SS Principessa Mafalda
Principessa Mafalda
| |
History | |
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Italy | |
Name | Principessa Mafalda |
Namesake | Princess Mafalda of Savoy |
Owner | Navigazione Generale Italiana |
Port of registry | Genoa |
Route | Genoa–Buenos Aires |
Builder | Cantiere Navale di Riva Trigoso |
Launched | 22 October 1908 |
Completed | 9 March 1909 |
Fate | Sank on 25 October 1927 off the coast of Brazil |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 9,210 GRT |
Length | 463 ft (141 m) |
Beam | 56 ft (17 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
Capacity |
|
Notes | Two funnels, two masts |
SS Principessa Mafalda was an Italian
On 25 October 1927, while off the coast of Brazil, a propeller shaft fractured and damaged the hull. The ship sank slowly in the presence of rescue vessels, but confusion and panic resulted in 314 fatalities out of the 1,252 passengers and crew on board the ship. The sinking resulted in the greatest loss of life in Italian shipping and the largest ever in the Southern Hemisphere in peacetime, with the ship that was called "the Italian
Early history
Principessa Mafalda was built at Cantiere Navale di
Specifically designed for voyages between
On 10 January 1920, the ship was reported missing due to hitting a mine with a full loss of life. [5] Two days later, it sent a radio signal that it was safe and was proceeding as normal. [6]
Last voyage and sinking
On 11 October 1927 Principessa Mafalda sailed from Genoa for Buenos Aires with intermediate stops scheduled at Barcelona, Dakar, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, and Montevideo. The ship was under the command of Captain Simone Gulì, with 971 passengers and 288 crew aboard. She also carried 300 tonnes of cargo, 600 bags of mail, and 250,000 gold lire destined for the Argentine government. The trip was to take 14 days.[citation needed]
It soon became apparent that the ship was in poor condition. Principessa Mafalda left Barcelona almost a day late due to mechanical problems, and several times, she slowed to a complete stop on the high seas, sometimes for hours. Water in bathrooms became intermittent.[7] A refrigeration system failure caused tons of food to spoil, resulting in numerous cases of food poisoning. At the stop at Cape Verde, Captain Gulì telegraphed the company to request a replacement vessel but was told, "Continue to Rio and await instructions." With the ship resupplied with fresh food and partially repaired, he took her out onto the Atlantic.[8]
By 23 October, Principessa Mafalda had developed a small but noticeable list to port. The passengers, who had received few explanations for the previous breakdowns, now began to worry that the ship was taking on water. Although far behind schedule, she was finally traveling at full steam off the coast of northern Brazil on the 24th.[7] Life aboard flowed more quietly, with the longest part of the journey nearly complete. On crossing the Equator, a line-crossing ceremony was organized on deck with orchestra music and a huge cake.[9]
Around 17:15 hours on 25 October 1927, near the
There are many conflicting versions of what happened next. According to some sources, the ship kept moving forward in a wide circle for at least an hour; rescue vessels received confusing signals about how to assist, and not all the lifeboats could be launched due to the list, with some being rushed by the crowd and several proved to be unseaworthy due to a lack of maintenance.[11] The rescue vessels, fearing a possible boiler explosion, kept themselves at a distance. However, several of their lifeboats were able to come alongside the sinking ship and shuttle survivors between her and the rescue ships, especially the Alhena.[12] Captain Gulì directed the launching of the lifeboats from the bridge with his megaphone; the evacuation was orderly at first, but panic began to quickly spread when power failed at 22:03, plunging the vessel into darkness. Passengers started jumping into the sea, where sharks attacked some, and Gulì, realizing that the ship was now sinking fast, ordered all the remaining lifeboats to be lowered; the considerable list to port hampered the launching of the starboard lifeboats, several of which were damaged against the hull and rendered unusable. The situation was somewhat better on the port side, under the charge of first officer Maresco. Still, several lifeboats started taking on water due to their deteriorated condition, and the panicked passengers capsized others. Some passengers reportedly committed suicide; accounts told that several first-class passengers stayed with the captain and did not bother to reach the lifeboats.[13]
Captain Gulì
At 22:10, about four hours and twenty minutes after the initial accident, Principessa Mafalda sank stern first. Several vessels arrived to assist since she went down on a busy
Aftermath
An investigation by the Italian Navy Board began immediately following the tragedy. It determined that a joint in the propeller casing was to blame for the accident. It ordered propeller shafts on all Italian-registered vessels to be fitted with devices designed to avoid such accidents. It also determined that six lifeboats on the stern could not be used because of poor placement. Issues of the vessel's age, inadequate maintenance, and the crew's actions were not investigated. However, the NGI was ordered to compensate the victims' families heavily.[citation needed]
A 2012 analysis discovered that while the number of casualties among steerage passengers was indeed high, a greater proportion of first-class passengers died (51.8%) than of steerage-class passengers (27.8%). The survival rate of men (74.1 %) and women (73.3 %) was almost identical.[11]
Citations
- ISBN 978-143491203-9 pp. 9-10 online.
- ^ a b c Raffaele Staiano: "Un varo sfortunato". (in Italian) Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ISBN 978-086341330-8. p 460.
- ^ Gumbrecht 1997, p. 169.
- ISSN 1941-0646. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ISSN 2331-9968. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ a b Christopher Ecclestone: The Sinking of the "Principessa Mafalda" – Portents. (Principessa Mafalda Resource, 2010). Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ a b Bertoldi Silvio: "Addio Calma piatt". Corriere della Sera. 8 August 1995. (in Italian) Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ Osvaldo Sidoli: "El fin del Principessa Mafalda" Historia y Arqueología Marítima. (Buenos Aires: Fundación Histarmar 2008) (in Spanish) Retrieved 10 August 2012
- ^ Associated Press, "Death List of Sea Disaster Mounts to 300, With Many Still Missing – Full Check On Rescue Ships Not Possible – Bravery Displayed by Men of Vessels Which Rushed to Side of Lost Craft – Count 900 Survivors – Scenes Off Brazilian Coast Admitted Long Drawn Out As Well as Harrowing," The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 28 October 1927, Volume LXI, Number 58, page 2.
- ^ a b M Elinder: "Every man for himself: Gender, Norms and Survival in Maritime Disasters" Archived 17 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Department of Economics Working Paper 2012:8. (Uppsala: Uppsala Universitet, 2012) p. 30.
- ^ Baffo, Aldo (2016). Principessa Mafalda, un Tragico Nome (in Italian). McLee Consulting.
- ^ L. Garibaldi, G. Giorgerini, M. E. Magnani Bosio, Principessa Mafalda. Il Titanic italiano, pp. 87-90
- ^ Ecclestone, Christopher. "Captain Giuli". The Sinking of the "Principessa Mafalda".
- ^ Messina, Dino (1 August 2017). "La Principessa che non fece ritorno: 90 anni fa il naufragio del piroscafo "Mafalda"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian).
- ISBN 9788889013472.[page needed]
- ^ a b "The Sinking of the "Principessa Mafalda" – Controversies". Christopher Ecclestone. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "Italian Liner Lost". The Times. No. 44723. London. 27 October 1927. col A, p. 12.
- ^ "Cause of the Disaster". The Times. No. 44723. London. 27 October 1927. col B, p. 12.
- ^ "The Lost Liner". The Times. No. 44724. London. 28 October 1927. col A, p. 14.
- ^ Goldstein 2001, p. 180.
References
- Gumbrecht, Hans (1997). In 1926: Living at the Edge of Time. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00055-2.
- Goldstein, Richard (2001). Desperate Hours: The Epic Rescue of the Andrea Doria. Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-047138934-7.
External links
- Ecclestone, Christopher. "The Doomed Voyage". The Sinking of the Principessa Mafalda.
Media related to Principessa Mafalda (ship, 1909) at Wikimedia Commons