The Mary Celeste Remains Unsolved

This is a true story and it's pretty freaky to say the least. I always thought that I was good at figuring out unsolved mysteries but this one has got me stumped. The Mary Celeste was launched in Nova Scotia in 1860. Her original name was “Amazon”. Over the next 10 years she was involved in several accidents at sea and passed through a number of owners. The Amazons first captain, Robert McLellan died nine days after taking command. He was the first of three captains to die aboard her. Eventually the Amazon turned up at a New York salvage auction where she was purchased for $3,000 and renamed the “Mary Celeste”.

The new captain of the Mary Celeste was Benjamin Briggs, 37, an experienced captain with three previous commands. On November 7, 1872 the ship departed New York with Captain Briggs, his wife, young daughter and a crew of eight.The ship was loaded with 1700 barrels of raw American alcohol bound for Genoa, Italy. The captain, his family and crew were never seen again.The ship was found floating in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar.There were no signs of struggle on board and all documents except the captain’s log were missing. The ship had over six months' worth of food and water on board. Her cargo was virtually untouched and the crew's personal belongings were still in place, including valuables. A rope was found tied to the ship very strongly and the other end, very frayed, was trailing in the water behind the ship.

In early 1873, it was reported that two lifeboats grounded in Spain,one with a body and an American flag, the other containing five bodies.It has been alleged that these could have been the remains of the crew of the Mary Celeste. However, the bodies were apparently never identified.

In 1885, the Mary Celeste was destroyed when her last owner intentionally wrecked her off the coast of Haiti in an attempt to commit insurance fraud.

If you enjoyed reading this then check out the Dyatlov Pass incident and the Taman Shud case.