Sea remains the keeper of many dark secrets. Despite the fact that maritime safety standards have risen sharply over the past century, every year there are mysterious disappearances of five to ten large ships, from which there are no traces, and no one finds the reasons for their disappearance. Among the thousands of mysteries of the sea, only a few cause such a huge amount of gossip among sailors as the unexpected disappearance of the American cargo ship "Cyclops" with a displacement of 20 thousand tons, which mysteriously disappeared along with a cargo of manganese ore at the end of March 1918

Three hundred on board

The loss of the Cyclops, aggravated by the loss of three hundred and four people on board, was a heavy blow to the American fleet, which was then participating in the World War. Moreover, it was not at all like that the ship fell victim to enemy mines or torpedoes. With a length of five hundred feet, this powerful freighter was quite capable of withstanding any Atlantic storm. And he disappeared in calm weather. Very few of the facts of the last voyage of the Cyclops can claim to clarify the mystery of the strange disappearance of the ship. Twenty-four hours after leaving Barbados, where the ship was loaded with 10,000 tons of manganese ore used in the manufacture of shells, the Cyclops passed the Vestris liner, which was making a voyage from Buenos Aires to New York, and transmitted a message. The message from the cargo ship said that the ship was in perfect order in everything. However, no one else met either the ship or any of the people sailing on it ... The sea vessel mysteriously disappeared.

Only God knows

When the ship was reported missing, a belated order was received to survey the area of ​​the proposed route. The wreckage was not found, and the command of the US Navy could not offer a satisfactory explanation of why, in fact, the ship sank. There were no mines in that part of the Atlantic, and the activity of German submarines at that time was limited to more northerly waters.

Over the years that have passed since the tragedy, a whole bunch of scenarios for the death of the ship have been proposed: a sudden local hurricane, a bomb planted by saboteurs, and even a riot among the crew. But no confirmation of these theories appeared, and the investigation of this strange disappearance, conducted by the commission of the fleet after the conclusion of peace, established that during the last voyage of the Cyclops, there were no enemy ships or submarines near its route. The fact that the ship was swallowed up by the agitated sea seemed the most improbable option, for it had already managed to show itself as strong in resisting the Atlantic storms.

In any case, as the investigation found out, during March - early April there were no reports of storms in the sea off the east coast of Central America. Joseph Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, wrote of the tragedy: “In the annals of the US Navy, there is no more disconcerting mystery than the mysterious disappearance of the Cyclops. President Woodrow Wilson, who himself had gone to great lengths to find any facts that might suggest a solution to the mystery, finally backed down, saying, "Only the sea and God know what happened to that ship."

Disappearance of the Carrier

On June 17, 1984, the Panamanian "Arctic Carrier" (cargo ship, 17 thousand tons displacement) left Brazil with holds full of various goods. The last time the ship made itself known was three hundred miles northeast of Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic. The ship then disappeared without a trace. It is difficult to say what fate befell him, although it is known for sure that no SOS signal was sent from him, and no bodies or wreckage were ever found. The ship disappeared without a trace.

Everything looked as if the ship had never existed. The following wording in Lloyd's registry brings the mystery to its logical conclusion: "The true reasons for his so strange disappearance will probably forever remain a mystery."

At the crossroads

At the end of October 1979, a ship four times the size of the Arctic Carrier, the Norwegian ore carrier Berge Vanya, also mysteriously disappeared, six hundred miles east of Cape Town, in fine weather, at the intersection of the busiest highways on the planet. It's hard to imagine how the sea could swallow up the Berge Vanya so soon that people didn't have time to give an SOS or even fire a flare gun. But even if this happened, then why did no one see how this floating giant went to the bottom, despite the fact that there were practically no opportunities to cause him any harm.

Lost "Treasure"

The disappearance of the “Treasures of the East” (28 thousand tons displacement), a cargo ship under the Panamanian flag, is another maritime story of the strange disappearance of the ship. Picking up a cargo of chromium from Mazinlok in the Philippines on January 12, 1982, the Oriental Treasure successfully made its way to Port Said before disappearing forever.

Surprisingly, members of the commission of inquiry concluded that the ship must have been a victim of pirates, although they had not been heard of in these waters for more than a century. How such a brilliant conclusion without the slightest hint of evidence arose in the minds of respectable experts, one can only guess. One journalist put it this way: “They just clutched at straws” ...

Twice as big as the Titanic

Meanwhile, the list of mysteriously missing ships is updated annually, and now each maritime power can provide its own national registry of disappearances.

One of the most impressive losses that hit the English merchant fleet is associated with the last voyage of the cargo ship Derbyshire (170 thousand tons). Built in British shipyards in 1980, it sailed from the American port of San Lawrence to Kawasaki (Japan). Its mass was twice that of the Titanic, and in length it contained three football fields. The Derbyshire was generally one of the largest ships that ever sailed under the flag of English merchants. Designed specifically for the transport of oil and iron ore, on that voyage, before its last journey, it was loaded very thoroughly - 157 thousand tons. The huge ship was operated by a crew of 42 under the command of an experienced captain Joffrey Underhill, so in terms of navigation problems could not arise. However, some problems still arose, and why - we will never know. The ship has mysteriously disappeared.

Last session

The last radio contact with the Derbyshire was on September 8, when she was seven hundred miles southwest of Tokyo. The ship was supposed to arrive in Kawasaki in the early evening of the 11th. And this optimistic message turned out to be final. As one English newspaperman wrote, "There was an everyday radio message - and eternal rest." Why such giant ships disappear in clear weather, without sending calls for help and leaving no traces, is beyond the understanding of maritime specialists.

The current ships are built better than their predecessors. It was in the era of early shipping that most of the disasters happened only because of design flaws. The current ones are dressed in metal, built with the strictest observance of all safety standards. Before going to sea, ships go through a lot of checks.

There are no more filibuster flotillas plying the oceans, and the possibility of a sudden change in the weather has been greatly reduced with the introduction of satellite weather tracking systems and reliable radio communication equipment. And yet ships of all sizes, including the most massive ships, continue to disappear for no reason and without a trace.

A sailor is one of the most romantic professions. Just imagine - you wake up in the morning, and instead of a boring gray city, there is an immense ocean expanse, clean air before your eyes. Comrades are always ready to keep you company in raids on taverns, and in every port they expect a beautiful girl... This profession seems like this to any uninitiated.

But there is also the other side of the coin - during a long voyage, anything can happen to a ship. You can get caught in a storm or be captured by pirates, who, oddly enough, have not died out in the 21st century. And sometimes there are mysterious disappearances of ships, and then the ships disappear without a trace. Some blame this on supernatural forces and the legendary inhabitants of the deep sea - such as, while others blame the Maelstrom whirlpool, the Bermuda Triangle and other natural phenomena.

1943 - the disappearance of the ship Capelin (SS-289)

Capelin (SS-289) - submarine, launched on January 20, 1943. On November 17, 1943, the ship patrolled the waters of the Celebs and Molucca seas, paying special attention to the Davao Gulf, the Morotai Strait, as well as trade routes located near the island of Xiaoe.

The last time an American submarine was seen was on December 2, 1943, reported by the Bonefish (SS-223). The official reason for the disappearance of the ship is considered to be enemy minefields, which could be located in the area of ​​​​patrol of the submarine. There was no exact confirmation of this fact.

There is another version of this catastrophe, which official sources rejected due to its fantastic nature. According to her, Capelin (SS-289) could become a victim of an unidentified sea monster, which was repeatedly stated by local fishermen. According to the sailors, the animal resembled the huge size of an octopus.

1921 SS Hewitt disappears

This cargo ship made voyages along the coast of the United States. On January 20, 1921, a fully loaded ship left the Texas city of Sabine. The ship was under the command of Captain Hans Jacob Hensen. The last signal from this ship came on January 25, the radio call did not report anything unusual. The ship was then spotted 250 miles north of Florida's Jupiter Inlet. Further, the thread breaks, and the SS Hewitt, like other disappeared ships, has become part of history.

A thorough check was carried out along the entire route followed by the ship, but it did not give results - the mystery of the disappearance of the SS Hewitt ship has not been solved so far. There were many rumors and speculation about this incident. It was even suggested that the ship's crew fell victim to a rare voice of the sea, as curious as the whirlpool of the Maelstrom.

for reference: - a natural phenomenon that affects the psyche and human health. The sea generates infrasound, which is below the limit of human hearing, but affects his brain. Infrasound can have a variety of effects - from auditory and visual hallucinations to nausea and other symptoms of motion sickness. Strong exposure to infrasound can cause death - vibrations lead to cardiac arrest.

Who is to blame for the disappearance of ships?

It is believed that one of the most dangerous areas on the surface of the sea is the maelstrom whirlpool. Literary sources describe this natural phenomenon as having terrifying power, and detrimental to any ship that finds itself in its zone. In fact, the danger of the Maelstrom is somewhat exaggerated. A much more significant threat can be considered, the height of which can exceed the mark of 30 meters!

If this whirlpool was dangerous for ancient ships - wooden sailing boats, then modern ships, once in these waters, do not receive any damage. The speed of the Maelstrom whirlpool does not exceed 11 km/h. And yet one should not be careless about this natural phenomenon - the direction of water movement can change in the most unpredictable way. Therefore, even modern ships avoid the strait located to the north of Mosque Island, there is a danger of breaking on coastal stones.

The Maelstrom whirlpool is located between the islands of Moskenesøy and Ferø. It is formed at certain hours due to the collision of ebb and flow waves, the formation of a whirlpool is facilitated by the complex topography of the bottom and the broken coastline. Maelstrom is a system of eddies in the strait. But, despite all the dangers, tourism in Lofoten is very popular. The guidebooks state that "winter fishing in the archipelago is an incomparable pleasure."

Bermuda Triangle - the secrets of the deep sea

The Bermuda Triangle is one of the most famous, located between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami in Florida. Its area covers over a million square kilometers. Until 1840, this zone was unknown to anyone, until the mysterious disappearances of ships and then aircraft began.

For the first time, the Bermuda Triangle was discussed in 1840, when the crew from the Rosalie ship, which was drifting near the capital of the Bahamas, the port of Nassau, completely disappeared. The ship had all the equipment, the sails were raised, but the crew was completely absent. True, as a result of the checks, it was found that the ship was called Rossini, and not Rosalie. The ship ran aground while sailing near the Bahamas. The crew was evacuated on boats, and the ship was swept out to sea by tidal waves.

The greatest activity in the Bermuda Triangle in terms of the disappearance of ships or crew occurs in the 20th century. So, for example, in the Atlantic Ocean on October 20, 1902, the German four-masted merchant ship Freya was spotted. The ship had no crew at all. There is still no explanation for this incident.

In 1945, scientists became interested in the waters of the Bermuda Triangle. The data obtained by the researchers did not solve the mystery of this anomalous zone, but only added questions. Since the beginning of tracking, there have been more than 100 cases of the disappearance of ships and aircraft, both civil and military aviation. Most of the equipment disappeared in the most mysterious way - no oil stains, no debris, no other traces.

And yet scientists managed to make one important discovery. In the zone of disappearance of ships, in the very center of the Bermuda Triangle, a giant pyramid was discovered. It was discovered by American researchers in 1992. It seems incredible, but its dimensions exceed the dimensions of the Egyptian Great Pyramid of Cheops by more than 3 times. The pyramid is interesting not only for its size. Its surface is in perfect condition - sonar signals showed that there are no algae or shells on the surface. It is likely that the ocean cannot have any effect on this mysterious material from which the pyramid is made.

Devil's sea - another mystery of nature?

Scientists - oceanologists believe that our planet is encircled by a certain zone called the "Devil's Belt". It includes five "dead" places - the Afghan anomalous zone, the Bermuda Triangle, the Hawaiian anomalous zone, the Gibraltar wedge and the Devil's Sea. This sea is located about 70 miles from the east coast of Japan.

What are the characteristics of anomalous zones, and what is their danger? A person present in such a zone is subject to causeless, it seems to him that he is being watched. At times, he is seized by bouts of insomnia, which are replaced by deep sleep. Abnormal zones also have a negative effect on plants - the extremes of yeast respiration undergo changes, the germination of grains of beans, cucumbers, peas, and radish seeds stops. Mice grown in such places are characterized by numerous deviations - the development of tumors, underweight and even devouring their offspring! In addition, the disappearance of ships and aircraft is observed in anomalous zones.

Sailors became wary of the Devil's Sea after a number of strange disappearances occurred in this area. At first, state authorities were skeptical of the reports, as only small fishing boats were missing. But between 1950 and 1954 in the Devil's Sea, there were 9 cases of disappearance of ships. They were massive cargo ships, equipped with reliable radios and powerful engines. A number of cases of the disappearance of ships occurred against the backdrop of fine weather.

Such phenomena of nature as the Maelstrom are quite explicable from a physical point of view. And the phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle or the Devil's Sea has not been unraveled to this day. Who knows - will technological progress win, or will the mysterious disappearances of ships continue? And who is to blame for these disappearances - anomalous natural phenomena or otherworldly mystical forces?

Harbor of the Lost Ships

That old story about the journey of Columbus could well be forgotten for the reason that in the following centuries the Bermuda Triangle relatively rarely made itself felt, except for a reminder of the Sargasso Sea with its unique properties. The events of 1840 forced us to recall the mysterious body of water, when the drifting French sailing ship Rosalie was discovered near the port of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. All the sails were raised on it, there was the necessary equipment, but at the same time - not a single living soul from the crew or passengers.

After inspecting the sailboat, it was found that it is in excellent condition, and all its cargo is safe and sound. No entries were found in the ship's log. At first, there was an assumption that the ship ran aground, the crew sailed on boats, and at high tide, the Rosalie moved to the open sea.

However, few believed in such an explanation, classifying the ship as a kind of "Flying Dutchman" - a ghost ship, legends about which have been circulating since ancient times. There was also a version that the sailboat seemed to have fallen into some kind of powerful whirlpool, in which forces of clearly unearthly origin operate. In this case, the whole team could go to the bottom, and the ship could be left without control.

A similar situation was repeated 30 years later with the Mary Celeste brigantine, which became a classic example for the entire Bermuda Triangle problem. She, like the sailboat Rosalie, was found safe and sound, but ... without a single member of the team. "Maria Celeste" with a displacement of about 300 tons was discovered in the ocean by the cargo ship "Dei Gratia" on December 4, 1872. Before that, both ships loaded their holds in New York in early November. The brigantine, under the command of Benjamin Briggs, headed for Genoa, and the Dei Gratia, under the command of Captain David Morehouse, headed for Gibraltar.

When Captain Morehouse met the Mary Celeste a month later, she was under full sail, but in such strange zigzags that it was just right to suspect something was wrong. When the sailors boarded the brigantine, it turned out that there was no team on it, and there was no captain, who was sailing with his wife and daughter. And again: the ship was in perfect order and did not suffer from bad weather. Moreover, the missing people did not take with them any money, or things, or any other property. There were no signs of a hasty flight from the ship, which could indicate a threat to the crew. In the captain's cabin on the table were maps that marked the route from New York to the port of destination. The last entry was made on November 24, when the brigantine was off the Azores.

Captain Morehouse had no choice but to take the ship in tow and bring it to Gibraltar. A months-long search began for the missing Captain Briggs, his family and crew members. The incident was urgently advertised in the newspapers, but no one responded to them. Various versions were put forward about the death of the crew of the Mary Celeste. They talked about the attack of pirates, who captured everyone, abandoned the ship, then they themselves, together with the captives, died in the depths of the sea. Others suggested that some otherworldly forces intervened in the fate of the brigantine.

As often happens, writers did not fail to take advantage of the drama of Mary Celeste, one of whom was the young and then little-known Arthur Conan Doyle. In the January issue of Cornhill Magazine, 1884, he published the story "Message of J. Hebekuk Jephson." The story of Conan Doyle, which appeared 11 years after the story with the brigantine, was believed immediately and unconditionally, since much of it was close to the truth or was derived from real facts.

Since the time of Conan Doyle, the proposed versions of the Mary Celeste disaster have gained immense scope. It was suggested that the spoiled food caused the crew to hallucinate and people began to rush into the sea to escape terrible visions. There was also such a rumor: the owner of the Mary Celeste persuaded the sailors to deal with Captain Briggs and flood the ship in order to receive an insurance premium. But the sailors made some mistake and died. Perhaps the plan called for them to throw themselves into the sea and swim to shore when the ship approached the rocks near the Azores. However, a sudden gust of wind drove the brigantine to safety, and the sailors drowned. According to a more restrained assumption, the crew abandoned the ship due to a powerful tornado, which is no less dangerous at sea than a tornado on land.

One way or another, no one will probably know the truth about the “Mary Celeste”, because even today no more is known about the fate of the brigantine than on the day it was discovered in the ocean.

Meanwhile, the list of ships that disappeared in the area of ​​the Bermuda Triangle continued to grow at the end of the 19th, and especially in the 20th century. With each decade, the world fleet increased, which means that the number of catastrophes and disappearances in the Hellish Circle multiplied.

On the last day of January 1880, the British training sailing ship Atalanta was in the area with three hundred officers and cadets on board. But the sailboat never arrived at the port of destination. A whole armada of ships came out in search of him, sailing from each other at a distance of direct visibility. In vain. All along the way, the rescuers did not meet either a boat or any object that could have been left from the Atalanta. By the way, in 1881 the English ship "Ellen Austin" met a schooner in the open ocean, sailing without any signs of the presence of the team. It was not possible to stop her, as well as to read the name of the vessel. Maybe it was the ghost of Atalanta that disappeared a year ago?

An equally amazing story occurred in 1909, when Captain Joshua Slocum, the most famous sailor of his time, went missing in the Bermuda Triangle. He gained worldwide fame as the first person in history to sail alone around the globe. This journey, which took several years and ended in 1898, he made on his magnificent yacht, the Spray. The captain was lucky in overcoming any difficulties: he left the pirates chasing him off the coast of Morocco, withstood storms that killed large ships nearby, repelled the attack of savages in the Strait of Magellan, and continued sailing even after his charts fell into disrepair . For a whole week he was stuck in the Sargasso Sea due to complete calm, and on the approach to New York he was met by the most severe storm that he had ever experienced in all the years of his journey. It was a real tornado that then caused great destruction in New York.

Only a few years have passed, and the same Joshua Slocum, who had the courage, composure and skill to overcome the most difficult trials prepared by the sea, suddenly disappeared along with the yacht during a short trip through the Bermuda Triangle. November 14, 1909 he moved away from the island of Martha's Vineyard and headed for South America. From that day on, there was no more news of him. In the opinion of those who knew Captain Slocum, he was too good a sailor, and the Spray too good a yacht, to fail any test that the ocean might bring.

The next catastrophe happened during the First World War. In 1918, the pride of the American navy, the 540-foot Cyclops coal ship, en route from the island of Barbados to the port

Baltimore and having 309 people on board, seemed to dissolve into space. His intensive search also ended in failure. By the way, the Cyclops was the first of the disappeared ships equipped with radio equipment, but for some reason it never used the SOS signal. Half a century later, representatives of the Ministry of the Navy said that none of the many versions can reliably explain the disappearance of the Cyclops.

In January 1921, the schooner Carroll A. Deering was found firmly aground with her sails raised. The strangest thing was that in the galley there was a dinner prepared for the crew, which was no longer destined to enjoy it. In the same year, a dozen other ships disappeared without a trace in the Bermuda area. According to the ship's documents, all of them went to Puerto Rico, some to Miami, some to Bermuda. But they all ended up in the same area.

In 1931, the Norwegian ship "Stavenger", which had 43 people on board, disappeared there. At the last minute, they broadcast on the radio: “Hurry to help, we cannot be saved! ..”

In the second half of the XX century. ship disasters continued to haunt the imaginations of sailors and shipping company owners. In 1955, in the very center of the triangle, the Connemara-4 yacht was discovered without a single person on board. But for some reason, especially many disappearances occurred at Christmas. So, in December 1957, publisher Harvey Conover, one of America's most famous yachtsmen, took his family on a racing yacht on a 150-mile trip to Miami. And although the yacht was always within line of sight of the shore, it never arrived at its destination.

The year 1963 was especially “fruitful” for mysterious disappearances. The beginning was laid by the Marine Sulfur Queen cargo ship, specially equipped to transport molten sulfur. En route from Virginia to Texas, it disappeared off the southern tip of Florida after a standard radio broadcast that caused no concern. As a result of the search, only a few life jackets were found. The most incomprehensible thing in all these stories is that during the search for the remains of people they were never found. It would seem that the bodies of the shipwrecked should sooner or later be thrown ashore by the surf, but this has never happened in the Bermuda Triangle area.

In July 1969, in calm weather, five ships were found abandoned by the crew. The representative of the largest insurance company in the UK said that, given the excellent weather conditions, what happened is "absolutely incredible case." And a month later, the most experienced navigator Bill Verity disappeared in the triangle, having made many crossings across the Atlantic. Unexplained disappearances still occur to this day: in 1971, the cargo ships Elizabeth and El Carib sank into obscurity, and in March 1973, the largest cargo ship, Anita, left Norfolk and no one heard from her again. The trouble did not bypass the submarines. In 1963 and 1968, the US Navy lost two nuclear submarines, the Thresher and the Scorpion, both of which ended their last voyage near the Bermuda Triangle.

Accident investigation commissions do not consider them to be caused by such ordinary manifestations of the elements as the sudden appearance of tropical cyclones, but tend to believe that catastrophes can be caused by some kind of atmospheric disturbances, as well as electromagnetic and gravitational anomalies.

Other researchers suggest that the whole point is the so-called aberration - the curvature of space, due to which the missing ships fall into the trap of the "fourth dimension". In this regard, the statements of some "visionaries" are curious, who are sure that one day all ships will get out of the Bermuda Triangle and return to their native ports along with their crews. They believe that the sailors are still alive, and their age has not changed at all since the day they disappeared. Moreover, upon their return, they will reveal the whole secret of the world located beyond the ghostly edge of Bermuda.

Exploring this theory, experts say that time as such flows at different speeds. This may explain the many cases in which ships were hundreds of miles away from where they should have been. If the speed of time at a given point in space differs from the usual one, a ship that has fallen into such a time trap will cease to exist in our world. Part of the temporary stream in this case deviates from the main channel, taking with it everything that happened to be in its area. Then the ship, along with its unlucky crew and passengers, can be transported to the future or the past, and even to a "parallel universe."

But pragmatic scientists believe that all catastrophes are associated with underwater earthquakes, since as a result of sudden displacements of the ocean floor, waves up to two hundred feet high can be created.

While experts from the navy and other organizations debunk the hypothesis of underwater volcanoes and earthquakes, other researchers are trying to put all the blame on storms and waves. And although little is known about such facts, it can be assumed that the tragic stories are somehow connected with ocean currents or water eddies. The vulnerability of this hypothesis is that strong winds are needed for storms and waves. However, oddly enough, none of the mysterious disappearances recorded in the Bermuda Triangle happened in bad weather.

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Many of them disappeared without a trace, and some were found, but not a single living soul remained on board. All crew members seemed to have vanished into thin air or were dead. The reasons for the disappearance or death of the team are still a mystery. The only version is that the missing ships became victims of terrible supernatural phenomena. There is no other rational explanation yet.

Seabird

An unusual find at the end of the 19th century was discovered by residents of the coastal regions of the state of Rhode Island (USA) - the Seabird ship crashed into the rocks. When the eyewitnesses of the incident decided to inspect the ship, they were amazed: despite the fact that there were traces of the recent presence of people on board (food boiling on fire, fresh food leftovers in plates), none of the crew members on the sailboat were found. The only living being is a frightened dog. The sailors seemed to have left the ship in a hurry. But what made them flee and where they disappeared is not clear.

"Mary Celeste"

The ship, previously called the "Amazon", was considered cursed from the first days of its existence. Tragic events haunted the sailors who worked on the ship. For example, the first captain of the Amazon died after accidentally falling overboard. In order not to tempt fate, the ship was renamed. However, the ship, now the Mary Celeste, was doomed. In 1872 he mysteriously disappeared. The missing ship was found a month later, but there was not a soul on board. All the things of the sailors remained in place. But where did their owners go?

"Beychimo"

The history of the cargo ship is reminiscent of the story of the mystical Flying Dutchman. From 1911 to 1931, the ship made nine very successful voyages. But, one day, he got stuck in the ice of the Arctic. The team decided to wait out the bad weather in the nearest Eskimo settlement. Leaving the ship, the captain hoped to return there as soon as the situation normalized. But after another winter storm, the ship was not in place. Assuming that the Beychimo sank, the command stopped searching for it. However, there were eyewitnesses who claimed that they not only saw a mysterious ship in the waters of the Arctic, but even boarded it. Their testimonies were very plausible, because they could quite accurately describe what Beychimo looked like. For many decades, the ship has been disappearing, then reappearing in the field of view of sailors. How a ship without control was able to cruise in the waters of the ocean for so many years - no one can explain.

An Australian fishing yacht that set sail on the high seas in the spring of 2007 was found abandoned a week later. There was no damage to the ship, but all three crew members were missing. Items found on board (a radio on, a working computer, a set table) indicated that no one was going to leave the yacht. The search for the team did not bring any results. According to the official version, one of the fishermen suddenly began to sink, and his two friends rushed to the aid of a drowning comrade. All three died. But no direct evidence of this version was found. Any explanation of the incident has no evidence.

In the Philippines, fishermen found the mummified body of a 59-year-old man who had lain for several days in a half-flooded yacht. Writes about it on Tuesday The Independent.

According to the publication, a German navigator named Manfred Fritz Bayorath, who operated the yacht Sajo, died a non-violent death. According to the police, who conducted the examination, the cause of death, most likely, was a heart attack. The sailor's body was turned into a mummy due to the salty ocean air and dry weather.

The man's identity was established thanks to documents and numerous photographs that law enforcement officers found on board the yacht, which, according to the newspaper, drifted for several months in the Pacific Ocean before it was discovered by fishermen.

It should be noted that in the world it has happened quite often before and there are still situations when ships without a crew were found on the high seas. Such ships are called "ghost ships". This term is most often used in legends and fiction, but it can also refer to a real ship that had previously disappeared, and then after some time was found at sea without a crew or with a dead crew on board. In most cases, many meetings with such ships are fiction, however, real cases are known that are documented - thanks to entries in the logbook, for example. "MIR 24" recalled the most famous "ghost ships" in the history of navigation.

(George Grieux. Full Moonrise. From the Ghost Ship series.)

In 1775, a merchant ship from England called the Octavius ​​was discovered off the coast of Greenland, carrying dozens of bodies of frozen crew members. The ship's log showed that this ship was returning to the UK from China. The ship set sail in 1762 and attempted to navigate the rough Northwest Passage, which was only successfully crossed in 1906. The ship and the frozen bodies of its crew drifted through the pack ice for 13 years.

Almost a century later, in 1850, on the shores of Rhode Island, a mysterious sailboat called the Seabird was stuck in shallow water, carrying wood and coffee from the island of Honduras. On board, in one of the cabins, only a dog was found, which was shaking with fear. No people were found on the ship, despite the fact that fragrant coffee was boiling on the galley stove, there was a map and a logbook on the table. The last entry in it read: "We went abeam the reef of Brenton." Based on the results of the incident, a thorough investigation was carried out, which, nevertheless, could not answer the question of where the crew of the sailboat had gone.

(Abandoned by the crew of the Mary Celeste)

On December 4, 1872, 400 miles from Gibraltar, the ship "Dei Gracia" discovered the brigantine "Mary Celeste" without a single crew member on board. The ship was quite good, strong, without damage, but, according to legend, during the entire time of its voyage it very often got into unpleasant situations, which is why it received a bad name. The captain with his team of 7 people, as well as his wife and daughter, who were also on the ship at the time of the cargo transportation, among which, in particular, alcohol, disappeared without a trace.

Many "ghost ships" were found by sailors and fishermen in the last millennium. So, at the end of January 1921, the lighthouse keeper of Cape Hatteras noticed the five-masted schooner "Carroll A. Dearing" on the outer edge of the Diamond Shoals shoal. All the sails of the ship were removed, there was no one on board, except for the ship's cat. No one touched the cargo, food and personal belongings of the crew members. The only things missing were the lifeboats, the chronometer, the sextants, and the logbook. The steering control of the schooner did not function, in addition, the ship's compass and part of the navigational instruments were broken. Why and where the Carroll A. Dearing team disappeared, it was not possible to find out.

(The SS Valencia in 1904)

In 1906, the passenger steamer SS Valencia sank off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. 27 years after the disaster, in 1933, sailors found a lifeboat from this ship that was sailing in the area in good condition. Moreover, the sailors claimed to have observed the Valencia itself, following down the coast. But it turned out to be just a vision.

In February 1948, according to legend, merchant ships located in the Malacca Strait near Sumatra received a radio signal from the Dutch ship Orang Medan: “SOS! Motor ship "Orang Medan". The ship continues to follow its course. Maybe all the members of our crew have already died.” This was followed by rambling dots and dashes. At the end of the radiogram it said: "I'm dying." The ship was found by English sailors. The entire crew of the ship was dead. The faces of the crew members were frozen in horror. Suddenly, a fire broke out in the hold of the ship, and soon the ship exploded. A powerful explosion broke the ship in half, after which the Orang Medan sank. The most popular theory for the death of the crew is that the ship was carrying nitroglycerin without special packaging.

At the beginning of 1953, the cargo ship "Kholchu" with a cargo of rice was discovered by the sailors of the English vessel "Rani". Due to the elements, the ship was significantly damaged, but the lifeboats were not touched. In addition, there was a full supply of fuel and water on board. Five crew members disappeared without a trace.

"Ghost ships" met in the new century. So, in 2003, the Indonesian fishing schooner "High M 6" was found drifting without a crew near New Zealand. Large-scale searches were organized, which nevertheless did not give a result - 14 team members could not be found.

In 2007, in Australia, there was a story with the ghost yacht Kaz II. The ship left Airlie Beach on April 15, and a few days later was found off the coast of Queensland. Rescuers boarded the yacht and saw the engine, radio, and GPS laptop running. In addition, dinner was prepared and the table laid, but the crew, which consisted of three people, was not on board. The sails of the yacht were in place, but badly damaged. Life jackets and other life-saving equipment were not used. On April 25, it was decided to stop the search, since hardly anyone could survive for such a time period.

(Trawler Maru before sinking. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis)

The Japanese fishing boat Maru (Luck) drifted and crossed the Pacific Ocean after the devastating March 11, 2011 struck the country. The ship was first spotted at the end of March 2012 by a Canadian Air Force patrol. The Japanese side, after receiving notification of the discovery of the trawler, managed to establish the shipowner. However, he did not express a desire to return the ship. On board the "Luck" there was a minimum amount of fuel and there was no cargo, since before the earthquake in Japan the ship was intended for disposal. Nothing was reported about the fate of the Luck crew. Due to the fact that the vessel posed a threat to navigation, the US Coast Guard fired on it in April 2012, after which the trawler sank.

(Russian ghost ship "Lyubov Orlova" is drifting in the waters of Ireland, TASS)

On January 23, 2013, a double-deck cruise ship built back in the Soviet years left the Canadian port of St. John's for towing for scrapping to the Dominican Republic. However, in the afternoon of the next day, the towing cable burst at the Charlene Hunt tug pulling the ship. As a result, the ship drifted. Attempts to take him in tow again proved fruitless. Thus, since January 24, 2013, it has been in free drift in the Atlantic Ocean without a crew and identification lights. In March, the Irish media reported that signals had been recorded from the Lyubov Orlova emergency beacon 700 miles off the coast of Ireland. This may indicate that the ship has sunk, as the emergency beacon is activated when it enters the water. Searches were made in the area from which the signals were received, but nothing was found. In early 2014, there were rumors that a drifting ship inhabited by cannibal rats could allegedly wash up on the coast of Ireland. However, there is still no reliable information about the fate of the ship. Most likely, it sank in February 2013.

Ivan Rakovich.