![deering2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Deering2.jpg)
A ghost ship, also known as a phantom ship, is a
vessel with no living crew aboard; it may be a fictional
ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
ly vessel, such as the ''
Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
'', or a physical
derelict found adrift with its crew missing or dead, like the ''
Mary Celeste
''Mary Celeste'' (; often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) was an American-registered merchant brigantine, best known for being discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. The Cana ...
''. The term is sometimes used for ships that have been
decommissioned but not yet
scrapped
Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...
, as well as drifting boats that have been found after breaking loose of their ropes and becoming carried away by the wind or the waves.
Chronology
Folklore, legends, and mythology
* Undated – ''
Chasse-galerie
''La Chasse-galerie'' also known as "The Bewitched Canoe" or "The Flying Canoe" is a popular French-Canadian tale of lumberjacks from camps working around the river of Gatineau who make a deal with the devil, a variant of the Wild Hunt. Its best-k ...
'' is a haunted canoe doomed to paddle the skies of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
* Undated – The ''
Caleuche
The Caleuche (from the Mapudungun ''kalewtun,'' "to transform, to change" and ''che'', "people": "transformed people"), also called The Enchanted Ship, Barcoiche, The Ghost Ship, or The Warlocks' Ship, is a legendary ghost ship from Chilote my ...
'' is a mythical ghost ship that, according to local folklore and
Chilote mythology
The Chilote mythology or Chilota mythology is formed by the myths, legends and beliefs of the people who live in the Chiloé Archipelago, in the south of Chile. This mythology reflects the importance of the sea in the life of Chilotes.
Chilote myt ...
, sails the seas around
Chiloé Island
Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
at night.
* Undated – The
Fireship of Baie des Chaleurs is a form of ghost light, an unusual visual phenomenon that appears at
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst ( 2021 population; UA 12,157 ) is the largest City in Northern New Brunswick, it overlooks the Nepisiguit Bay, part of Chaleur Bay and is at the estuary of the Nepisiguit River. As part of the New Brunswick local governance reform , e ...
, Canada. The phenomenon has been the source of many a tall tale, and has been said to appear as a flaming three-mast galley much like the style of ship featured on New Brunswick's provincial flag.
* 1748 onwards – The ''
Lady Lovibond
The ''Lady Lovibond'' (sometimes spelled ''Luvibond'') is the name given to a legendary schooner that is alleged to have been wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, off the Kent coast of south-east England, on 13 February 1748, and is said to reappear th ...
'' is said to have been deliberately wrecked on 13 February 1748 off
Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
, Kent, England, and to reappear off the
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
coast every fifty years.
* 18th century onwards – The
Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait is the apparition of a burning ship that is regularly reported between
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
and
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, Canada.
* 1795 onwards – The ''
Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
'' is said to be a ship commanded by a captain condemned to eternally sail the seas. It has long been the principal ghost ship legend among mariners and has inspired several works.
* 19th century onwards – The ''
Princess Augusta'', misremembered in local folklore as the ''Palatine'', was wrecked near
Block Island
Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...
,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, U.S., in 1738. Since then, an apparition known as the
Palatine Light
The Palatine Light is an apparition reported near Block Island, Rhode Island, said to be the ghost ship of a lost 18th-century vessel named the ''Palatine''. The folklore account is based on the historical wreck of the ''Princess Augusta'' in 17 ...
has been reported.
* 1813 onwards – After the American schooner ''
Young Teazer
Young may refer to:
* Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents
* Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood
Music
* The Young, an American ro ...
'' was sunk in an explosion in
Mahone Bay
Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands, and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the Mahone Islands Conservation Association has been working to prot ...
, Nova Scotia, Canada during the War of 1812, a burning apparition known as the "Teazer Light" has been reported.
* 1858 onwards – The ''
Eliza Battle
The ''Eliza Battle'' was a Tombigbee River steamboat that ran a route between Columbus, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama in the United States during the 1850s. She was destroyed in a fire on the river near modern Pennington, Alabama on March 1, ...
'' was a paddle steamer that burned in 1858 on the
Tombigbee River
The Tombigbee River is a tributary of the Mobile River, approximately 200 mi (325 km) long, in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Alabama. Together with the Alabama, it merges to form the short Mobile River before the latter empties int ...
, Alabama, U.S. She is reported to reappear, fully aflame, on cold and windy winter nights to foretell of impending disaster.
* 1872 or 1882 – A legend states that the
''Iron Mountain'' mysteriously disappeared in 1872 and left barges it was towing floating down the river. In reality, the ship ran aground and sank north of
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1882 and its destruction was never mysterious.
* 1878 onwards – An apparition of
HMS ''Eurydice'' has been reported where the ship sank in 1878 off the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, English Channel. Witnesses include a Royal Navy submarine in the 1930s and
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, (Edward Antony Richard Louis; born 10 March 1964) is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibl ...
, in 1998.
* 1886 –
The Phantom Canoe of Lake Rotomahana was a ''
waka wairua'' (spirit canoe) in
Lake Rotomahana
Lake Rotomahana is an lake in northern New Zealand, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Rotorua. It is immediately south-west of the dormant volcano Mount Tarawera, and its geography was substantially altered by a major 1886 eruption of ...
, New Zealand seen eleven days before the deadly eruption of the nearby
Mount Tarawera
Mount Tarawera is a volcano on the North Island of New Zealand within the older but volcanically productive Ōkataina Caldera. Located 24 kilometres southeast of Rotorua, it consists of a series of rhyolitic lava domes that were fissu ...
, which devastated the lake and the surrounding area.
* 1895 – A spectral
Galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...
was allegedly seen in
Chapel Cove,
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. According to folklore, pirates supposedly buried riches in Chapel Cove, and it is said that those who have gone in search of the treasure have either observed the appearance of the phantom ship, or have encountered apparitions on land.
* 1902 – The vanished on
Lake Superior
Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...
on November 21, 1902, and subsequently gained a reputation as "the ''
Flying Dutchman
The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...
'' of the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
."
* 1906 – Following the wreck of the in 1906 off the coast of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
, British Columbia, Canada, there were reports of a lifeboat with eight skeletons in a nearby sea cave, lifeboats being rowed by skeletons of the Valencia's victims, the shape of ''Valencia'' within the black exhaust emanating from the rescue ship ''City of Topeka's'' funnel and a phantom ship resembling the ''Valencia'' with waves washing over her as human figures held on to the ship's rigging; sailors also reported seeing the ship itself in the area in the years following the sinking, often as an apparition that followed down the coast.
One of the lifeboats from ''Valencia'' was found adrift in 1933.
* 22 November 1912 – The ''
Rouse Simmons
The ''Rouse Simmons'' was a three-masted schooner famous for having sunk in a violent storm on Lake Michigan in 1912. The ship was bound for Chicago with a cargo of Christmas trees when it foundered off Two Rivers, Wisconsin, killing all on boar ...
,'' heavily laden with over 3,000 Christmas trees in its cargo hold and piled high on deck, set sail from Thompson, Michigan for Chicago. The following day it disappeared without trace. For years afterwards, Lake Michigan mariners claimed to have spotted the 'Christmas Tree Ship' appearing out of nowhere with its sails in tatters.
* 1928 – The ''
København
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
'' was last heard from on December 28, 1928. For two years following its disappearance sightings of a mysterious five-masted ship fitting its description were reported in the Pacific Ocean.
Unsubstantiated
![Epave Marlborough](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Epave_Marlborough.JPG)
* 1775 – The ''
Octavius'', an English trading ship returning from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, was supposedly found drifting off the coast of
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
. The captain's log showed that the ship had attempted the
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...
, which at the time had never been successfully traversed. The ship and the bodies of her frozen crew apparently completed the passage after drifting amongst the pack ice for 13 years.
* 1811–1813 – Napoléon Gallois reported that a French frigate had found the French privateer
''Duc de Dantzig'' drifting, covered in blood, with the decaying corpses of the crew hacked and crucified to her masts and in the battery. Bloody papers identified ''Duc de Dantzig'' and her master,
François Aregnaudeau
François Aregnaudeau (sometimes written "Aregneaudeau") ( Nantes, 22 August 1774La Nicollière-Teijeiro, p. 410 – disappeared with ''Duc de Dantzig'' around 1812) was a French privateer captain.
Career
Aregnaudeau was born on 22 August 1774 ...
. More soberly, the ships register of the maritime archives states "''Duc de Dantzig'', unheard of as of 1813, presumed lost with all hands".
[La Nicollière-Teijeiro, p.422]
* 1840 – The
schooner ''Jenny'' was supposedly discovered after spending 17 years frozen in an ice-barrier of the
Drake Passage
The Drake Passage (referred to as Mar de Hoces Hoces Sea"in Spanish-speaking countries) is the body of water between South America's Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connects the southwestern part of the Atla ...
. Found by Captain Brighton of the
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
''Hope'', it had been locked in the ice since 1823, the last port of call having been
Lima, Peru
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
. The bodies of the seven people aboard, including one woman and a dog, preserved by the
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
cold, were buried at sea by the crew of the ''Hope'', and Brighton passed the account on to the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The ''Jenny'' is commemorated by the
Jenny Buttress Jenny Buttress () is a rock buttress north of Melville Peak, overlooking Destruction Bay on the east side of King George Island, in the South Shetland Islands. It was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee in 1960 for the alleged sailing ...
, a feature on
King George Island near Melville Peak, named by the
UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee
The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...
in 1960.
* 27 October 1913 – The Singapore newspaper ''
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
'' published a story according to which the ''
Marlborough
Marlborough may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
** Marlborough College, public school
* Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England
* The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England
Austral ...
'' had been discovered near
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
with the skeletons of her crew on board. ''The Straits Times'' attributed the story to one published in the
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
paper the
''Evening Standard'' of 3 October 1913. The ''Evening Standard'' mentioned that the story was based on an "account cabled from New Zealand" which was yet to be confirmed. The ship that sighted the ''Marlborough'' in 1913 was said to be the sailing ship ''Johnson''.
* 1947 – The ''
Ourang Medan
The SS ''Ourang Medan'' was a supposed ghost ship which, according to various sources, became a shipwreck in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) in the Straits of Malacca waters, or elsewhere, after its entire crew had died under suspicious ...
'' is said to have been found adrift off
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
with all of its crew dead. The boarding party found the entire crew "frozen, teeth baring, gaping at the sun." Before the ship could be towed to a home port, it exploded and sank. There is no record that a ship of this name ever existed though, and it is believed to be an urban legend.
* 2014 – At least 243 refugees disappeared without a trace in the summer of 2014. A human trafficker who arranged a journey to Europe for the refugees claimed that the people were scheduled to depart from Khums, Libya, but the ship that they would have departed on was never named and no sign of a ship or the refugees has even been found. This incident is known as the
ghost boat investigation.
Historically attested
* 1750 or 1760 – The SV
''Sea Bird'': This merchant brig, under the command of John Huxham (or Husham or Durham), grounded herself at Easton's Beach,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. Her longboat was missing. She had been returning from a voyage to
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
and was expected in
Newport that day. The ship was apparently abandoned in sight of land (coffee was boiling on the galley stove) and drifted off course. The only living things found on the ship were a dog and a cat. A fictional account of how she became derelict appeared in the
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
newspape
''Sunday Morning Star'' for 11 October 1885
* 15 May 1854 – The a
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
-rigged ship of the British Royal Navy was abandoned after being beset by ice in
Viscount Melville Sound
Viscount Melville Sound is an arm of the Arctic Ocean in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut and the Inuvik Region, Northwest Territories, Canada. Forming part of the Parry Channel, it separates Victoria Island and Prince of Wales Island from the Qu ...
, Canada. She had been one of four vessels from
Edward Belcher
Admiral Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia, he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachuse ...
's search expedition for
John Franklin
Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through ...
. The ship drifted some before it was found on 10 September 1855 off the coast of
Baffin Island
Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...
, Canada, freed from the ice. The
Resolute desk
The ''Resolute'' desk, also known as the Hayes desk, is a nineteenth-century partners desk used by several presidents of the United States in the White House as the Oval Office desk, including the five most recent presidents. The desk was a gi ...
, which was constructed from the timbers of the ship, resides today in the
Oval Office
The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C.
The oval-shaped room ...
of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
![Mary Celeste engraving](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Mary_Celeste_engraving.jpg)
* 25 November 1872 – The SV ''
Mary Celeste
''Mary Celeste'' (; often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) was an American-registered merchant brigantine, best known for being discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores Islands on December 4, 1872. The Cana ...
'', after passing
Santa Maria Island
Santa Maria () is an island in the Eastern Group, Azores, eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel Island, São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is known for its white sand beaches, ...
in the Azores on 25 November 1872 (the last entry on the ship's slate), the SV ''Mary Celeste'', a
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
brigantine
A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.
Older ...
, became derelict in unknown circumstances. No boats were found on board. She was found on 4 December 1872 between mainland
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
. The ship was devoid of all crew, but largely intact and under sail, heading toward the
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
.
Arthur Conan Doyle's
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
story "
J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement
"J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" is an 1884 short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. It is in the form of a first-person testimony by a survivor of the ''Marie Celeste'', a fictionalised version of the ''Mary Celeste'', a ship found mysteriously aban ...
" is based on this incident. Doyle alters certain aspects of the original story, including the name of the ship from ''Mary'' to ''Marie Celeste''.
* 29 August 1884 – The SV
''Resolven'': This merchant
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
was found abandoned between
Baccalieu Island
Baccalieu Island or Bacalhoo Island () is a 5 km2 uninhabited island at the northern extremities of Conception Bay in Subdivision 1G, near the community of Red Head Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is separated from the island ...
and
Catalina, Newfoundland and Labrador
Catalina ( ) is a community located on the eastern side of the Bonavista Peninsula, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Catalina adjoins the union town of Port Union, the town built for and home to the Fisherman's Union Compa ...
. Her boats were missing. Her logbook was posted to within six hours of being sighted.
Other than a broken
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...
, she had suffered minimal damage. The galley fire was alight and the lamps were burning.
A large iceberg was sighted nearby. It has been claimed that none of the seven crew members or four passengers were accustomed to northern waters and it was suggested that they panicked when the ship was damaged by ice, launched the lifeboat, and swamped, though no bodies were found. Three years later, ''Resolven'' was wrecked while returning to Newfoundland from Nova Scotia with a load of lumber.
* 1885 – The SV ''
The Twenty One Friends'': This three-masted (tern)
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
was built in 1872. She was financed by a group of 21
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
and consequently named the ''Twenty One Friends''. In 1885, returning to Philadelphia with a full load of lumber from
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick () is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Sa ...
, the ship was rammed by the ''John D. May'' off the coast of
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape ...
. Capt. Jeffries removed his crew and abandoned the vessel. The ship and cargo were left to the mercy of the sea. Capt. Jeffries’ concern for the safety of his crew was appropriate; however, the Gaskill-made ship proved herself to be more seaworthy than expected. After the collision, the ship was sighted on both sides of the Atlantic over the next two years. She finally came ashore in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, where her cargo was salvaged and she was employed as a fishing vessel.
* 1897 – The abandoned whaler ''Young Phoenix'' was reported to have been drifting in the Arctic.
* 22 January 1906 – The
SS ''Valencia'''s lifeboat no. 5: The lifeboat went adrift when the ship sank off the coast of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
, British Columbia, Canada. The lifeboat was found floating in
Barkley Sound
, image = Fishing boat in the Broken Group Islands.jpg
, image_size = 260px
, alt =
, caption = Barkley Sound
, image_bathymetry =
, alt_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, locat ...
,
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
, British Columbia, Canada in remarkably good condition 27 years after the sinking.
* October 1917 – The SV ''
Zebrina
''Zebrina'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae.
Species
Species in the genus ''Zebrina'' include:
* '' Zebrina detrita'' (O. F. Müller, 1774)
* '' Zebrina fasciolata'' (Oli ...
'': This sailing barge departed Falmouth, Cornwall, England with a cargo of Swansea coal bound for Saint-Brieuc, France. Two days later she was discovered aground on Rozel Point, south of
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
, France, without damage except for some disarrangement of her rigging, but with her crew missing.
* January 1921 – The SV ''
Carroll A. Deering'': After passing
Cape Lookout Lightship,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, on 28 January 1921, the ''Carroll A. Deering'', a five-masted cargo schooner, became derelict in unknown circumstances. The ship's lifeboats and logbook were missing when she was found on 31 January 1921 at the
Diamond Shoals
The Diamond Shoals are an infamous, always-shifting cluster of shallow, underwater sandbars that extend out from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, United States. Hidden beneath the waves and constantly changing in both form and depth, the shoals are ...
, off the coast of
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.
Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shape ...
, North Carolina. The final voyage of the ship has been the subject of much debate and controversy, and was investigated by six departments of the US government, largely because it was one of dozens of ships that sank or went missing within a relatively short period of time. While paranormal explanations have been advanced, the theories of mutiny or piracy are considered more likely.
* 3 October 1923 – The SV ''
Governor Parr
''Governor Parr'' was a four-masted schooner built in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia in 1918. Built by W.R. Huntley & Sons for Archie Davidson and Captain Angus D. Richards, she is claimed to be the "most handsome schooner built in Atlantic Canada" ...
'': This four masted schooner was abandoned by her crew after she lost her mizzen and spanker in a storm while sailing from
Ingramport, Nova Scotia, Canada to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina. The damage incurred by ''Governor Parr'' was significant to the masts and deck of the ship; however, she did not sink. Several attempts were made to either destroy or tow this derelict to shore, but all failed. ''Governor Parr'' was sighted for many years after her abandonment as she covered large spans of the Atlantic Ocean. She remained a derelict and “menace to navigation”, drifting as far as the Canary Islands. It is unknown what happened to her in the end.
* 24 November 1931 – The ''SS
Baychimo'': This cargo steamer was abandoned after being trapped in pack ice near
Barrow, Alaska, U.S. and being thought doomed to sink. However, she remained afloat and was sighted at various times between 1931 and 1969 in the
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea ( rus, Чуко́тское мо́ре, r=Chukotskoye more, p=tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲɪ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west b ...
off the northwestern Alaskan coast without ever being salvaged. ´She was sighted numerous times, still unmanned and adrift, for nearly forty years. People managed to board her several times, but each time they were either unequipped to salvage her or were driven away by bad weather. This would make her one of the longest sailing ghost ships in the world.
![MV Joyita 1955](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/MV_Joyita_1955.jpg)
* 3 October 1955 – The : After leaving
Apia
Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...
, Samoa, the refrigerated trading and fishing charter boat ''Joyita'' became derelict in unknown circumstances. The ship's
dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...
and three
Carley-liferafts were missing,
and her logbook was also missing, when she was found
on 10 November 1955, north of
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 .
Geology
Fiji lies in a tectonically ...
, Fiji. A subsequent inquiry found the vessel was in a poor state of repair, but determined the fate of passengers and crew to be "inexplicable on the evidence submitted at the inquiry".
* 1959 – The Royal Navy submarine
HMS ''Virulent'', lent to the
Hellenic Navy
The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...
in 1946, was found empty in the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
off northern Spain. It subsequently became clear that she had been under tow by another vessel and that the chain had snapped, some three weeks earlier.
* 1 July 1969 – The SV ''
Teignmouth Electron
The ''Teignmouth Electron'' was a 41-foot trimaran sailing vessel designed explicitly for Donald Crowhurst’s ill-fated attempt to sail around the world in the Golden Globe Race of 1968. She became a ghost ship after Crowhurst reported false pos ...
'': After the last entry in her log was made on 1 July 1969, the
trimaran
A trimaran (or double-outrigger) is a multihull boat that comprises a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls (or "floats") which are attached to the main hull with lateral beams. Most modern trimarans are sailing yachts designed for recreati ...
yacht became derelict in unknown circumstances. The vessel was found on 10 July 1969 in the North Atlantic, latitude 33 degrees 11 minutes North and longitude 40 degrees 26 minutes West. Investigation led to the conclusion that its sole crewmember,
Donald Crowhurst
Donald Charles Alfred Crowhurst (1932 – July 1969) was a British businessman and amateur sailor who disappeared while competing in the ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Soon after he started th ...
, had suffered a mental breakdown while competing in a
solo around-the-world race and committed suicide by jumping overboard.
* 1975 – The SV ''Ocean Wave''
Bas Jan Ader
Bastiaan Johan Christiaan "Bas Jan" Ader (19 April 1942 – disappeared 1975) was a Dutch conceptual and performance artist, and photographer. His work was in many instances presented as photographs and film of his performances. He made perf ...
was lost at sea while attempting a single-handed west–east crossing of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
in a
pocket cruiser
A pocket cruiser is a sailboat designed for recreational cruising and club racing, under in length.
Like the similar and usually smaller trailer sailer they have design features to make it possible to tow them with passenger vehicles, such as ...
, a modified Guppy 13 named ''Ocean Wave''. The passage was part of an art performance titled "In Search of the Miraculous". Radio contact broke off 3 weeks into the voyage, and Ader was presumed lost at sea. The boat was found after 10 months, floating partially submerged west-southwest of the coast of Ireland. His body was never found. The boat, after being recovered by the Spanish fishing vessel that found it, was taken to
Coruña. The boat was later stolen. Ader's mother wrote the poem ''From the deep waters of sleep'' after having what she described as a premonition of his death.
* December 2002 – The MV ''
High Aim 6
''High Aim 6'' (Chinese : ''Haian liuhao'' 海安六號) was a Taiwanese fishing vessel which left the port of Liuchiu in southern Taiwan on 31 October 2002, and was then found without its crew, drifting in Australian waters, on 8 January 2003. T ...
'', after the owner last spoke to the captain by radio when the ship was near the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
, halfway between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii, on 13 December 2002, the MV ''High Aim 6'', a
longline fishing
Longline fishing, or longlining, is a commercial fishing angling technique that uses a long ''main line'' with baited hooks attached at intervals via short branch lines called ''snoods'' or ''gangions''.[Rowley Shoals
The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered on , on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll cover ...]
, Broome, Australia. The derelict was subsequently scuttled.
* 24 March 2006 – The
MT ''
Jian Seng'' was found drifting southwest of
Weipa
Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly involv ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. The ship's origin or owner could not be determined, and its engines had been inoperable for some time.
[
* 24 August 2006 – The SV '']Bel Amica
''Bel Amica'' is a ghost ship discovered off the coast of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia near Punta Volpe on August 24, 2006. The Italian Coast Guard discovered the ship with no crew on board. The coast guard boarded the vessel and steered ...
'', a classic schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, was found derelict near Punta Volpe, Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
, Italy. The owner later claimed to have gone home on 14 August 2006 to address an emergency. The Italian press suggested that he may have been avoiding taxation of luxury vessels. The Coast Guard crew that discovered the ship found half eaten Egyptian meals, French maps of North African seas, and a flag of Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
on board.
* 18 April 2007 – The SV '' Kaz II'', a catamaran
A Formula 16 beachable catamaran
Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States
A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
set sail on 15 April 2007. She was filmed passing George Point, Hinchinbrook Island
Hinchinbrook Island (or Pouandai to the Biyaygiri people) is an island in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies east of Cardwell and north of Lucinda, separated from the north-eastern coast of Queensland by the narrow Hi ...
, Queensland later that day and on that same day, late in the afternoon, the GPS data showed her to be adrift. She was found adrift on 18 April 2007 near the Great Barrier Reef, off Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
, Queensland, Australia. When boarded on 20 April, the engine was running, a laptop was running, the radio and GPS were working and a meal was set to eat, but the three-man crew were not on board. All the sails were up but one was badly shredded, while three life jackets and survival equipment, including an emergency beacon, were found on board. A search for the crew was abandoned on 22 April as it was considered unlikely that anyone could have survived for that period of time. The coroner believed that the men may have fallen overboard.
* 28 October 2008 – The MV '' Tai Ching 21'' (): The last radio transmission from the ''Tai Ching 21'', a fishing vessel, was made on 28 October 2008. The boat was found empty on 9 November 2008 near Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),[Kiribati]
''The Wor ...
. Its lifeboat and three life rafts were missing. The abandoned 50 ton Taiwanese vessel had been gutted by fire several days previously. No mayday call was received. A search of of the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
north of Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
by a US Air Force C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
and a New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion
The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the United States Navy and introduced in the 1960s. Lockheed based it on the L-188 Electra commercial airliner.[Lunatic
Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck".
History
The ter ...]
'': In December 2007 at age 70, Jure Šterk started a journey to sail around the world on his boat ''Lunatic''. He used his amateur radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
to communicate, and was last heard from on 1 January 2009. His sail boat ''Lunatic'' was spotted on 26 January, approximately off the coast of Australia. The boat appeared damaged and there was no sign of Jure Šterk on deck. Three months later, on 30 April 2009 the sail boat was found adrift by the crew of the science vessel ''RV Roger Revelle
R/V ''Roger Revelle'' is a operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography under charter agreement with Office of Naval Research as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet. The ship is named after Roger Rand ...
'', south-east at 32° 18.0' S 091° 07.0' E. The sails were torn and there was no one on board. After boarding they found that the last log entry had been made on 2 January 2009.
* 20 March 2012 – The MV '' Ryou-Un Maru'', a fishing vessel, was washed away from its mooring in Aomori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...
, Japan during the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. It was assumed sunk with no crew aboard, but a year later, it was found drifting about off the coast of Haida Gwaii
Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...
, British Columbia, Canada. The United States Coast Guard sank it with 25 mm cannon fire on 5 April 2012.
* 19–20 June 2012 – The ''T.T. Zion'', a private yacht, was grounded on Fort Lauderdale Beach around 1:15 a.m. on 20 June, with its navigation lights on and engines still running. The vessel appeared sea worthy but a broken tie-bar could have caused steering problems. Items belonging to owner Guma Aguiar
Guma Leandro Aguiar (May 31, 1977 – disappeared June 19, 2012; declared legally dead January 29, 2015) was a Brazilian-born American energy industrialist and millionaire businessman who split his time between the United States and Israel. Agui ...
were found on board, but no sign of him or any other passenger was found.
* February 2013 – The , a former Soviet cruise ship, was being towed to a scrapyard in the Caribbean when a cable snapped, setting her adrift in international waters, one day after leaving St John's, Newfoundland, Canada. On 4 February 2013 she was found approximately east of St John's (approximately outside Canada's territorial waters) and drifting in a northeasterly direction. The crew did not pursue the vessel due to safety concerns. Some news reports claimed it was adrift and populated with "cannibal rats".
* 2011–ongoing – Every year the remains of dozens of ghost ships reach Japanese waters; the ships are typically ill-equipped small wooden boats believed to be fishing for North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. Some boats were found empty but at least 25 people have been found in advanced states of decomposition,[ probably dead from starvation or exposure. At least some of the crude fishing vessels are believed to been owned and operated by the ]Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...
.
* 31 January 2016 – The ''Sayo'': Manfred Fritz Bajorat of Germany was found dead in his private yacht, which was adrift in the Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...
. His mummified
A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...
body was found slumped on a desk by crew from the racing yacht ''LMAX Exchange''. The yacht was re-discovered on 25 February 2016. An autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
found Bajorat had died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
approximately one week before being found, and sea conditions preserved the body.
* February 2020 – The ran aground near Ballycotton, County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
on the coast of Ireland during Storm Dennis
Storm Dennis was a European windstorm which, in February 2020, became one of the most intense extratropical cyclones ever recorded, reaching a minimum central pressure of . The thirteenth named storm of the 2019–20 European windstorm season, De ...
. It had previously been encountered adrift and unmanned in the mid-Atlantic by HMS ''Protector'', having been adrift since 2018 after it became disabled, and an operation by the US Coast Guard rescued its crew.
* January 2021 – The '' Yong Yu Sing No. 18'' was discovered adrift near Midway Island with all crew and a lifeboat missing, and with damage from what appeared to be a collision.
See also
* Ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
* List of ghosts
The following is a list of ghosts:
African folklore
* Adze, Ewe vampiric being
* Amadlozi, Nguni spiritual figures
* Asanbosam, Akan vampire
* Egbere, Yoruban malevolent spirit
* Kishi, Angolan two-faced demon
* Madam Koi Koi, Nigerian gho ...
* List of missing ships
This is a list of missing ships and wrecks. If it is known that the ship in question sank, then its wreck has not yet been located.
Ships are usually declared lost and assumed wrecked after a period of disappearance. The disappearance of a s ...
* North Korean ghost ships
Every year, dozens of derelict boats from North Korea wash up on Japanese shores; some of the boats house the remains of their crew. These "ghost ships" are believed to result when North Korean fishermen, often having to travel further out to sea ...
Citations and references
;Citations
;References
*
External links
*
{{Ghosts
Ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
Maritime folklore