The Unsolved Mystery Behind Mary Celeste - "The Ghost Ship"

The Mystery

On December 4, 1872, Mary Celeste, also known as the 'Ghost Ship', was found without a single soul on board while she was still on the sail. She was spotted off the coast of Portugal heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar. Nobody had a clue about what happened to the crew... the weather was fine and it was known that she had set sail from New York with the experienced and able captain and crew.

Background

The Mary Celeste was Originally named "The Amazon", when it was built at the shipyards in Spencer Island in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1861. It was launched in the same year which also happened to be the year when the American Civil War broke out. The brigantine Mary Celeste was 31 meters long, 7.6 meters wide and displaced 282 tons of water. However, since her launch, she had always been under the influence of some evil power for some strange reasons.

During her first decade of operations, she was involved in several misadventures and passed through many changes of ownership. Look at the following chronological events:

•  The First master Robert McLellan fell ill and died.
• On her maiden voyage, she was commanded by John Parker, the ship suffered big damage in her hull after running into a fishing dam off the sea. Mary Celeste required major repairs at the shipyards. Later, a fire broke out at the shipyards, terminating Parker's command.
• During her first Atlantic crossing, she collided in the straits of Dover with a two-masted ship which sank. Mary Celeste again required repairs.
• Upon her return to America, she ran aground off Cow Bay, Nova Scotia.
• After she was pulled out of the rocks, she continued to change hands between several owners. No one made any profit. Some of them went bankrupt.
•  Finally, she was purchased by an American, James Winchester. James bought her at a New York salvage auction for $3,000. She went through extensive repairs and renovation. When she was back again, the ship looked completely different and hardly had any resemblance with 'The Amazon'. Her name was then changed to 'Mary Celeste'.

Where Did The Incident Take Place?

In October 1872, Mary Celeste was made ready for a birth in New York's East River for a voyage to Genoa, Italy. The captain of the ship was Benjamin Briggs aged 37. Briggs' 30-year-old wife Sarah and a 2-year-old child were also on the ship. And there were 7 crew making it a total of 10 on board. Captain Briggs was a very experienced and able seaman and captained five ships in his career. He was the owner of many ships and had spent most of his life on the sea.

Mary Celeste departed New York City on November 7, 1872. She was carrying a cargo of 1701 barrels of raw commercial alcohol valued at some $35,000 and had full insurance. Strangely after almost a month of her sail, on December 4, 1872, a British Empire vessel named Dei Gratia found the Mary Celeste between the Azores and Portugal. She looked abandoned although still under sail. There was not a single soul on board.

So what could have been the cause of such mysterious abandonment? The weather was fine and she had 6 months of food and water. The crew were all very able seamen and trustworthy. Even personal belongings including valuables were untouched.

Some Explanation Of The Theory

1) Piracy

Some speculated that the Mary Celeste had fallen prey to the North African pirates who were known to be operating in that area. The pirates would have killed all on board and thrown the bodies overboard.

However, there was no such incidence of piracy reported in the Straits of Gibraltar during such time and for the past decade. This is possible because the British Navy was stationed there. Even if there was any piracy, it is almost impossible to believe that the pirates would spare all the personal and valuable possessions of the crew members. Nobody seems to have even touched the cargo. Also, there was no sign of violence on the ship.

 2) The Suspects?

Another theory was that the crew of the ship Dei Gratia that salvaged the abandoned Mary Celeste would have murdered all on board and then fabricated the story of Ghost Ship to claim the salvage rights. But this seems very unlikely.

There was no sign of any struggle on Mary Celeste. Secondly, Dei Gratia departed one week after Mary Celeste did and could not have caught up with it. Also, Morehouse, the captain of Dei Gratia was a good friend of Briggs.

3) Insurance Scam

Some thought that the entire incident was probably planned out to make a fake insurance claim. But that would have required Morehouse of Dei Gratia to connive with Briggs to make it happen. While this was possible, the ship Mary Celeste was not owned by either of them. The owner was James Winchester.

Also, the insurance value was quite modest. So such a planned and staged act for such a modest amount looks quite improbable.

4) Storm

It's true that when the crew of Dei Gratia salvaged the Mary Celeste, they found a lot of water in between the decks and about 3 and a half feet of water in the hold. Also, two out of the three water pumps were found to be disassembled while only one was working. This led to the theory that Mary Celeste would have been hit by a severe storm and while it was sinking, captain Briggs ordered the crew to evacuate.

But there are fallacies to this theory as well. There was no such storm reported in that area of the Atlantic when Mary Celeste was discovered abandoned. Also, the water level was not enough for a captain to order an evacuation. The ship was still in sail-worthy condition. However, it is possible that since Brigg's own family was on board, he would have been extra cautious. Then why didn't they all return and explain the story to all?

5) Drunken Crew

It was found that 9 out of the 1701 barrels of alcohol were empty. So there was speculation that the crew members would have consumed all the alcohol, got drunk and murdered the captain and his family due to Brigg's tyranny over the years. Sounds good, but seems unlikely. Briggs was known as an able and well-behaved captain. Also, he was never heard of consuming alcohol himself and therefore likely not to have allowed crew members to consume alcohol on board.

Many other theories sprouted over the years, some interesting and others were absurd. One theory suggested that the crew abandoned the ship due to sea tornadoes. Another stated that enemy submarines caused Panic in the crew resulting in abandonment. Yet another one mentioned that the ship anchored at a shifting sandbar, and the crew thinking that they were in a hopeless situation, used the lifeboat and were lost in the sea, and the sandbar shifted again setting the ship free.

But there is yet no explanation that substantiates Mary Celeste’s abandonment with evidence and facts. "None of the stories could be substantiated and today the fate of the occupants of the Mary Celeste is as much a mystery as the day the ship was found deserted at sea.