Roraima (ship)

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Roraima
The burned-out wreck before its sinking
The burned-out wreck before its sinking
Ship data
flag Canada 1868Canada Canada
Ship type Passenger ship
home port Quebec
Shipping company Quebec Steamship Company
Shipyard Aitken & Mansel, Glasgow
Build number 119
Launch June 5, 1883
Commissioning July 13, 1883
Whereabouts Burned down May 8, 1902 and sunk
Ship dimensions and crew
length
103.63 m ( Lüa )
width 11.64 m
Draft Max. 6 m
measurement 2,712 GRT / 1,764 NRT
Machine system
machine Two-cylinder steam engines
Machine
performance 		350 hp (257 kW)
propeller 1
Others
Registration
numbers 		87678

The Roraima was a passenger ship of the Canadian shipping company Quebec Steamship Company put into service in 1883 , anchored in the port of Saint-Pierre on Martinique on May 8, 1902 during the eruption of the Mont Pelé volcano and destroyed by the huge glowing cloud that caused the Speeded down the slope and buried the city under itself. 57 of the 68 people on board were killed.

The ship

The 2,712-ton steamship Roraima was in the shipyard Aitken & Mansel in 1883 Glasgow district Whiteinch on the River Clyde built. It was launched on June 5, 1883. The iron- built ship was 103.63 meters long, 11.64 meters wide and had a draft of six meters. It was powered by two-cylinder low-pressure steam engines from John & James Thomson and Company from Glasgow, which could produce up to 350 horsepower.

The ship ran on June 5, 1883 under the name Ghazee for the Glasgow-based shipping company Mogul Steamship Company Ltd. from the stack, which it used as a pure cargo ship. On November 30, 1899, the steamer was bought by the Quebec Steamship Company, a Canadian shipping company founded in Québec in 1867 , who renamed it Roraima (after the state of the same name in Brazil ) and used it as a combined passenger and cargo ship . The Roraima transported henceforth passengers and freight from Quebec to the West Indies .

Martinique volcanic eruption

On Thursday morning, May 8, 1902, the Roraima reached the port of Saint-Pierre , the capital of Martinique , at around 6.30 a.m. , and anchored. It was Ascension Thursday . After breakfast, the unloading of the cargo began. Her captain was George Muggah from Sydney ( Nova Scotia ). On board were 58 crew members and ten passengers, including three women and three children. Shortly before 8 a.m., the people on board could see smoke coming from the crater of the approximately 1400 m high Mont Pelée and hear a strong thunder. Shortly afterwards there were three severe eruptions of the volcano, which could be heard hundreds of kilometers away and which triggered a huge glowing cloud . The cloud raced towards Saint-Pierre and completely destroyed the city in no time. Tens of thousands of people died.

When the cloud reached the sea, it began to boil. Most of the ships moored in the city's harbor fell victim to the eruption and burned down or sank. The Roraima was struck by burning debris and rolled over by a wave of embers that cut the masts and chimney, tore off the superstructures, and threw the ship to its starboard side . There was a violent explosion that raised the ship and made it sink again. The Roraima's flammable cargo fueled the fire even more. Embers and ashes rained down on the panicked fleeing passengers, most of whom suffered severe burns and were killed instantly. The ship burned the next day. It sank three days after the eruption at position 14 ° 56 '51.9 "  N , 61 ° 20' 40.3"  W coordinates: 14 ° 56 '51.9 "  N , 61 ° 20' 40.3"  W .

Of the 68 people on board, only 11 survived, most of them with serious injuries. Clara King, the black nanny of the wealthy Stokes family from Brooklyn , survived with eight-year-old Marguerite Hamilton Stokes ("Rita"). They were the surviving passengers. Rita's mother Mary and the siblings Eric (4 years) and Olga (3 years) perished. The remaining survivors were members of the crew. The survivors were taken from St. Kitts to New York by the Korona , a steamer owned by the same shipping company as the Roraima , under the command of Captain JW Carey , where she arrived on May 20, 1902. The wreck of the Roraima lies about 300 m from the shore at a depth of about 40 to 45 m on a level keel. It has a slight list to port. The bow was dented by the impact on the bottom and the stern section is partially separated from the hull. The Roraima is the largest wreck in the Bay of Saint-Pierre and it was also the largest ship that was destroyed by the eruption of Mont Pelée.

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