The curse of Newfoundland: What other shipwrecks have taken place off the coast of Canada?

The expected news came on Thursday of the death of all members of the submarine in Canada. The US Coast Guard has confirmed that a catastrophic implosion had taken place, but could not confirm specifically when it happened. Mauger said the debris was consistent with the catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber.

The objective of the sub was to explore the wreck of the famous ship RMS Titanic, delivering a certain irony for a company that regularly flouted safety warnings and shunned regulation.

There are plenty of other maritime disatsers that have taken place off the final resting place of Titan, Newfoundland in Canada.

RMS Titanic, 1912

Although the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, it is worth mentioning due to its proximity to Newfoundland. The ill-fated luxury liner struck an iceberg on 15 April, 1912, and sank, resulting in the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

The event was immortalised in the 1997 film Titanic.

SS Atlantic, 1873

The steamship was wrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia on 1 April, 1873. The ship was en route to New York from Liverpool when it struck rocks near the entrance to Halifax Harbor. Over 500 people lost their lives in the tragedy.

SS Florizel, 1918

The SS Florizel was a passenger steamer that wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland on 23 February, 1918 striking rocks near Cappahayden during a blizzard. Out of the 137 people on board, only 44 survived.

SS Caribou, 1942

The passenger ferry that was torpedoed by a German U-boat during the Second World War. The attack took place in the Cabot Strait between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia on 14 October, 1942.

The sinking resulted in the loss of over 100 lives, including civilians and military personnel.

SS Ethie, 1919

The SS Ethie was a steamship that ran aground on the rocks near Martin’s Point, Newfoundland, on 11 December, 1919. The crew and passengers were stranded on the ship for several days before being rescued.

This incident is often referred to as the “Christmas Shipwreck” because of the time of year it occurred.

SS Lord Strathcona, 1947

The SS Lord Strathcona, a cargo ship, sank off the coast of Newfoundland on 5 September, 1947. It encountered a severe storm and eventually broke apart, resulting in the loss of all 29 crew members.

The Halifax explosion

While not technically a wreck, this event is worth including. Taking place on 6 December, 1917, when the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in Halifax Harbor, the massive explosion caused extensive devastation and loss of life.

With at least 1,700 deaths and countless injuries, it remains one of the deadliest non-nuclear explosions in history as well as the largest man-made explosion at the time.