Shipwrecks Stories

Fire at sea on a British transport ship

In November 1820, the transport-ship Abeona was chartered by the Government for the conveyance of emigrants from the Clyde to the British settlements at the Cape of Good Hope.

The SS Abosso, a rich African mail steamer

The "Abosso" was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-43, captain Hellmuth Jürst, on April 24th, 1917, 180 milles North 78° West of Fastnet, on a voyage from Lagos, Bathurst, Gambia (West Africa) to Liverpool, UK, with passengers and a general cargo of West African produce including tin ore, concentrates and so

The Dutch cargo ship "Alpherat" lost with platinum

The steamship "Alpherat" was delivered in August 1928 by William Gray & Co. Ltd West Hartlepool, England for the Dutch shipping company Van Nievelt, Goudrian & Co. in Rotterdam.

Lost pearls and treasure in the liner 'Arabia'

The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co liner Arabia, of 7933 tons, sister ship of the Persia, under the command of Captain Palmer left Sydney for England on September 30th, 1916.

Largest human loss in a ship during World War II

Only eight passengers of the sanitary boat survived the attack of Nazi aviation in 1941.

The collision and foundering of La Bourgogne

The French passenger liner La Bourgogne, from the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, sank after a collision with the British ship Cromartyshire, in dense fog, 60 miles south of Sable Island near Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic, on 4th July 1898.

Terrible loss of life and property in the "Camorta"

It has been ascertained that, as was feared, the British-India Company's steamer Camorta, 2,119 tons, foundered in the Bay of Bengal

The loss of the British India Steam Navigation Company 'Cashmere'

The Daily news correspondant at Alexandria gives an account of the wreck of the British steamer "Cashmere" near Cape Guardafui, the easternmost point of Africa, at the very spot where the "Meikong" was lost only a fortnight before.

America's lost Treasure - A brief story

When the United States Mail Steamship 'Central America' sank in deep water off the coast of the Carolinas during a monstrous 1857 hurricane, it created just such an accidental accumulation of treasure.

Un paquebot français coulé sur mine: La Chaouïa

Le paquebot "Chaouïa", 4335 tonneaux, de la compagnie Paquet n'a pas eu beaucoup de chance, ce 16 janvier 1919. Il saute sur une mine flottante dans le détroit de Messine, à trois miles et demi de la côte et coule à pic dans environ 250 mètres d'eau, emportant avec lui 476 victimes... des vestiges de la Guerre !

The Cinque Chagas: One of the largest submerged treasure still to be found

The account of the Chagas battle with the British represents probably the most horrible spectacle ever known to the Portuguese. We are in 1594...

Loss of the British & African steamer Cleopatra

Loss of the British and African steamer Cleopatra

Explosion and foundering of the steamer Colima

News has reached London that the steamer Colima which left San Francisco on May 18th, 1895, for Panama, with passengers on board...

Destruction of the mail steamer Connaught by fire

The Connaught left Galway, on her second outward bound voyage, for St John's and Boston, on the 25th of September, 1860, with a crew of 124 officers and men...

The Diamond and her rich passengers

We are sorry to state that the fine ship "Diamond" of 500 tons burden, commanded by captain Macey, was totally lost on Sunday morning last, in Cardigan Bay.

Perte d'une gabarre chinoise avec un trésor en argent

Le commandant de l'escadre espagnole de la compagnie des Philippines, ayant envoyé à Canton, en Chine, la gabarre la "Ferrolène" pour y prendre du biscuit, les facteurs de la compagnie à Manille profitèrent de cette occasion pour faire passer 600,000 piastres fortes à la factorerie de la même compagnie à Canton, et le

The disaster of the Flora Temple

The Flora Temple was a first class ship, and having been chartered for the conveyance of coolies, sailed from Macao on the morning of the 8th of last October.

The last voyage of the French packet ship 'Général Abbatucci'

Pope IX did not receive his jubilee presents in 1869. They were lost when the 'Général Abbatucci'...

Loss of the P&O steamer 'Great Liverpool'

1846 - The steamer "Pasha" brought to Southampton the intelligence of the loss of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company ‘s steamer “The Great Liverpool”

Cargo and passengers lost on the 'Hoang Ho'

An investigation was held on the circumstances attending the foundering of the British steamship "Hoang Ho," of the port of Shanghai...

The Silver Liberty Ship from America

Minted in Philadelphia at Saudi Arabia's request, a cargo of three million silver Saudi one-riyal coins was shipped to the oil port of Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia.

Issyk-Kul - Sunken Cities and Treasures: Facts and Legends

Loss of a British steamer in Chile

The British cargo ship Laurel Branch, a two-masted vessel, of 2140 tons have been wrecked on a voyage from Guayaquil and Valparaiso

First World War Steamship loss with the "Mount Temple"

In 1916, Charles H. Sternberg collected dinosaur fossils in the badlands of Alberta, Canada.

Naufrage terrible d'une barque anglaise avec des pélerins

Le "Nasser" était un bâtiment anglais de 500 tonneaux, dont l'équipage était à moitié composé d'Européens, et faisait le commerce depuis plusieurs années entre Bombay et les différents ports des côtes d'Arabie.

The lost jewels of the Maharajah of Karputalah

Announcement in the press that the world’s deepest salvage operation has retrieved a cache of rubies from a British ship laden with gold and jewels that sank to a depth of 10,000ft.

A rich Indian trader in the deep ocean

The India trader "Regular", of 550 tons, under the command of captain Carter sailed from the Thames, London, on the 22nd of February, 1843, with a valuable cargo for Bombay. She had a favourable voyage until the 8th of July.

Un trésor englouti sur les côtes de Boulogne sur Mer - EIC Reliance

Un trésor englouti sur les côtes de Boulogne sur Mer - East India company ship Reliance. Les Océans constituent à la fois le plus grand coffre-fort et le plus grand musée de tous les temps. Certains spécialistes affirment qu’ils renferment environ 40% des métaux précieux extraits par l’homme depuis l’Antiquité.

The loss of lives on the Royal Adelaïde

After 5,000 year voyage, world's oldest built boats deliver

A fleet of the oldest built wooden boats in the world, located in the desert sands of Abydos, Egypt – more than eight miles from the river Nile – are painstakingly being excavated by archaeologists.

The story of the three-masted galliot St Mikael and her treasure

In the autumn of 1747, the three-masted galliot St Mikael was sailing from Amsterdam to St Petersburg under the command of Captain Carl P. Amiel, when the voyage of the ship came to a sudden stop in the waters off the south western coast of Finland.

Malta or Croatia ? The Holy wreck story reconsidered

Search and Recovery Mission 'I-52'

The Japanese Submarine Search and Recovery Mission "I-52" lost in the depth of the Atlantic

A British ship wrecked in paradise

Bound from London to China, on the 12th of October, 1839, the "Sunda" was about 40 miles to the northward of Tenhosa, in the Island of Hainan.

The Oriental Titanic - A Chinese disaster, 37 years later...

Steamer "Tai Ping", 2489 tons gross, owned by China Pacific Shipping & Trading Company reported in collision with steamer "Chien Yuan", ex-Nidaros, 2160 tons gross, owned by Kiensing Steamship Company, en route from Keelung to Shanghai with a full cargo of coal, at 11.25pm on Jan. 27, in foggy weather.

The saga of the shipwreck of the Chinese junk 'Teek Necum' or 'Teksing'

In early January 1822 a large ocean going junk, fat bellied, with squared off bows and stern rising high out of the water, was lying calmly at anchor...

Trésor de Pirates : Expédition réussie ou pas ?

Trésor de Pirates : Expédition réussie ou pas ? La question brûle les lèvres de nombreux chercheurs de trésors. Le chef de la police de cette ville est parti, il y a quelques jours, pour une expédition secrète, avec une vingtaine d'hommes armés. Ils se sont embarqués sur des baleinières; et à la nuit on les a vus se di

Le fabuleux et légendaire trésor de l'île des Cocos

Le fabuleux et légendaire trésor de l'île des Cocos - Narration... A l’époque où vivait Morgan, le célèbre boucanier...

Windermere: Loss of a British ship with a precious African cargo

The brig "Venus", from Newfoundland, came into the harbour of St. Helier, this morning, 13 January 1812, having on board nine men, the surviving part of the crew of the"Windermere", of Liverpool, which foundered in a heavy gale near the coast of Ireland, on the 8th instant.