FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS
G'day folks,
I guess we have all heard about some famous shipwrecks. Well, here are some of the more famous ones.
The
Titanic:
The Titanic was
the largest cruise ship of its time. The Titanic was built in Ireland
at the Harland and Wolff shipyard. It was considered to be the most developed
ship of that era. However, as history tells us, the Titanic unfortunately sank after colliding against an
ice-berg in its maiden voyage on the 14th of April, 1912. Around 1,
517 people lost their lives in one of the biggest marine tragedies.
The process to carry
out the discovery of the Titanic’ wreck was carried out in the year 1985. Quite
a number of artefacts have been removed from the ship wreck and they are
displayed in the National Maritime Museum, in England.
The Estonia: The Estonia ship
casualty is one of the recent maritime incidents to have occurred. The Estonia,
built in the German shipyard Meyer Werft, sank on the 28th September
1994 in the Baltic Sea. Over 800 people lost their lives in this horrifying
incident, the causes of which were many and at the same time, controversial.
The most commonly known reason for the accident is said
to be the rough weather conditions that the ship encountered. However, certain
other sources disregarded this reason and stated that because of the ship’s
military involvement, bombs were planted by rival countries to destroy the
ship. The shipwreck site is protected heavily. People are disallowed to
approach the site because of the danger that might be caused to the wreck.
Illegal diving near the wreck site is heavily penalised and punished.
Estonia
The
Vampire:
The original
name of this ship was HMS Wallace. It was a British naval ship that was given to the Royal Australian Navy
(RAN) as a loan in the year 1933. Its name was changed to HMAS Vampire, that
same year. The Vampire is a very well-known warship. It was destroyed in the year
1942 by Japanese aircrafts while it was trying to bring the aircraft HMS Hermes
to safety from Trincomalee.
The Andrea Doria: The Andrea Doria was
an Italian ship that sank after colliding against a Swedish ship MS Stockholm in the year
1956, while trying to reach the port of New York City. However, in spite of the
severity of the incident, not many lives were lost because of timely
communication by the ship’s authorities. Today, the shipwreck is a very famous
site for divers. In fact, the Andrea Doria shipwreck site is known as the Mt. Everest of Scuba Diving.
Andrea Doria
The Victory: HMS Victory was launched in the sea in
the year 1737 and met with an accident in the English Channel in the year 1744.
The ship disappeared from sight at Channel Islands and for over 250 years,
there was no sight of any remains of the ship. The shipwreck was discovered in
the year 2008 by the Odyssey Marine Expedition of the United States around 43
nautical miles from where it encountered the storm and disappeared from sight.
Under marine laws, the shipwreck is said to be the property of the British
Government.
The
Carpathia:
The Carpathia
was the ship that came to Titanic’s rescue when the cruise ship met with its
accident. But even the Carpathia met with an untimely accident when it was
destroyed by German submarine in the year 1917 i.e. at the time of World War I.
The Carpathia shipwreck was found in the year 1999 by a company known as Argosy
International Ltd.
The Mary Rose: The Mary Rose was a warship in the navy of the Tudor King Henry VIII. The Mary
Rose was destroyed while leading an action against a French ship in Solent, in
the Isle of Wight. This shipwreck was salvaged in the year 1982 by the Mary
Rose Trust and now the artefacts are displayed in the Portsmouth Historic
Dockyard. The artefacts that were discovered in the Mary Rose were quite unique
and have provided a lot of knowledge to people regarding the equipments of
naval warfare of that era
The Vasa:
The Vasa was a Swedish war vessel that was built during the 17th
century. The ship sank during its maiden voyage in the year 1628. There was an
extensive salvage carried out for restoring the Vasa in the year
1961. Right now, the remains of the Vasa are stored at the Vasa Museum in
Stockholm where it is the most important tourist attraction featuring around 25
million people.
The Rhone: The Rhone was a
packet ship – packet ships were those ships that were used solely for the
purpose of carrying post. This ship was lost in a hurricane, in the British
Virgin Islands in the year 1867. Around 120 lives were reported to be lost in
this mishap. At present, because of the way the shipwreck is positioned in the
water, the Rhone is regarded to be the best diving destination in the
Caribbean.
The Sultana: One of the least
recognised famous shipwrecks is the SS Sultana. The ship was used at the end of
the American Civil War to transport the POWs from the Union army back home. The
explosion of the ship’s boiler in the year 1865 led to the loss of around 1,800
innocent lives in the Mississippi River, near Memphis. The shipwreck was found
in the year 1982 in a soybean field.
The above detailed
shipwrecks talk about bravery and heroicness. Through the findings of these
famous shipwrecks, the history connected with each and every ship wreck can be
known and understood better.
Clancy's comment: I have always feared drowning at sea after watching the film, The Poseidon Adventure, many years ago. To be trapped in an air pocket beneath the surface would be an awful experience.
I'm ...
Think about this!
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