Resting on the Bottom Quiz | Maritime

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. One of the deadliest maritime disasters occurred in December 1987 when the MV Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker carrying explosives. The MV Dona Paz exploded killing over 4,000 people. Where did this happen?

Answer: Philippines

The MV Dona Paz was a passenger ferry carrying people from Leyte to Manila. Ship records show only about 1,500 passengers, but other evidence shows over 4,000. With such overcrowding the ferry was difficult to navigate. The oil tanker was carrying 8,000 barrels of explosives. The only option passengers had was to jump into the boiling waters; only 24 survived.

2. One of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history happened just a few weeks after the Civil War ended. A side-wheeler steamboat, whose passengers were Union prisoners on their way to being released, was travelling from St. Louis to New Orleans. A combination of overcrowding and leaky boilers caused the ship to explode. What was the name of the side-wheeler?

Answer: Sultana

A greedy captain, charging $5.00 per enlisted man and $10.00 per officer, was responsible for the overcrowding. The Sultana had a maximum capacity of 376 passengers, but for this trip carried over 2,300. Three days after sailing the leaky boilers exploded. The death total remains unknown but is estimated at 1,100.
This disaster, occurring when it did, was grossly under-reported. Newspapers were interested mainly in the end of the war and the assassination of the president.

3. Another tragedy occurred in Chicago in 1915. The SS Eastland, moored to the dock in 20 feet of water, capsized killing over 800 people. The ship was overweight and poorly ballasted. Most of the overweight issue was caused by a federal law that required more lifeboats, life rafts, and life preservers. What was this new law called?

Answer: The Seaman's Act of 1915

The Seaman's Act of 1915 contained many needed and necessary provisions. The requirement for extra lifeboats, rafts, etc. did not take in to account the added weight. On that day the Western Electric Company had chartered the ship to carry its workers to a company picnic on the other side of Lake Michigan. Over 2,500 passengers boarded in 45 minutes with most going topside to wave to their friends onshore.

It took just three minutes for the boat to roll over, hurling those topside into the water.

4. The "White Ship" sank off the coast of Normandy in 1120 killing some 300 people. Among those was the only legitimate son and heir the English throne, thereby upsetting the line of succession of which English king?

Answer: King Henry I

This shipwreck was a particular disaster because of what ensued. The line of succession had been broken. King Henry I died in 1135 causing a civil war to break out to decide who would claim the throne. In addition to those killed in battle, thousands died of starvation. Peace would not be fully restored until the ascent of Henry's grandson, Henry II, in 1154, almost 20 years later.

5. Now known as "The Titanic of the East" this ocean-going Chinese junk struck a reef while trying to escape a typhoon in February 1822. Name the three-masted junk?

Answer: Tek Sing

The Tek Sing, which means "True Star", was a large ship used to ferry passengers and cargo to various ports in China and Japan. Its decks carried 1,600 passengers, its hulls were lined with high-quality porcelain. The captain's decision to take a short-cut to avoid the typhoon was a disastrous one. In 1992 a salvage operation discovered over 300,000 pieces of antique porcelain.

6. In December 1917 the SS Mont Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with explosives collided with a Norwegian ship, SS Imo and exploded. What did this maritime disaster become known as?

Answer: The Great Halifax Explosion

The Great Halifax Explosion was so powerful that it caused a sixty-foot high tsunami which destroyed 1,600 buildings in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Nearly 2,000 bystanders were killed and more than 9,000 were injured.

7. An incident sometimes known as "Africa's Titanic" occurred in September 2002 when a government-owned ferry capsized off the coast of Gambia. As at 2023, it is the second worst non-military disaster in history. To what country did the ship belong?

Answer: Senegal

In yet another incident of overcrowding, the 580 maximum was almost quadrupled. Over 1,900 people died, and only 64 survived. No one has been held accountable.

8. The Arctic was a luxury ship, built in 1850 to carry passengers across the Atlantic Ocean. On September 27, 1854 the Arctic left Liverpool for New York. It collided with the steamer Vesta off the coast of Newfoundland. What weather event was the proximate cause for this tragedy?

Answer: Heavy fog

The Arctic was a wooden-hulled vessel, while the Vesta was iron-hulled. Both were trapped in dense, heavy fog and the Arctic received the worst of the collision. The captain decided to make a run for shore, but in doing so he ran over several of the lifeboats.

Then male passengers and crew members began boarding the remaining lifeboats, disregarding the "women and children first" code of conduct which had been recently formalised as the "Birkenhead Drill" (1852). When a ship's officer tried to stop them, he was shot. Only 88 out of 400 survived and most of those 88 were crewmembers. All the women and children perished. No disciplinary action was taken.

9. In October 1744, the flagship of Britain's Channel Fleet under the command of Admiral Sir John Balchin was caught in a fierce storm which scattered the entire fleet and resulted in the deaths of 1,150 sailors. What was the name of this 100-gun ship of the line?

Answer: HMS Victory

HMS Victory (a predecessor to Nelson's flagship) collided with Casquets, a group of rock outcroppings in the English Channel. No trace of Victory's 1,150 sailors was found until 2008 when the wreck was discovered. Many in England attributed the storm to God's wrath over the declining morals of the English people. Daniel Defoe wrote a book entitled "The Storm" published in 1745.

10. Not all maritime disasters are measured by loss of life. Oil spill disasters have been one of the major concerns of the marine world for a long time now. They are commercial and environmental catastrophes. The largest oil spill in the petroleum industry's history occurred in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. What was the name of the oil rig that exploded?

Answer: Deepwater Horizon

Also known as the BP spill, the explosion of Deepwater Horizon killed 11 men working on the rig and resulted in an oil spill that continued for over three months. An estimated 53,000 barrels were flowing into the Gulf of Mexico every day.

This tragedy also caused extensive damage to the marine environment. The oil spill killed over 82,000 birds, 25,900 marine mammals, 6,000 sea turtles and tens of thousands of fish, among others.

Source: Author ncterp

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Resting on the Bottom Trivia Quiz

This quiz deals with maritime disasters that have occurred in peacetime and not as a direct result of military action. Have fun and remember, "red sky at night-sailor's delight, red sky in morning-sailor take warning."

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