THIS DAY IN HISTORY – Ships collide off Newfoundland, killing 322 – 1854

Via History.com

Sudden and heavy fog causes two ships to collide, killing 322 people off the coast of Newfoundland on September 27, 1854.

The Arctic was a luxury ship, built in 1850 to carry passengers across the Atlantic Ocean. It had a wooden hull and could reach speeds of up to 13 knots, an impressive clip at that point in history. On September 20, the Arctic left Liverpool, England, for North America. Seven days later, just off of the Newfoundland coast, it came into a heavy fog. Unfortunately, the ship’s captain, James Luce, did not take the usual safety measures for dealing with fog—he did not slow the Arctic, he did not sound the ship’s horn and he did not add extra watchmen.

At 12:15, the Arctic slammed into the steamer Vesta, an iron-hulled ship piloted by Captain Alphonse Puchesne. Since it was the Arctic that hit the Vesta, the crew of the Arctic initially directed their energy at helping the Vesta. They had not realized that the iron hull of the Vesta had actually done much more damage to the Arctic than vice versa.

Soon, the Arctic released lifeboats, but many capsized in the choppy waters. As the crew of the Arctic discovered that their ship was seriously damaged, Captain Luce decided to try to beach the ship. In doing so, he ran over several of the lifeboats, causing even more people to drown. The Arctic was too far from shore for the attempt to be successful and the action only increased the rate of flooding inside the ship.

General panic then ensued. Desperate Arctic crew members took lifeboats from women and children attempting to escape. When one of the ship’s high-ranking officers tried to stop this, the crew killed him. The final 70 people left on board crowded onto a makeshift raft as the Arctic sank. Reportedly only one member of this group survived.

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7 Comments
Anonymous
Anonymous
September 27, 2023 7:47 am

Wrecking “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”:

zappalives
zappalives
  Anonymous
September 27, 2023 8:36 am

Does anyone know where the love of GOD goes ?
When the gales of November come early…………..

pyrrhus
pyrrhus
  zappalives
September 27, 2023 12:18 pm

According to Mile Mathis, Gordon Lightfoot was related to the Captain….

Anonymous
Anonymous
  pyrrhus
September 27, 2023 5:19 pm

Mathisian genealogies are hilariooos.
Kind of the literary version of whack a mole.

With Mathis, Jews are behind everywhere

Anthony Aaron
Anthony Aaron
September 27, 2023 12:21 pm

Small potatoes compared with our own US Navy’s much more recent history … this article reports 2 incidents involving our ‘modern’ Navy …

https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/us-navy-crashes-japan-cause-mccain/

Anonymous
Anonymous
September 27, 2023 5:17 pm

Aaah, an earlier “Titanic” type ship insurance scam..
Right off Newfoundland?

The SS Arctic:
, an American paddle steamer owned by the Collins Line, sank on September 27, 1854, 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Newfoundland 

The Titanic:
Sank, 370 miles (600 km) southeast of Newfoundland

Seems this is where the wealthy like to stage ship disasters.

Anonymous
Anonymous
September 27, 2023 5:40 pm

The ship was not only heavily damaged, it was hemorrhaging money.
The sinking was an insurance scam.

On 18 May 1854, Arctic struck the Black Rock, off the coast of the Saltee Islands, County Wexford whilst on a voyage from Liverpool to New York. She was refloated and put back to Liverpool.[16][17] In July 1854, Arctic’s engines were adapted, in the hopes of reducing the heavy fuel costs that were helping to undermine the ship’s profitability. The Baltimore Sun reported that the modifications were an invention of a Baltimore firm, Wethered Bros, and if successful, would reduce fuel costs by half.[14] The powerful engines fitted to Arctic and her sisters strained their wooden hulls, and the line incurred large expenses in maintaining the vessels.[7]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Arctic

Who told you?
Who benefits?