There is something about lighthouses, St. Elmo's fire, cyclones, sea creatures, and ghost ships that sets our romantic hearts afire. A captainless ship wandering turbulent seas without a plan (or a crew), makes us ponder - how does it happen? And, are there any out there now?
Following disasters like hurricanes and tidal waves, rogue ships are not unusual finds. But, in calm times, with no obvious instigator, a ship going crewless and afloat is a curious thing.
Here's some infamous ghost ships in history -
Mary Celeste
A 282-ton brigantine merchantship built in 1861, the Mary Celeste left New York City on November 5, 1872 on what would be her fateful final voyage. Exactly one month later, sailors on the Dei Gratia spied the Mary Celeste in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean heading in the direction of the Strait of Gilbraltar. Aside from several torn sails and a missing lifeboat, she was in relatively good condition...what it was without, was a captain and crew.
Flying Dutchman
This ship is referred to as a harbinger of doom, a cursed ship left to circle the oceans alone.
The first reference to the legend was from as far back as 1795 in the book “Voyage to Botany Bay.” One 1880 supposed sighting was described this way, "At 4 a.m. the Flying Dutchman crossed our bows. A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the masts, spars, and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief as she came up on the port bow, where also the officer of the watch from the bridge clearly saw her, as did the quarterdeck midshipman, who was sent forward at once to the forecastle; but on arriving there was no vestige nor any sign whatever of any material ship was to be seen either near or right away to the horizon, the night being clear and the sea calm. Thirteen persons altogether saw her...At 10.45 a.m. the ordinary seaman who had this morning reported the Flying Dutchman fell from the foretopmast crosstrees on to the topgallant forecastle and was smashed to atoms.”
Ourang Medan
In 1947, a ghost ship adrift in Indonesian waters surprised the two American ships that rushed to a distress signal from the Ourang Medan off the Marshall Islands.
What happened to the dead crew began decades of speculation. In fact, much about the history of the ship and its mission were vague and even registration of its name and owners was unable to be pinpointed.
The story goes that the ship was carrying a large and badly stored stock of sulfuric acid and it was believed much of the crew died from the fumes. It was reported to have been supposedly going from China to Costa Rica.
A radio operator board the troubled vessel sent the following Morse code message: "S.O.S. from Ourang Medan * * * we float. All officers including the Captain, dead in chartroom and on the bridge. Probably whole of crew dead * * *." A few confused dots and dashes later two words came through clearly. They were "I die." Then, nothing more.
When Silver Star crew located and boarded the apparently undamaged Ourang Medan in a rescue attempt, the ship was found littered with corpses (including the carcass of a dog) "[s]prawled on their backs, the frozen faces upturned to the sun with mouths gaping open and eyes staring, the dead bodies resembled horrible caricatures", with no survivors and no visible signs of injuries on the dead bodies.
A fire then broke out in the ship's No. 4 cargo hold, forcing the boarding parties to evacuate the Dutch freighter, thus preventing any further investigation. Soon after, Ourang Medan was observed to explode and sink.
Even the communications officer was found dead with his fingers still upon the telegraph he sent the emergency message on.
To most appearances, all the dead bodies were in agony, eyes open, arms seeming to fend someone off. The crew that discovered their bodies said that they seemed to have died in some agony. As well, they felt that it was frigid cold inside the hold.
It could have ended there as a terrible tragedy on a ship moving dangerous materials, but with it sinking and records of its existence being impossible to locate, it was almost as if the whole thing were a mirage if they hadn't heard the SOS call and taken a photo of a dead body on board.
Pirates of the Caribbean (series)
The Pirate Movie
The Pirate
Captain Blood
The Crimson Pirate
The Black Swan
Cutthroat Island
Blackbeard the Pirate
Treasure Island
The Goonies
The Princess Bride
The Sea Hawk
