Carnatic (ship)
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The Carnatic was a steamship that was built in London in 1862 .
The Carnatic drove the route Suez - Bombay as a passenger and mail steamer. At that time, today's Suez Canal was not yet completed.
On September 12, 1869, the ship ran near the island of Shadwan in the Red Sea on the coral reef Sha'b Abu Nuhas . The damage to the ship was initially underestimated, which is why it was decided to stay in the steamer, which was partly on the reef, until it was rescued by passing ships. Only when the Carnatic increasingly filled with water the next morning and the light went out did the crew begin evacuating the ship with the help of lifeboats . Shortly after the first boats were launched, the Carnatic broke in two. 31 people drowned. The survivors escaped to the small rocky island of Shadwan, where they were rescued the next day by the passing passenger ship Sumatra .
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On board the Carnatic , in addition to cotton and sheet copper plates, there were also £ 40,000 in gold (the equivalent of around £ 1,000,000 in our present day), so a salvage operation took place two weeks later. It was officially reported that the gold had been fully recovered. The rumors that persist to this day that not all treasures have been recovered contribute significantly to the myth surrounding the wreck.
The Carnatic wreck is now a popular diving destination. It is located on position 27 ° 34 ' N , 33 ° 55' O .
Illustration from the downfall in 1869
Carnatic wreck today
Literary processing
In Jules Verne 's 1872 novel Around the World in 80 Days , Phileas Fogg intends to take a steamer called Carnatic from Hong Kong to Yokohama, but misses it. However, his valet Passepartout caught the ship. In fact, the real Carnatic also drove to China at irregular intervals.
In August Justus Mordtmann's story, The sinking of the Carnatic , the Carnatic is a sailing ship that is trapped by the ice in the Southern Ocean and abandoned by the crew, leaving the captain's wife inadvertently behind.