The Ships That Never Came Home
The ocean can be vast and terrifying. Journeying across it has never been for the faint of heart. Tragically, not everyone has made it home safely—and these 10 ghost ships are proof.
The Carroll A. Deering
The Carroll A. Deering was a cargo ship manned by a crew of ten. In 1920, it safely arrived in Rio de Janeiro—but on its journey back to Virginia, a bizarre incident transpired.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
The Carroll A. Deering: Suspicious Behavior
A crewman on board the Carroll A. Deering contacted a lightship keeper in North Carolina. He claimed that the ship had lost its anchors in a storm. However, the lightship keeper noticed something suspicious. The crew was "milling about" on the quarterback, which was not normal.
The Carroll A. Deering: They Weren't Taking The Correct Route
The next day, the Carroll A. Deering was sighted close to Outer Banks—not the usual trajectory for a ship traveling to Virginia. A day later, it became a shipwreck.
The Carroll A. Deering: Investigating The Shipwreck
Unfortunately, perilous conditions prevented people from approaching the shipwreck. It wasn't until four days later that investigators boarded the Carrol A. Deering, where they stumbled upon a curious scene.
The Carroll A. Deering: They Laid Out A Meal
It seemed as though the crew had been preparing to eat a meal. All of their food was sitting out. Still, the lifeboats had vanished along with the crew's belongings.
The federal government suspected anything from pirates to a mutiny, but their investigations came up dry.
The Mary Celeste
Whatever happened to the Mary Celeste? On the fateful day of November 7, 1872, a small crew began their journey to Italy, leaving from New York. On board were the captain, his wife, and small daughter, as well as a crew of seven men.
But a month later, a tragedy came to pass.
The Mary Celeste: It Never Arrived
The Mary Celeste did not arrive on time. Instead, the British ship Dei Gratia noticed the vessel languishing in the Atlantic. When they went to investigate, they made a chilling discovery.
George McCord, Wikimedia Commons
The Mary Celeste: The Crew Had Vanished
There was nobody on board the Mary Celeste. Though they'd left behind their belongings and half a year's worth of sustenance, the entire crew had disappeared along with the lifeboat. But that wasn't even the weirdest part.
Honore Pellegrin (1800–c.1870), Wikimedia Commons
The Mary Celeste: It Wasn't A Doomed Ship
You see, the Mary Celeste wasn't exactly in dire straits. Though the ship had been flooded with three feet of water, it wasn't doomed to sink. Any repairs would have been manageable.
DE AGOSTINI PICTURE LIBRARY, Getty Images
The Mary Celeste: It Inspired A Mystery Writer
Found under mysterious circumstances, the Mary Celeste eventually inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to write the short story J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement.
But what actually happened to the Mary Celeste's crew?
Walter Benington, Wikimedia Commons
The Mary Celeste: We'll Never Know The Truth
The best explanation for the crew's disappearance would be that the captain didn't properly gauge the ship's damages. Perhaps he saw land, and got everyone off the boat. Unfortunately, the truth is buried in history.
High Aim No. 6
On Halloween 2002, the fishing boat High Aim No. 6 set out from Taiwan. However, in January 2003, the Australian Navy spotted it. When they went to investigate the boat, they realized something was seriously wrong.
High Aim No. 6: Nothing Added Up
Oddly enough, the boat's engine was still running, but there were no crew members in sight. Adding to the mystery was the fact that the main gas tank had run dry while the auxiliary fuel tanks remained full. As well, there were ten tons of bonito tuna stored.
State Library of Queensland ,Picryl
High Aim No. 6: They Found One Crew Member
It seemed like there would be no good answers for what happened to High Aim No. 6, that is, until a single crew member reared his head.
High Aim No. 6: One Mystery Remains
The only crew member found was an Indonesian fisherman with a shocking story to tell. According to his report, the crew had collaborated with pirates to take out the captain and head engineer. However, one mystery remains: Why did the crew choose to do this in the first place?
Joe Kukowski, Wikimedia Commons
The Jian Seng
The Jian Seng is defined by its mysterious history...or the fact that it doesn't seem to have a history at all.
The Jian Seng: They Didn't Know Where It Came From
The Australian Coastwatch discovered the Jian Seng in 2006. Nobody was on board and it had a severed tow rope. Though the ship's name could be seen on its side, investigators had no clue where the ship had come from.
Ken Hodge, CC BY 2.0 ,Wikimedia Commons
The Jian Seng: A Lost Origin Story
In trying to trace the origins of the Jian Seng, investigators were stumped. They couldn't find any records of distress signals, nor had there been any reports of the boat missing. They even came up empty when trying to locate identifying documents.
The MV Joyita
The MV Joyita was a merchant ship. In 1955, it ventured into the South Pacific for two days. But sadly, it was not a successful journey. The ship never arrived at its destination.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
The MV Joyita: The Rescue Effort Failed
When the MV Joyita disappeared, the initial rescue effort failed. However, the ship wasn't lost forever. Over a month later, a different captain caught sight of the shipwreck.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
The MV Joyita: There Was No Explanation
Shockingly, the MV Joyita's 25 passengers had mysteriously disappeared. The investigation into what caused the ship's tragic fate described it as "inexplicable." That's when disturbing theories began bubbling to the surface.
The MV Joyita: Haunting Theories
One theory blamed Soviet submariners for kidnapping everyone on board, while others think that Japanese fishermen had slain the entire crew. However, one professor believes that a pipe had eroded, causing the ship to flood.
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
The Nina Yacht
In 2013, the Nina yacht stopped responding. The crew had contacted meteorologists with some chilling concerns about the weather. Tragically, it seemed clear that that the boat had been bested by the 26-foot-high waves and the strong winds. But that wasn't the end of the Nina's story.
Rdargusch, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Nina Yacht: One Last Message
Three weeks following the Nina's disappearance, a shocking text message came through: "Thanks storm sails shredded last night, now bare poles."
The Nina Yacht: Dashed Hopes
This message gave hope to the family of one of the passengers—a 19-year-old girl. A private search yielded some promising satellite photos of what might have been the Nina. However, most experts debunked the images.
The Kaz II
Two brothers and a skipper went missing in April 2007. The three inexperienced sailors had set off on an adventure aboard the Kaz II. It was supposed to be a two-month trip, but it only lasted three days.
The Kaz II: They Left Behind A Cup Of Coffee
Tragically, the Kaz II was discovered without a crew on board. Instead, investigators simply found a newspaper, blades on the floor, and a half-full cup of coffee. There are only theories about what their final moments may have looked like.
The Kaz II: A Tragic Theory
One coroner speculated that all three sailors had drowned. If one had accidentally fallen overboard, the remaining two might have perished in their rescue attempts. Of course, there was no evidence to support this theory at all.
SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS, Pexels
The Mummy Ghost Ship
In 2016, Filipino fishermen made a horrifying discovery. They boarded what they thought was an abandoned yacht, only to stumble upon the mummy of a German sailor.
The Mummy Ghost Ship: He Traveled The World
This sailor was actually Manfred Fritz Bajorat. For the last two decades, he'd been traveling around the world. He was a hard man to track down, having been last seen in 2009 and last heard from in 2015.
The Mummy Ghost Ship: He Had A Shocking Autopsy
Bajorat had passed from natural causes. If his body had been exposed to the salty, warm elements for an extended period of time, the mummified condition of his body made sense. However, his autopsy results were unexpected.
Reportedly, he'd passed only a week prior to being found.
The Sam Ratulangi
In August 2018, Fishermen discovered the Sam Ratulangi PB 1600 near the Myanmar coast. Strangely, there were no people on board and no cargo. However, this mystery has a likely explanation.
The Sam Ratulangi: They Abandoned Ship
Not long after its discovery, Myanmar's navy identified the Sam Ratulangi. Pulled by a tugboat, the freighter had been en route to ship-breaking plant. However, when faced with rough weather, the cable connecting the tugboat and freighter broke. As a result, the crew likely abandoned ship.
Ghost Ship Jenny
Though this urban legend may be unsubstantiated, it is still a story worth telling. In 1840, the Hope, a whaling ship, stumbled across the Jenny, a schooner. Stuck in the ice, the Jenny had become the victim of the ice along the Antarctic Drake Passage.
Yannick Martinez, Shutterstock
Ghost Ship Jenny: One Final Entry
Horrifyingly, the Jenny hid a nightmare on board. The entire crew had frozen to death. The most sensational detail? Allegedly, the captain's body was found by his desk. On it, his log revealed one final entry: “May 4, 1823. No food for 71 days. I am the only one left alive.”
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