The MV ''Patrick Morris'' was a

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

(CN)

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...

that sank on her run from

North Sydney, Nova Scotia North Sydney (Scottish Gaelic: ''Suidni A Tuath'' or ''Am Bàr'') is a former town and current community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breto ...

to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland during a storm in the early morning hours of 20 April 1970 while responding to a mayday call from the Newfoundland-based herring seiner FV ''Enterprise''. The ship's Captain Roland Penney was given permission to leave North Sydney ahead of schedule to assist the wood-hulled fishing vessel in distress. No passengers were aboard the ''Patrick Morris'' when she set sail shortly before midnight for the rescue mission on 19 April.

Construction

Built for the

West India Fruit and Steamship Company The West India Fruit and Steamship Company operated a railcar ferry service between the Port of Palm Beach, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, from shortly after World War II until deteriorating relations between the United States and Cuba culminated in ...

by Canadian Vickers Ltd. of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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 ...

in 1951, the 460-foot vessel was called the SS ''New Grand Haven'' and operated as a railcar ferry between

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

and

Havana, Cuba Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

until 1959 when

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

came to power in Cuba and business declined due to the United States Trade Embargo. In 1961, the company sold all six of its ferries. The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

bought the SS ''New Grand Haven'', converted her to diesel, and renamed her the MV ''Patrick Morris'' to honour Irishman Patrick Morris, a Newfoundland colonial politician. The ship was affectionately known by the nickname ''Paddy Morris''; she became CN's first train ferry to serve the North Sydney - Port aux Basques route.

Loss

''Patrick Morris'' left North Sydney, NS shortly before midnight on 19 April before her regularly scheduled departure time and headed to the last reported position of ''Enterprise''. Around daybreak, her crew spotted a body in the water that was presumed to be that of a crew member from the fishing vessel. In the process of maneuvering to recover the body, ''Patrick Morris'' was overwhelmed when struck by a wave that smashed through rail car loading doors at the stern and she began taking on water. ''Patrick Morris'' sent out her own mayday call at 6:51 am and sank 35 minutes later. Of her crew of 51 officers and sailors, 47 survived. Captain Penney, Chief Engineer David Reekie, Second Engineer Joseph Henry Slayman and Third Engineer Ronald A. Anderson were lost. All eight crewmen perished from ''Enterprise''. The wreck of ''Patrick Morris'' lies in the Cabot Strait approximately east of Cape Smokey at a depth of .

References

*http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?35988 *https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k5MjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FbkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1751,1819440&dq=patrick+morris+sinking&hl=en *http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Columns/2008-03-03/article-781650/Search-for-sunken-railcar-ferry-Patrick-Morris-will-begin-in-April/1 *http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/63115/page/26 *http://www.capebretonpost.com/Living/2010-04-20/article-1031331/Survivors-mark-40th-anniversary-of-sinking-of-the-Patrick-Morris-/1 40th anniversary remembrance *http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/2009-07-13/article-783994/The-Patrick-Morris-sank-while-taking-part-in-a-dangerous-rescue-mission

External links

* http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=5467, The Sinking of the Patrick Morris- One Sailor's day {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick Morris Shipwrecks of the Nova Scotia coast Ferries of Nova Scotia Ferries of Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian National Railway 1951 ships Ships built in Montreal Maritime incidents in 1970