Page 36 - The Insurance Times September 2024

members. The 282-ton brigantine battled heavy weather for crewmen's belongings were still in their quarters. The ship's
two weeks to reach the Azores, where the ship log's last only lifeboat was missing, and one of its two pumps had been
entry was recorded at 5 a.m. on November 25. disassembled. Three and a half feet of water was sloshing
in the ship's bottom, though the cargo of 1,701 barrels of
Less than a month later, on December 5, a passing Canadian industrial alcohol was largely intact. There was a six-month
Brig called Dei Gratia spotted the Mary Celeste at full sail supply of food and water.but not a soul to consume it. The
and adrift about 400 miles east of the Azores among choppy first mate recorded the location of the drifting vessel as 38 0
0
seas, with no sign of the captain, his family or any of the 20' north, 17 15' west, roughly 600 miles from the coast of
crew. Aside from several feet of water in the hold and a Portugal. However, boarding the ship was not an easy task.
missing lifeboat, the ship was undamaged and loaded with Despite trying to contact the crew, not a single soul
six months' worth of food and water. Capt. David appeared to pull in the sails, and strong winds dragged the
Morehouse was taken aback to discover that the unguided vessel.
vessel was the 'Mary Celeste', which had left New York City
eight days before him and should have already arrived in Oliver Deveau and some other sailors thought the crew must
Genoa, Italy. He changed course to offer help. The mention be suffering from an epidemic, so they might have become
of the vessel Dei Gratia is very important while narrating weak and sick. However, when they finally managed to climb
the incident of the Mary Celeste. the ship, they were shocked to find nobody onboard! There
were no signs of violence or piracy. Nothing was stolen, and
While Mary Celeste prepared to sail, the Canadian the crewfs possessions and cargo were all in place.
brigantine Dei Gratia lay nearby in Hoboken, New Jersey, Everything was peaceful and quiet. The conditions where
awaiting a cargo of petroleum destined for Genoa via the ship was found added to the mystery surrounding it.
Gibraltar. Captain David Morehouse and first mate Oliver They found the ship's daily log in the mate's cabin, and its
Deveau were Nova Scotians, both highly experienced and final entry was dated at 8 a.m. on November 25, nine days
0
respected seamen. Captain Briggs and Morehouse shared earlier. It recorded Mary Celeste's position then as 37 1'N
common interests. Some accounts assert that they were 25 1'W off Santa Maria Island in the Azores, nearly 400
0
close friends who dined together on the evening before nautical miles (740 km) from the point where Dei Gratia
Mary Celeste's departure, but the evidence for this is limited encountered her.
to a recollection by Morehouse's widow 50 years after the
event. Dei Gratia departed for Gibraltar on November 15, Deveau also saw that the cabin interiors were wet and
following the same general route, eight days after Mary untidy from water that had entered through doorways but
Celeste. were otherwise in good order. He found several personal
items scattered about Briggs' cabin, including a sheathed
Dei Gratia had reached a position of 38 20'N 17 15'W, sword under the bed, yet most of the ship's papers were
0
0
midway between the Azores and the coast of Portugal at missing along with the captain's navigational instruments.
about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4, 1872, land time The galley equipment was neatly stowed away; there was
(Thursday, December 5, sea time). Captain Morehouse came no food prepared or under preparation, but there were
on deck, and the helmsman reported a vessel heading ample provisions in the stores. Deveau returned to report
unsteadily towards Dei Gratia at a distance of about six these findings to Morehouse, who decided to bring the
miles (9.7 km). The ship's erratic movements and the odd derelict into Gibraltar 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) away.
set of her sails led Morehouse to suspect that something
was wrong. As the vessel drew close, he could see nobody Under maritime law at that era, a salvor could expect a
on deck, and he received no reply to his signals. So he sent substantial share of the combined value of rescued vessel
Deveau and second mate John Wright in a ship's boat to and cargo, the exact award depending on the degree of
investigate. The pair established that this was the Mary danger inherent in the salvaging. A British vice admiralty
Celeste by the name on her stern. court convened a salvage hearing, which was usually limited
to determining whether the salvagers.in this case, the Dei
Morehouse sent a boarding party to the ship. Below the Gratia crewmen.were entitled to payment from the ship's
decks, the ship's charts had been tossed about, and the insurers. But the Attorney General in charge of the inquiry,

The Insurance Times September 2024 33