SHIPWRECKS

RMS Titanic

The RMS Titanic was an enormous cruise ship that has captured the interest of millions.  Dozens of documentaries have been filmed, countless books, fiction and non-fiction have been written - there’s even a romance movie created in memory of the lives lost that day.

On her maiden voyage from Belfast to New York, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk close to midnight on the 14th April, 1912. There were only twenty lifeboats and 2228 passengers. 1517 people perished, but only 306 bodies were found. When the news reached dry land, it shocked the world. The Titanic was so new, when the passengers boarded in Belfast the paint was still wet in some spots, and everyone thought she was invincible.

RMS Lusitania

The Lusitania was another cruise ship, famous for it’s luxurious accommodation and extreme death toll, and the mystery behind it. The Lusitania was rumoured to have been carrying weapons for war, and this rumour was confirmed true when divers inspecting the site found assorted cannons and cannonballs, armour, swords and rifles. In WWI, the ships were told to sail at full speed and in a zig-zag motion to avoid the German U-boats lurking under the surface, waiting to sink enemy ships. Unfortunately, the Lusitania encountered fog, and had to slow down and sail in a predictable straight line. She was hit by a torpedo on the 17th of May, 1915 on the starboard (right-hand side) bow. She sunk in an incredibly fast time, totalling 18 minutes.

The Lusitania was making her 202nd trip across the Atlantic, carrying 1959 passengers, 1198 of which died. There were enough lifeboats to satisfy all the passengers, but many of them were not launched full, due to the rapid pace the boat was sinking at.

Batavia

The Batavia was the impressive new flagship of the Dutch East India trading company. It sunk in the Abrolhos Islands on it’s maiden voyage from Fremantle to Java, on the 4th of June, 1629. There were 315 men, women and children on board.

As the boat sunk, the crew managed to make their way to one of the nearby islands, now called the ‘Batavia Graveyard’. With two of the authoritative figures gone in search of help, one of the crew, Jeronimus Corneliesz decided to carry out the plan he had been brewing. He convinced some of the other crew that the only way to get out of the mess alive was to kill all the other passengers and run off with the booty. A mutinous battle took place, in which over half the remaining crew were killed. Corneliesz was hanged and seven other crew members were tried for their crimes.