Maritime Disasters Trivia

1. When the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was built in 1958, it was the biggest Great Lakes freighter ever built, a record thought unlikely to be broken. Why?

From Quiz The Tragedy of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Answer: Maximum size to fit through the St Lawrence Seaway

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were heavily invested in iron and minerals industries but not shipbuilding. Nevertheless, in 1957, they commissioned the building of the "SS Edmund Fitzgerald" with a brief describing the desired length to be "within a foot of the maximum length allowed for passage through the soon-to-be completed Saint Lawrence Seaway" which was 730 feet. The ship had a deadweight of 13632 tons with a 729-foot hull making it the longest vessel on the Great Lakes and it earned the title "Queen of the Lakes" when launched in 1958. (On September 17, 1959, when the SS Murray Bay was launched, it was a foot longer at 730 feet. However, the Queen of the Seas moniker was not transferred to the marginally longer, newer ship). The ship carried raw materials from the railhead of Duluth, Minnesota, and adjacent Superior, Wisconsin, to the industrial cities on the Lakes further east such as Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland and Gary, Indiana. Loading took four hours, unloading 14. The ship was fast, capable of 14 knots or 16mph. The ship created many speed records and by November 1975 it had made 748 round trips on the Great Lakes.

From Quiz Ships Are People Too

Answer: IJN Mikasa

Mikasa was a "pre-dreadnought" - a battleship built before the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought prototype of 1906. She was completed for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in England, and was Admiral Togo's flagship through the entire Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. She took part in several battles, including Tsushima Strait. Within a week of the wars' end, Mikasa exploded and sank at her Sasebo moorings. Raised, repaired, and upgraded, she served until 1923, when she was retired in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty. Saved from the scrapper's torch, the vessel became a national historical ship in 1926. She fell into disrepair after WWII, but was again restored and reopened in Yokosuka in 1961. As a goodwill gesture, sailors from USS Nimitz repainted the ship in 2009. This grand old warrior has a street named in her honor (Mikasa Street) on Walney Island, Barrow-on-Furness, where she was built in 1902.

From Quiz Tip the Boat Over

Answer: Le Joola

Launched in 1990, Le Joola was a Senegalese passenger coastal ferry. She provided a vital link between Dakar, capital of Senegal, and the country's isolated southern regions, by transporting agricultural produce to market. She was licensed to carry 536 passengers, but when she left the southern region of Casamance on Friday, September 26th, 2002, she was overloaded with more than 1,900 people. Off the coast of Gambia, the ferry hit a bad storm and sank. 64 survivors were rescued. 1,863 died.

From Quiz Maritime Disasters

Answer: Bismarck

Bismarck had a short but eventful career. Attempting to evade British pursuers, she made for the French coast. Torpedo planes disabled her steering gear and she was trapped and sunk the next day, either by fire from the Dorsetshire or by scuttling, taking 2100 sailors with her.

From Quiz Quick Tips Sunk Ships

Answer: Lusitania

The sinking of the Lusitania was only one factor in the American decision to enter World War I.

From Quiz Lost At Sea III: The Great Lakes

Answer: HMS Ontario

The Ontario was an 80 foot Sloop-of-War built on Carleton Island on the St. Lawrence River. She had a displacement of 226 tons, and was armed with 22 cannon. On October 31, 1780, the Ontario left Fort Niagara bound for Carleton Island. It was last leg of a trip to the fort that had begun in late September, and she was bringing back 130 British troops, about 40 civilians, and what many believe was about 30 American Prisoners of War taken during the War of Independence. Later that night, the sloop was beset by a sudden and violent gale which sank the ship. There were no survivors. Two hundred and twenty-eight years later, Jim Kennard (who had frutlessly searched for the Ontario off and on for 35 years) and Dan Scoville, using side-scan sonar and a Remotely Operated Vehicle discovered the wreck of the Ontario sitting upright in over 500 feet of water in an area between Rochester, New York and the sloop's intended destination--Fort Niagara. It is now a war grave protected by the British Admiralty.

From Quiz Atlantic Shipwrecks

Answer: RMS Titanic

Over 2,200 people (passengers and crew) were on the Titanic when it struck the iceberg. Of these, around 1500 are known to have died (over 800 passengers and just under 700 crew).

From Quiz Lost At Sea II: More Maritime Disasters

Answer: Tayleur

Owned by Charles Moore & Company of Liverpool, the 1,750 ton RMS Tayleur was launched on October 4, 1853, and set out from Liverpool on January 19, 1854 with 652 passengers and crew on what was to be her maiden voyage. Her destination was Australia, currently in the grip of a gold rush (this is how White Star made its debut). Just two days later (January 21), the Tayleur, fighting through poor visibility and a storm, collided with a reef near the island of Lambay in the Irish sea. She went to the bottom in about half an hour, taking the lives of 380 people. Though brand new at the time of her loss, the Tayleur had many flaws that soon became apparent. There was for instance, the loose rigging, undersized rudder, a compass rendered inaccurate by the ship's iron construction, and the substandard training of her crew, many of whom could not speak English.

From Quiz Luxury Cruise of Doom!

Answer: RMS Lancastria

When the Lancastria was sunk off the coast of France, it was participating in the evacuation of British troops and civilians from that country. Over 4,000 lives were lost when this ship was sunk by a German air attack on June 17, 1940. The sinking of the ship was to cause the greatest loss of life in British maritime history. It is estimated that about 2,000 lives were saved by passing ships, who stopped to help despite the fact that they themselves were under fire. The story was suppressed in British newspapers for over a month. It was not until the American press reported on it that the British found out about the incident.

From Quiz That Sinking Feeling

Answer: New York

The RMS Titanic began its maiden voyage from the port of Southampton in England on 10th April 1912. In the late hours of April 14th the ship hit an iceberg and sank less than three hours later. The sinking caused the death of more than half of the passengers who were onboard the Titanic.

From Quiz Lost At Sea: Famous Maritime Disasters

Answer: Kronan

Designed by English shipwright Francis Sheldon, The Kronan (Crown) was launched in 1668. She was a three decked ship of the line 197 feet in length, with a 43 and a half foot beam, a height of over 200 feet from the keel to masts, and a displacement of approximately 2,200 tons. Whereas the ill fated Vasa was fitted with 64 cannon, the much bigger Kronan had somewhere between 110 to 126 cannon arranged along three gun decks. Since she was to be the epitome of Sweden's naval strength, the Kronan was fitted with arguably some the finest gilding and carvings yet seen on ship of her design. On June 1, 1676, in the waters of the Swedish island of Öland, the Kronan led a fleet of Swedish warships into battle against a combined Dutch-Norwegian-Danish fleet during the Scanian War. In the opening moments of battle, the massive Kronan was turned to port in order to bring her cannon on that side to bear. However, the turn was executed badly, causing the massive ship to roll over onto her port beam ends and flood through her open gun ports. Suddenly, a massive explosion originating in the forward powder magazines tore the once proud Kronan apart. (To this day, what ignited the magazines is still debated). The shattered hull swiftly sank to the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Of the over 800 officers, sailors, and soldiers aboard Kronan, only 40 survived the disaster. The wreck of the Kronan was found in 1980 by Anders Franzén (he found and helped salvage the Vasa in the 1950's and 60's). And has since become an important archaeological site over the past three decades.

From Quiz Shipwrecks, Ghostships & Maritime Mishaps

Answer: East River

The burning and subsequent sinking of the SS General Slocum in New York's East River was that state's greatest disaster until the 911 attacks on the World Trade Center. The Slocum was a side-wheeled paddleboat that was being used for excursion trips around New York City. When the fire started in a storage compartment it quickly became evident that safety precautions had been ignored. Fire hoses were rotted; life jackets were reported to fall apart when touched. All lifeboats were inaccessible and the crew had never even had a fire drill. The captain also refused to run the ship aground which would have saved many, but instead kept sailing into prevailing winds which caused the fire to strengthen. Only 321 people survived. The captain only served 4 years in prison.

From Quiz Lost At Sea II: More Fateful Voyages

Answer: Empress of Ireland

The 'Empress of Ireland' and her sister ship the 'Empress of Britain' were built by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and were designed to cross the Atlantic in six days. On May 28, 1914, the 'Empress of Ireland' collapsed and sank within reach of shore after colliding in fog with a coalship. In all, 1,012 people died, of these 840 were passengers - a greater number than that of passengers who died on the Titanic. Ironically, the coalship, the Norwegian vessel Sorstad, was torpedoed and sunk in 1917.

From Quiz Lost At Sea

Answer: She ran aground on a reef off Haiti.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mary Celeste had a chequered career after 1872, changing hands some 17 times. In January 1885, she ran aground on Rosekell's Reef. No one was hurt, but her cargo was found to be grossly over-insured and the master and shippers were indicted on a charge of barratry.

From Quiz SS Sultana - Tragedy on the River

Answer: Ohio

The Sultana was constructed of wood and was constructed at the John Lithoberry Shipyards of Cincinnati,Ohio. It was built in 1862 and was constructed for the Mississippi River travelers.

From Quiz Famous Sunken Ships of the 20th Century

Answer: 1965

On November 13, 1965, the Yarmouth Castle caught fire when a mattress was stored too close to a lit light bulb in an unused stateroom. She went down at around 6 AM with 90 people lost.

From Quiz Ship Disasters

Answer: North Atlantic between Rotterdam and Halifax.

The Volturno caught fire during a raging gale. Rescue ships pumped oil on the water to calm the seas, and it worked! 135 were lost and 521 were saved by the ten ships that responded to the SOS. The ship remained afloat and burned for almost a week after being abandoned.

From Quiz Disaster at Sea

Answer: Titanic & RMS Titanic

This accident led to stricter regulations for passenger ships.

From Quiz 20th Century Ships #2

Answer: HMS Curacoa

On the 2nd of October 1942, the "Grey Ghost" sliced through her escort, the light cruiser HMS Curacoa off the Irish coast near Donegal. The Queen Mary had 15,000 G.I.'s on board and it was deemed too risky to stop and pick up survivors of the Curacoa. HMS Curlew was her sister ship, and HMS Kelly was a famous destroyer under the command of Lord Mountbatten.

From Quiz 20th Century Ships #1

Answer: Dorsetshire

HMS Sheffield shadowed the Bismark for some time early in the chase, Belfast helped hunt down the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst. Exeter was involved in The Battle of the River Plate with the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee and the Dorsetshire joined her victim when she was sunk in 1942 by Japanese air power off Singapore.

From Quiz Shipwrecks Throughout History

Answer: July 19, 1545

'Mary Rose' was the pride of King Henry VIII. It sank whilst he was watching. The hull was raised intact on Oct.11,1982.

From Quiz Shipwreck!

Answer: Britannic

Originally to have been named Gigantic, she was renamed after the Titanic disaster -- and we all know what bad luck follows a renamed ship...

From Quiz Tip the Boat Over

Answer: Dona Paz

The islands of the Philippines are served by hundreds of old passenger ferries and it's not uncommon for these ferries to be severely overloaded. On December 20th, 1987, a local ferry, Dona Paz, was making a regular crossing of the Strait of Tabias, when she collided with a small oil tanker. The tanker and the overloaded ferry both sank within minutes, with an estimated 4,341 deaths. Only 24 survived.

From Quiz The Cause of the Problem

Answer: Thick fog

The two ships had seen each other before the fog thickened, and it is uncertain why the collier was not able to avoid striking the Empress and sinking her in the St Lawrence River. The rapidity of the sinking made launching lifeboats almost impossible, and over 1000 perished.

From Quiz Maritime Disasters

Answer: Titanic

Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. She was considered unsinkable, but there is some evidence that faulty rivets may have contributed to her demise. Of the 2200 on board, 710 were saved. Only some 300 bodies were recovered.

From Quiz Quick Tips Sunk Ships

Answer: USS Indianapolis

Due to miscommunication the USS Indianapolis was not reported lost for days. Of the 880 sailors who entered the water, only 316 survived.

From Quiz Lost At Sea III: The Great Lakes

Answer: Marquette and Bessemer No. 2

Owned and operated by the Marquette and Bessemer Dock & Navigation Company, The 2,584 ton, 338 foot long Marquette and Bessemer No. 2 left Conneaut, Ohio on December 7, 1909 carrying a crew of 33, one passenger, and a deck load of hopper cars loaded with coal and/or iron ore destined for Port Stanley, Ontario. She steamed out into a gale bringing 70 MPH winds and heavy seas which assaulted the burdened ferry as it tried to steam for shelter. In the early morning hours of December 8, residents of Conneaut and Port Stanley purportedly heard a ship's whistle--possibly the M&B No. 2's-- shrieking out a distress signal not far from the shores of those towns. A few days later, the crew of a fishing boat, the Commodore Perry, discovered one of the M&B No. 2's lifeboats--with the frozen bodies of nine men huddled inside it--and the clothing of a tenth man scattered with them. A year later, the body of the M&B No. 2's captain, Robert McLeod, was recovered on the Canadian side of the Niagara River. It is believed by some that the ferry's lack of a sea gate or an enclosed stern to protect her main deck allowed her to be overwhelmed by the storm's waves. The M&B No. 2's distinction as a "ghost ship" stems from the following legend: It is said that on clear nights in December, the doomed ferry's call's for help can still be heard off Conneaut's shores.

From Quiz Atlantic Shipwrecks

Answer: Andrea Doria

Technology can blind. Even the most modern radar is only as good as the mariner interpreting it.

From Quiz Lost At Sea II: More Maritime Disasters

Answer: HMS Birkenhead

Laid down originally as a six gun side-wheel frigate (quickly re-classified as a troopship) Birkenhead steamed out of Portsmouth harbor in January 1852 to take part in the Eighth war against the Xhosa people in South Africa (it was also known as the Frontier War). After taking on 643 soldiers and civilians (as well as a shipment of horses and 300,000 pounds in gold coin), the Birkenhead steamed out of Simon's Bay (near Cape Town) on to her next destination: Algoa Bay, some 425 miles east of the Cape of Good Hope. Just before 2 'o clock, on the morning of February 26, 1852, the Birkenhead blundered into rocks close to the aptly named Danger Point, near the town of Gansbaai. The ship was badly holed and was soon breaking up. The 480 or so soldiers and marines aboard were placed under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Seton from the 74th Highlanders and maintained their discipline throughout the disaster, helping the crew to man the ship's pumps as well as obeying Colonel Seton's orders to stand fast and allow the civilian passengers to leave in the ship's boats. Eventually, with the masts and the funnel crashing around them, and the ship's hull completely separated into two halves and sank only 25 minutes after striking the rocks, about 50 men clung to the masts (which still remained above water) while many of the ship's crew and the soldiers were cast into the waters of the South Atlantic where they drowned or were killed by sharks. In the end Colonel Seton and many of the troops under him were lost with the Birkenhead, as was the troopship's captain, Robert Salmond. 193 others survived the disaster and were rescued, including all of the women and children aboard. The sacrifice of the Birkenhead's troops was honored with a plaque erected on the Danger Point lighthouse in 1936, and a more modern plaque in 1995. The most famous memorial to the Birkenhead however was its mention in a verse of Rudyard Kipling's poem "Soldier an' Sailor too" (you can find the poem here at: http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_soldiersailor.htm).

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