In 1872, the sailing ship was found without a single crew member, it was solid and intact, even the cargo remained on board.
151 years ago, on December 5, 1872, about 640 km east of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, an abandoned drifting sailboat named Mary Celeste was discovered. While the ship was undamaged and the entire cargo was stored in the hold, not a single crew member was on board. This ghost ship was discovered by the crew of another British sailing ship called Dei Gracia. Where did the entire crew of Mary Celeste go and what happened to them? Researchers have several theories, writes IFLScience.
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As early as November 5, 1872, the sailing ship Mary Celeste sailed from New York, USA, to Genoa, Italy, with a load of 1,701 barrels (the size of a barrel) of alcohol. On board were Captain Benjamin Briggs, as well as his wife, two-year-old daughter and 7 crew members.
8 days after the departure of the ship “Maria Celeste” sailed to Europe on the sailboat “Dei Gracia”, and the captain of this ship, David Morehouse, believed that the Briggs ship should arrive in Italy on December 5, 1872. . However, that day he noticed a ship drifting 640 km east of the Azores and decided to find out what had happened.
After approaching the Mary Celeste, the crew of another sailboat boarded and did not find a single person on board. At the same time, all personal belongings remained in their places. They also found a source of food and water for half a year of sailing, along with all the cargo. The only thing missing was a lifeboat.
The absence of a single person from the Mary Celeste has given rise to numerous theories, and the ship itself received the status of a ghost ship.
- Some researchers have suggested that an unexplained natural phenomenon occurred, there were rumors of a mysterious sea monster or pirates attacking the ship.
- There was even a theory that the Dei Grazia crew actually did a pirate raid, but this assumption was soon dismissed as the Mary Celeste was a faster ship and also because Dei Grazia left port only 8 days later. Therefore, it was impossible to catch up with the ghost ship.
- The theory that some other pirates had attacked the ship was also soon put aside, at least as all the cargo and personal belongings of the crew remained intact. Although 9 out of 1701 barrels of alcohol were empty.
- The theory that there was a mutiny on board was also unconfirmed, since there was no sign of fighting, and the rebels, on the other hand, had to disembark the captain and his family, and they were to set sail. captured ship.
It is also worth noting that while the ship’s hold contains a small amount of seawater, one of the two pumps used to pump it out is in disassembled condition. Some scientists now adhere to the theory that when a pump is operating, the captain cannot accurately estimate the amount of water taken up by the ship. Therefore, when there was a storm, this water began to accumulate more and the captain was able to decide to save everyone on board so as not to risk the lives of family members and crew. The fact that the storm is still mentioned in the last entry in the ship’s logbook.
Another theory is that the captain may have panicked and ordered everyone to evacuate after the alcohol exploded. But no traces of burning were found, but at the same time, as mentioned above, there was no alcohol in 9 barrels.
A few years ago, scientists from University College London decided to test this theory, and for this they used butane gas placed in a kind of wooden barrel. The experiment showed that alcohol in barrels on board could explode like this gas, but the resulting flame quickly disappeared, leaving no trace of combustion. Therefore, scientists suggested that it was the explosion that could provoke the captain to force everyone to urgently leave the ship.
Scientists believe that in fact the entire crew may have been transported to the lifeboat, just as a precaution, waiting for a fire to break out. But due to a severe storm, people died from the ship “Mary Celeste”, most likely on a fragile boat.
But until now, researchers continue to look for a clue to the mysterious disappearance of the crew from this ship, looking for the reasons for what really happened on board 151 years ago.
Previously Focus He wrote about a stealth plane flying over the US for 4 hours while everyone inside was dead or unconscious. The pilots last contacted 6 minutes after takeoff, but it was not possible to contact them afterwards.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.