The Mystery of the Mary Celeste: The Story of the Most Famous Ghost Ship

The legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship with dead sailors on board, did not arise by chance. From the beginning of the Age of Discoveries to the present day, ships with missing or dead crews have been found in different parts of the World Ocean. The reasons for their appearance often remained a mystery. This is exactly what happened to the brigantine Mary Celeste, discovered drifting in the Atlantic Ocean on December 5, 1872, without a single person on board.

The Mary Celeste was found about 400 miles east of the Azores. The ship was in good condition, with all its cargo in the hold, sufficient supplies of water and food. But there was not a single person on board. This fact made contemporaries ask the question: what happened to the crew?

A month earlier, on November 5, 1872, the brigantine Mary Celeste left New York with a cargo of 1,701 barrels of alcohol. The ship was bound for the Italian port of Genoa. On board were Captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife, his two-year-old daughter, and seven crew members. The ship was in perfect order, and its crew was experienced. What could have caused people to suddenly abandon ship?

When the British brigantine Deja Gratia spotted the drifting Mary Celeste, her captain David Morehouse and crew boarded the vessel. An inspection of the vessel revealed that there was seawater in the hold and one of the pumps had been dismantled. But the ship’s overall condition was not alarming – it was capable of continuing its voyage.

The crew's personal belongings, documents, and even substantial supplies of food and fresh water remained untouched. It seemed that the men had left the ship in a hurry, as if fleeing from an unknown threat. At the same time, no traces of violence or damage were found. It seemed that some mysterious force had forced the crew to suddenly abandon the brig, leaving all their belongings behind, and hastily descend into the boat.

Water and a faulty pump gave rise to the first hypothesis about why the crew abandoned the sailboat. During a storm, water began to fill the hold, which the crew pumped out with two pumps. Then one of them failed, and the captain decided that they could not cope alone. He gave the order to immediately abandon the ship. This option was not convincing, since the Mary Celeste was not in distress and the evacuation could be carried out without haste, collecting things and making an entry in the logbook.

Another version was connected with the ship's cargo. Alcohol was being transported in the hold, and nine barrels were empty. Someone suggested that alcohol vapors had exploded on the ship, which caused panic among the sailors. But this version was immediately discarded, since no traces of an explosion or consequences of a fire were found on the sailboat.

When journalists learned about the ghost ship, hypotheses poured in one after another. Pirates, sea monsters and otherworldly forces were blamed for the mysterious disappearance. Even the crew of the Dei Gratia, who allegedly engaged in sea robbery and attacked the Maria Celeste, was blamed.

But the sailors had an ironclad alibi. Their ship had also left the port of New York and was also heading to Europe, but was 8 days behind the Mary Celeste. In addition, the Deia Gratia was a slow and too old vessel for a daring trade, and its captain, David Morehouse, had an excellent reputation. In the 19th century, the mystery was never solved. Not a single person from the ghost ship was ever seen again.

A century and a half later, scientists returned to the mystery of the Mary Celeste. Researchers from University College London based their hypothesis on the explosion of butane vapors released from alcohol. They conducted a series of experiments that proved that such an explosion might not have caused fire or destruction. But it could have caused a deafening explosion that would have caused panic among the sailors.

It is quite possible that after the explosion the captain gave the order to the crew and his family to take their place in the lifeboat. Perhaps the people sat in it, observing safety precautions, as they did not know how seriously the sailboat was damaged. But chance intervened in their fate - a storm broke the ropes of the lifeboat and the crew could not return to the ship and perished in the waves.

Although this explanation is quite scientific, the mystery of the "Mary Celeste" is not considered solved. Scientists and enthusiasts from different countries are still studying the circumstances of this strange case and put forward different versions of what happened.

What do you think? Which version seems most likely to you? Share your thoughts in the comments!