When it comes to shipwrecks and abandoned ships, the first thing we think of is the Titanic disaster, but today we will talk about other ships. According to the United Nations, this sad fate befell more than 3 million ships. Each of them has their own story and their secrets, which they took with them to the depths of the sea.
American Star
And we'll start with the abandoned warship SS America, also known as the American Star. The remains of this famous ocean liner, which has seen in its lifetime both periods of rapid rises and times of oblivion, can be seen at low tide off the coast of Greece. During its 54 years of life (from 1940 to 1994), the ship belonged to different owners and bore different names, one of which (SS America) he tried on 3 times. During the Second World War, she was used as a naval equipment, and after the war she became a popular cruise ship that fell in love with the public.
In February 1993, he once again changed the owner, who planned to convert the ship into a five-star hotel. On December 22, 1993, he left Greece and went under tow to Thailand, but due to bad weather he returned back and a few days later, on New Year's Eve, he set off on his last voyage. The American Star and the Neftegaz 67 towing it were caught in a storm in the Atlantic - the towing lines broke down and several people were sent to the liner to connect the emergency lines, but this was unsuccessful. Two tugboats were called in to assist Naftogaz 67, and on January 17, the crew was evacuated from the American Star by helicopter. While negotiations were underway between the ship's owners, the tug company and insurance companies, the American Star ran aground off the west coast of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.
Just 2 days later, a storm caused the ship to split in two, causing the back of the giant ship to crash into the ocean. On July 6, 1994, the Star of America was officially declared extinguished.
In 1996, the stern part of the ship finally broke away and went under water. The bow remained ashore until 2007, and then it was practically washed into the ocean.
Lyubov Orlova
Once a luxury cruise ship, named after a famous Soviet actress, ended its days inas an abandoned floating ghost in the waters of the North Atlantic. The vessel was built in Yugoslavia for a Soviet company and served mainly for expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic.
However, in 2010, it was seized by Canadian authorities in the port of Saint John in Newfoundland after it was proven that its owners were involved in a debt scandal.
In 2012, the ship was sold and was supposed to go to the Dominican Republic for scrapping. During the towing, there was a strong storm, as a result of which the towing cables burst, and the Lyubov Orlova set off for free navigation. A little later, the ship was discovered, but somehow inexplicably lost again while being towed in international waters.
The Canadian federal department responsible for the country's transport policy has informed that the ship no longer poses a threat to the safety of Canadian offshore oil installations, their personnel or the marine environment.
In 2013, the Irish Coast Guard received a signal from a former Arctic cruise ship that the Lyubov Orlova was heading east and was close to the coast of Ireland. Coast Guard officials provided information that a satellite was sent to the location of the last signal, but no sign of the ship was found.
Although most sources say the ship sank somewhere in the North Atlantic, no one is surewhat happened. The ship was designed to withstand dangerous seas, which means there may be a small chance that it still stays there. Various experts believe that the ship poses a hazard, as if the ship accidentally spilled toxic liquids and insoluble floating waste, it could have a devastating effect on the environment. Others believe there are hundreds of disease-infected rats on board, a biohazard in itself.
Cemetery of abandoned ships in the ocean
In the southwestern Pacific Ocean lies the Caroline Islands, an archipelago belonging to the Federated States of Micronesia. The most famous place in this archipelago is the Truk lagoon, which serves as the last refuge for abandoned ships.
During World War II, Truk Lagoon was Japan's most powerful base, described by experts as the Japanese equivalent of the Americans' Pearl Harbor.
February 17-18, 1944, the naval base was destroyed by the American army. Anticipating this attack, the Japanese withdrew their larger warships: heavy cruisers, battleships and aircraft carriers. However, many smaller warships remain here, as well as hundreds of aircraft at the atoll's air bases. The attack, which lasted two days, resulted in the destruction of three light cruisers, four destroyers, three auxiliaries, two submarine bases, three small warships, some air transport, and thirty-two merchantmen. They still restat the bottom of the ocean and everyone has their own history.
Sunken secrets of abandoned ships
Many dangers can lie in wait for ships in the vast expanses of the seas and oceans, and many have found their last refuge on the deep seabed. There are many ghostly legends about mysterious ships that roamed the sea without a single person on board. This seems to be fiction, but on the example of "Lyubov Orlova" we see that this may well be a reality. These floating ghosts without a crew and warning lights are a real danger to other ships, especially at night. All these stories are shrouded in the darkness of mystery and many more generations will try to touch it in the hope of unraveling it.
