(www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The Panama Canal opened to traffic on 15 August 1914 with passage of the SS Ancon. First conceived in the 1600s, actual construction work was first begun by a French company in 1880. That attempt was defeated primarily by malaria and yellow fever. Work began on the present-day Panama Canal in 1904, success due in large…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On 11 August 2001, the motor vessel Windoc and the Allanburg Bridge suffered a collision. Ship-bridge collisions are rare, because a true collision requires that both objects be in motion at the time of impact. The Allanburg Bridge (also referred to as Bridge 11) is a lift bridge over the Welland Canal at Allanburg, Ontario. The Windoc was downbound…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The “Black Tom Island” incident occurred on Sunday, 30 July 1916. German saboteurs ignited a fire at the munitions-loading facility in Jersey City, across from Manhattan. The ensuing explosions destroyed the waterfront facility and largely obliterated the island, killing four persons and causing over $40 million in property damage. It was the first state-sponsored terrorist attack in…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The La Bourgogne was built in 1885 at the Société Nouvelles de Forges et Chantiers de Médditerranée in La Seyne-sur-Mer, France for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique better known as the French Line. She was a sleek looking ocean liner with four auxiliary sail rigged masts and twin funnels. La Bourgogne like many other passenger ships of the era, was…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) On 15 June 1904, the excursion steamer General Slocum caught fire while operating on the East River in New York City. More than 1,000 passengers and crew lost their lives. It was one of the worst maritime disasters in US history. Congress responded by adopting a series of bills providing the Steamboat Inspection Service…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) This British ocean liner was commandeered by the government during World War II. It was sunk on June 17th, 1940, resulting in the loss of over 4,000 lives, possibly many more. This is considered to be the worst loss of life in the sinking of a single British ship, and the bloodiest single engagement for…
(http://www.MaritimeCyprus.com) The 76 meter long four-deck river passenger ship Eastern Star (Dongfangzhixing) capsized and sank on the Yangtze River in the Wuhan, Damazhou area. The vessel was carrying 405 passengers, 5 travel agents and 48 crew on a holiday cruise up the Yangtze from Nanjing to Chongqing when it was struck by a severe storm. The storm…
