Destination disaster: tragedies in the maritime world.

• Author: Duffy, Francis J.

Tragedies in the maritime world, including Amity, Andrea Doria, Central America, Esso Brussels, General Slocum, Great Republic, Lusitania, Mary Celeste, Morro Castle, Normandie, Seawanhaka, Sea Witch, Titanic, and Westfield, prompted the adoption of strong measures that would make safety at sea the most important of objectives. This exhibition reviews the calamities and lessons learned.

WHEN the Mary Celeste left New York in November, 1872, with 10 crew members and a cargo of 1,700 barrels of alcohol, she was bound for Genoa, Italy. However, the sailing ship never reached its destination. It was found one month later as a ghost ship. What became of her crew remains a mystery.

For people living in today's world, it may be difficult to comprehend that ships routinely would sail off for months at a time without any means of communicating with land. If and when they did encounter problems, the crew could not call for assistance. The marine electronics standard on modern merchant vessels could have enabled the Mary Celeste's crew to get help.

A series of ship disasters in the 19th and 20th centuries--such as those on exhibition at The Seamen's Church Institute in New York--resulted in devastating losses and helped bring to light the need for more effective maritime training. The number of casualties at sea has diminished with the use of radio, radar, and electronic and satellite navigation. Though maritime accidents still occur, many training requirements, emergency procedures, and technological improvements in equipment design or ship construction resulted from such tragic events.

Fire figured prominently in many disasters, such as General Slocum in 1904 (for full details, see p. 57), Morro Castle in 1934 (pp. 54-55), and Normandie in 1942 (p. 56).

In an effort to avert such disasters, the U.S. Life Saving Association, the predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard, was established in the mid-1800s; radar certification became a required part of licensing and license renewal; ships were constructed with fireproof materials where possible; and procedures for fighting fires and assisting passengers in an emergency were instituted.

Since 1890, The Seamen's Church Institute, New York, has provided training programs in ship handling and navigation to seafarers of all nations, creeds, and religions. The Center for Maritime Education was established to carry out this tradition of service. In recent years, it has grown to be a leader in the maritime education field by consistently meeting the demands of an ever-changing maritime industry laden with high-technology equipment. The Center seeks to increase seafarers' professional competency, whether they operate a tugboat on an inland waterway, an ocean-going containership, or a cruise ship carrying vacationing passengers.

"The depictions in our gallery show the tragedies that can happen, but also show the silver lining in the cloud by educating us as to what can happen through negligence in disasters," explains the Rev. Peter Larom, director of The Seamen's Church Institute.

Communication at sea between passing ships and from ship to shore has played an important role in the history of maritime transportation and safety. The introduction of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). for instance, promises to improve safety at sea for merchant ships. Hailed as the biggest innovation in communications at sea since the invention of the radio, GMDSS uses satellites and transistor-based electronics to aid in the identification and coordination of search and rescue efforts of all vessels on the high seas, eliminating the possibility of ships disappearing without a trace.

Nevertheless, the sea is an unforgiving element, and the loss of ships and seamen goes on. Lloyd's Register lists 184 ships known to have been lost at sea in 1994, with the loss of 1,522 lives. Still, there are lessons to be learned from the various maritime tragedies that struck vessels sailing to or from the Port of New York. Among the most important were:

Andrea Doria and Stockholm, July 25, 1956. The Andrea Doria of the Italian Line was inbound from Mediterranean ports to New York. Outbound from New York on the same day was the Swedish American Line motor vessel Stockholm. When heavy fog set in some 50 miles south of Nantucket Island, Andrea Doria reduced speed to 21 knots, while Stockholm traveled on at 18 knots. Both vessels relied on their radar in the fog. The bridge watch on the Andrea Doria started to track a target on the radar at 10:40 p.m., but assumed it would pass well off the starboard side. When the target moved to the center of the scope, the Doria sounded her fog horn, but heard no other signal. Just past 11:00 p.m., Stockholm knifed into the side of the Andrea Doria. An S.O.S. brought scores of ships in the heavily trafficked area to the scene. More than 1,600 people were saved, but 52 were killed in the collision. The next morning, the abandoned ship sank. Stockholm returned to New York for repairs, and her hull...