to ships still plying the
Tombigbee River.
7. MV Joyita
The MV Joyita was a luxury yacht, built in 1931, in Los Angeles for
Movie Director Roland West. During the Second World War she was
outfitted as a Patrol Boat and worked around the coast of Hawaii until
the end of the War.
On October the 3rd, 1955, the Joyita set sail from Samoa bound for
the Tokelau Islands 270 nautical miles away. Her departure had been
delayed due to a clutch malfunction on the port main engine, the clutch
was not repaired and the Yacht sailed on one engine. There were 25 souls
on board, including a Government Official, 2 children and a surgeon on
his way to perform an amputation. Though the journey should have taken
no more than 2 days, by the 3rd day Joyita had not arrived in port. No
distress call had been received even though the vessels course would
have kept her well within radio range of coast guard and relay stations.
A 100,000 sq mi search was conducted by aircraft of the Royal New
Zealand Air Force but there was no sign of the Yacht, her crew or
passengers.
It was not until November 10th, 5 weeks later, that the vessel was
found. The Tuvalu sighted the Joyita 600mi from her planned route. The
vessel was listing heavily to port with her deck edge partially
submerged. 4 tonnes of cargo were missing and none of the crew members
were onboard. The ships VHF radio was tuned to the International
Distress Frequency. The vessel was found to still be running on one
Engine, with an auxiliary pump rigged but not running. All the clocks on
board had stopped at 10:25 and switches for cabin and navigation lights
were on. A doctor’s bag was found on the floor with 4 blood stained
bandages. The logbook, sextant and chronometer were missing, along with 3
life rafts.
A subsequent enquiry found that the vessels hull was sound and that
the fate of the crew was ‘inexplicable on the evidence submitted at the
inquiry’. The missing life rafts were especially intriguing as the
vessel was cork lined, making her unsinkable, a fact the Master and the
crew would have been fully aware of. No mention of the use of the
medical equipment was in the investigation. The missing cargo also
remained a mystery.
Theories ranged from the outright bizarre:
Remaining Japanese forces from World War II were to blame for the
disappearances, operating from an isolated island base to the more
believable: insurance fraud, piracy, mutiny.
The Joyita was repaired, but ran aground on several more occasions,
being dubbed a cursed ship she was eventually sold for scrap in the
1960s.
6. Flying Dutchman
Probably the most famous Ghost Ship, The Flying Dutchman has been
popularized by ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ and for the big kids
amongst you ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ (The Frying Dutchman). But what many
people will not know is that ‘The Flying Dutchman’ refers to the
Captain of the vessel, and not the vessel itself.
Several Spectral ships around the World are known as ‘The Flying
Dutchman’ but I am going to refer to the original, located off the Cape
of Good Hope. Here is the embellished tale:
“The Captain of the vessel, Hendrick Van Der Decken, was voyaging
around the Cape of Good Hope with a final destination of Amsterdam. He
swore to Round the Cape if it took him ’til Doomsday’. With a terrible
storm abound, Van Der Decken refused to turn the ship around despite the
pleas of the crew. Monstrous waves pummeled the vessel while the
captain sang obscene songs, drank beer and smoked his pipe. Finally,
with no options remaining, several of the crew mutinied. The Captain,
aroused from his drunken stupor shot dead the lead mutineer and threw
his body overboard, above him the clouds parted and a voice billowed
from the Heavens.
‘You’re a very Stubborn Man’, to which the Captain replied ‘ I never
asked for a peaceful voyage, I never asked for anything, so clear off
before I shoot you too’ Van Der Decken made aim to fire into the sky but
the pistol exploded in his hand.
‘you are condemned to sail the oceans for eternity, with a ghostly
crew of dead men. Bringing death to all who sight your spectral ship,
and to never make port or know a moments peace. Furthermore, gall shall
be your drink, and red hot iron your meat’”
There have been many sightings of The Flying Dutchman, often by
reputable and experienced seamen, including Prince George of Wales and
his brother, Prince Albert Victor of Wales,
According to Admiral Karl Doenitz, U Boat crews logged sightings of
The Flying Dutchman off the Cape Peninsula. For most or all of these
crews, it proved to be a terrible omen. The ghostly East Indiaman was
also seen at Muizenberg, in 1939. On a calm day in 1941, a crowd at
Glencairn beach saw a ship with wind-filled sails, but it vanished just
as it was about to crash onto the rocks.
5. Young Teazer
Built in 1813, the Young Teazer was an American Privateer Schooner
preying on sea trade of the British Empire off the coast of Halifax. She
was a remarkably fast vessel taking many prizes from Nova Scotia,
several right at the mouth of Halifax Harbour. In June, 1813, the Teazer
was chased by the Nova Scotian Privateer Brig Sir John Sherbrooke, but
Teazer was able to escape into the Fog. Shortly after, HMS La Hogue, a
74-gunned third rate ship of the line, pursued the Schooner as she was
reportedly cornered in Mahone Bay. With nightfall pending, La Hogue was
joined by HMS Orpheus and the vessels prepared to board Young Teazer,
which had no where left to run.
The La Hogue sent a five boat boarding party towards the Schooner. As
the boats approached, the Young Teazer exploded. 7 of the crew survived
and claimed they last saw the Teazers First Lieutenant, Frederick
Johnson, running to the main magazine with flaming embers, considered
mad Johnson threw the embers into the ammunition killing himself and 30
other crew members, many of whom lie in unmarked graves in an Anglican
Cemetery in Mahone Bay.
Soon after the tragic event, eye witness reports began to surface
that the Young Teazer had reemerged from the depths as a fiery spectral
ship. The Following year, on June 27th, people of Mahone Bay were
startled to see an apparition sailing into the same water where the
Young Teazer had been destroyed. As it came nearer they recognized it as
the privateer, and then it vanished in a huge puff of flame and smoke.
The story spread through the country, and on the next anniversary many
more were on hand, watching for “the fire ship.” Sure enough, it
appeared again, and it is legend to this day that many persons have
witnessed the appearance of the ghost ship, and have seen it disappear
in flame. If you are standing on the deck of a ship at sea, the
apparition appears to threaten to ram your vessel. Many report an
overwhelming sense of fear when they see the phantom pirate ship. The
Ghost Ship, known locally as ‘The Teazer Light’ can be seen on foggy
nights, most notably those that fall within 3 days of a full moon.
4. Octavius
The Octavius was allegedly discovered West of Greenland by a whaler
on October 11th, 1775. Crewmembers of the Whaler Herald boarded the
assumed derelict Vessel, discovering the entire crew dead, frozen,
apparently at the moment of their death. The Captain was found in his
cabin, also frozen at his desk with his pen in hand, still writing in
his log. He was accompanied by a dead woman, a child covered in a
blanket and a sailor holding a tinderbox. The petrified boarding party
left in a hurry, taking only the log back to the Herald. Unfortunately,
its frozen state meant that it slipped from its binding and they only
recovered the first and last pages. The partly complete entry in the log
was dated 1762, meaning the vessel had been in the state they
discovered it for 13 years.
The Octavius had left England for the Orient in 1761. The Captain
opted to take the treacherous, but much shorter route of the unconquered
North West Passage. It is believed the ship became trapped in ice
whilst traveling past Northern Alaska. The discovery of the ship meant
that the Octavius was the first ship to Navigate the North West Passage,
albeit the crew never lived to witness it. The ship was presumed to
have broken free of the ice in the winter months and the crew, dead from
exposure, drifted with the winds for 13 years. The Octavius was never
seen again after this strange encounter.
3. Lady Lovibond
13th February, 1748 – Celebrating his marriage, Simon Reed took his
new bride, Annette, aboard his ship, the Lady Lovibond, for a cruise to
Portugal. At the time it was considered bad luck to bring a woman
onboard. Unbeknownst to Reed, his First Mate, John Rivers, was in love
with the Captains wife and paced the deck in an uncontrollable rage.
Overcome with jealousy, he attacked the helmsman with a belaying pin,
killing him instantly. Rivers took the wheel and steered the Lovibond
towards the notorious Goodwin Sands. All souls were lost and the
subsequent inquiry ruled a verdict of Misadventure.
50 years later to the day, 2 separate ships witnessed a phantom ship
sailing the Goodwin Sands. On the 13th February, 1848, local fishermen
saw a vessel wreck on the area and lifeboats were sent out to
investigate, with no sign of ship on the sands being found. In 1948, the
ghost of Lovibond was seen again by Captain Bull Prestwick and was
described as looking real but having an eerie green glow.
Unfortunately, you will have to wait until the 13th February, 2048,
for the next sighting, as she is said to appear only once every 50
years: don’t forget to mark your calendar. The Goodwin Sands are
England’s most fertile grounds for ghost ships, and are also the
location of the legendary island of Lomea. The Lady Lovibond shares the
area with two other phantom vessels: a liner called the SS Montrose and
the Shrewsbury, a man-of-war.
2. Mary Celeste
The Mary Celeste can rightly claim the title of the greatest maritime
mystery of all time, and is definitely the most documented case of a
missing crew. To this day the events that lead to the 8 crew and 2
passengers apparently vanishing from the face of the Earth are a topic
of great controversy and debate.
On December 13th, 1872, onlookers witnessed a small 2 masted sailing
vessel entering the Bay of Gibraltar. The Mary Celeste had sailed from
New York on November 7th, and was bound for Genoa; she had a cargo of
1701 barrels of Alcohol. On the Afternoon of December 5th, Captain
Morehouse of the Dei Gratia came upon a Brigantine following a parallel
course that he recognized as the Mary Celeste. He and the Master,
Captain Briggs, were close friends and had dined together before setting
sail. Morehouse was alarmed to see the Celeste Yawing irrationally,
surprising as he knew Briggs to be a talented seaman. After 2 hours of
attempted hails with no reply, Morehouse proceeded to board the out of
control vessel.
The Celeste appeared sea worthy and seemed to have been abandoned
with haste. All of the ship’s papers were missing with the exception of
the Captain’s Log, with the last entry stating the ship had passed the
Azores on November 25th. Stories arose of warm cups of tea, half eaten
breakfast and still smoking pipes, these stories are most likely untrue
but it was clear the vessel had been abandoned in a hurry, but there
were no signs of violence or a struggle. A six-month supply of
uncontaminated food and fresh water was still aboard, and the crew’s
personal possessions and artifacts were left untouched, all the cargo
was accounted for with the exception of 9 barrels being empty. There was
water damage to the vessel which lead some to believe the Celeste was
abandoned due to inclement weather, but this contradicts Briggs
personality: he was described as a brave and courageous man who would
only abandon ship if there was an imminent risk of loss of life.
Morehouse sailed the Celeste into Gibraltar, arriving on December 13th.
A marine surveyor who was charged with investigating the mystery
discovered what he believed to be a few spots of blood in the captain’s
cabin, an “unclean” ornamental cutlass in Briggs’ cabin, a knife and a
deep gash on a railing that he equated with a blunt object or an axe,
but while he did not find such a weapon on board, he believed the damage
was recent. He found no trace of any damage to the vessel and she was
found seaworthy.
Many explanations were put forward for the events: Piracy, Insurance
Fraud (Briggs and Morehouse colluded), murder by the crew of Dei Gratia,
Sea quake or other phenomena, an explosion caused by the fumes from the
cargo, Ergotism from contaminated flour causing the crew to become mad,
mutiny and several paranormal explanations.
Over the next 13 years the Mary Celeste changed hands 17 times, with
several tragic deaths. Her final Captain deliberately grounded her to
make a false insurance claim. In 2001, the National Underwater and
Maritime Agency claim to have found the wreck of the Mary Celeste,
although skeptics claim that there are hundreds of similar wrecks in the
area and cannot determine with any certainty the identity of the
vessel.
1. Ourang Medan
In June, 1947, frantic Morse Code messages were received from the
Dutch freighter Ourang Medan. The message was received by many ships and
several responded. The message reported ‘All officers including captain
are dead lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead.’ A
second message was received shortly after, this time a voice over the
radio simply stating ‘I die’. Dutch and British listening posts were
able to triangulate the position and vector a rescue attempt to the
Ourang Medan. After several hours the Silver Star the arrived on scene.
After failed attempts to hail the vessel using whistle signals and
flashing lights. they assembled a small team and boarded the apparently
undamaged Ourang Medan. They first ventured to the bridge where a radio
was playing, several members of the Ships’ Company, including the
Captain, were found dead, more corpses were discovered on the Cargo Deck
including a dog standing on all four legs, frozen and snarling into
thin air.
No survivors were found on board, but what was most disturbing was
the nature of the bodies, all frozen in place looking up towards the
sun, their arms outstretched, mouths gaping, and a look of immense
horror on all their faces. A trip to the communications room revealed
the author of the SOS messages, also dead, his hand still on the Morse
sending key, eyes wide open and teeth bared. Strangely, there was no
sign of wounds or injuries on any of the bodies. The crew of the Silver
Star attempted to enter the Cargo Bay but a small explosion from an
unknown source soon resulted in an uncontrollable inferno. Beaten back,
they were forced to abandon the vessel and return to the safety of the
Silver Star. Within minutes the vessel sank to the depths of the ocean
floor.
Although there are no clear records of a ship by the name Ourang
Medan existing, many conspiracy theorists believe the vessel was acting
under a false name and was transporting something that ‘officially’ did
not exist.
The fate of the Ourang Medan and her crew remain a mystery.
Speculation has been made that pirates killed the crew and sabotaged the
ship, although this doesn’t explain the peculiar grimaces and lack of
injuries on the corpses. Others have claimed that clouds of methane or
other noxious natural gases could have bubbled up from fissures on the
sea bed and engulfed the ship. Even more fantastical theories involving
aliens and ghosts abound.
