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Maritime accidents aren’t completely avoidable, and unfortunately Container ships and Freighters aren’t exempt from this rule. Ever since goods have been transported by ship, there have been accidents with ships with cargo getting lost at sea, never to be seen again and so we here at Barrington Freight have decided to look into some of the most memorable shipping crashes and accidents to happen to freighters.

MV Tricolor

On 14th December 2002, the MV Tricolor was on a journey from Zeebrugge in Belgium, to Southampton in the UK. Carrying nearly 3,000 vehicles, the ship collided with Kariba, a container ship that was able to continue on after the crash. The MV Tricolor, however, wasn’t so lucky and sunk in the spot where she was struck. But the disaster didn’t end there. The sinking had led to the vessel not only being submerged in the water, but being lodged on her side and caused another two collisions due to it’s position in the English Channel. A popular shipping route, bollards and guards were put out to ensure safety, but there were another two collisions before the MV Tricolor was salvaged in 2003-4.

SS Mont Blanc

The French Freighter SS Mont Blanc was carrying ammunition while in Halifax Harbour on December 6th 1917. When the ship then collided with the Norwegian ship the SS Imo, the freight exploded, causing the Halifax Explosion, killing around 2000 people in and around the city in Canada. A fire had started on the ship after the collision, detonating the cargo. The explosion that followed 20 minutes later was so massive that it devastated not only the harbour, but the city too.

MV Panagiotis

There is little doubt that the Navagio beach – also known as Shipwreck Beach – is perhaps the most photographed and well-known beaches in Greece. This secluded beach became known as Shipwreck Beach for one simple reason. In October 1980, the MV Panagiotis washed up on its shore and has since been open to much speculation about its history and what the ship was carrying at the time of its running aground. The most common theory is that the ship was smuggling cigarettes, booze, and potentially even women when it simply ran out of fuel and was washed ashore.

MSC Napoli

While this wasn’t the most memorable sinking in and of itself, the memorable part about it is perhaps the fact that the MSC Napoli was broken in two by explosives in a bid to make it easier to pull out of the sea. The salvage attempt cost $100million after the cargo vessel was refloated and after attempts to break the badly damaged hull during a high tide failed, a 1000 metre exclusion zone was put around the vessel to allow for the explosions to take place.

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Bowden House,
Luckyn Lane, Basildon,
Essex SS14 3AX
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