The Mary Celeste was a merchant brigantine of British origin, having been built in 1860. The ship was made famous for being discovered in the Atlantic Ocean on 5 December 1872, with it’s entire crew nowhere to be found, and it’s cargo virtually untouched.
Mary Celeste was found abandoned, but was in seaworthy condition and still under sail, heading toward the Strait of Gibraltar (a narrow straight connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea).
The passengers onboard it’s voyage had included the captain, his wife and daughter, as well as 7 crewmen. All 9 of them were not found aboard the ship and were never seen or heard from again.
The 33-metre long brigantine was said by some to be “cursed” from it’s early beginnings long before it was discovered derelict in 1872 with no apparent explanation.
The ship’s first captain, Robert McLellan, contracted pneumonia just 9 days after taking command. He died at the very beginning of her maiden voyage, and was the first of three captains to die aboard this mysterious ship.
In 1885 Mary Celeste’s last captain and owner, G. C. Parker, deliberately wrecked the ship in the Caribbean Sea in a failed attempt to commit insurance fraud.
It wasn’t until 9 August 2001 that the unfound remains of the shipwreck were discovered by divers.
Watch this short video outlining the fate of the Mary Celeste:
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