SS Raifuku Maru

Coordinates: 41°43′N 61°39′W / 41.717°N 61.650°W / 41.717; -61.650
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Raifuku Maru
History
NameSS Raifuku Maru
OwnerKawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.[1]
Port of registryKobe, Japan
BuilderKawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation
Yard number427
Completed1918
In service1918
Out of service1925
FateSank in storm in North Atlantic in 1925[2]
General characteristics
Tonnage5,867 gross register tons (GRT)[1]
Length117.3 m (384.84 ft)[1]
Beam15.5 m (50.85 ft)
Depth11 m (36.09 ft)[3]
Installed power440 hp (0.33 MW).[1]
PropulsionTriple expansion engines.
Front page of the New York Times, April 23, 1925, detailing the sinking of SS Raifuku Maru

The SS Raifuku Maru (来福丸 (

Hamburg, Germany, with a cargo of wheat and a crew of thirty-eight, all of whom were lost.[2][3]

The sinking

The Raifuku Maru had sailed out of Boston on 18 April 1925. On 21 April, it sailed into a heavy storm, and the cargo of wheat began to shift, causing the ship to take on an increasing list to one side.

Camperdown Signal Station: "OBSERVED STEAMER RAIFUKU MARU SINK IN LAT 4143N LONG 6139W REGRET UNABLE TO SAVE ANY LIVES." Several vessels attempted to locate bodies or survivors from the ship in the days after the sinking, but found none.[3]

The incident was quite controversial at the time; when the Homeric arrived in New York, several of the passengers publicly accused the crew of the Homeric of not making enough effort to save the Raifuku Maru's crewmen. This was taken up by the Japanese government, who accused the English captains of racism for not saving their crewmen. However this was strenuously denied by the crew of the Homeric and the White Star Line who argued that they had made every effort to rescue the crew.[2][3]

Myths and legends

Several early reports of the incident, including those of the

UFOs frequently blamed),[2] and the incident became remembered as a genuine mystery of the sea. Popular writers on the Bermuda Triangle, specifically Charles Berlitz[2] and Richard Winer, propagated the myth of the vessel's "mysterious" sinking.[citation needed
]

Newspaper references

  • "Japanese Ships Sinks With A Crew Of 38; Liners Unable To Aid"
    New York Times
    , April 22, 1925.
  • "Passengers Differ On Homeric Effort To Save Sinking Ship" New York Times, April 23, 1925.
  • "Homeric Captain Upheld By Skippers" New York Times, April 24, 1925.
  • "Liner Is Battered In Rescue Attempt" New York Times, April 25, 1925.

References

  1. ^ a b c d www.wrecksite.eu - (Note: this website states that the crew was 48, whereas most other sources say 38)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Jay Sivell. Wordpress.com
  3. ^ a b c d G. Roscoe Spurgeon "Radio Stations Common? Not This Kind" coastalradio.co.uk
  4. ^ "Danger like dagger". Logansport Pharos-Tribune.
  5. ^ Christopher Saunders, "Things That Are Not: The Raifuku Maru, from Tragedy to Myth". The Avocado, 13 October 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  6. ^ Charles Berlitz, The Bermuda Triangle (1974), p. 54

41°43′N 61°39′W / 41.717°N 61.650°W / 41.717; -61.650

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