SS Imo, was a steamship which served in passenger and freight trades and later as a whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 supply ship. She is most famous as one of the two ships which collided to cause the Halifax Explosion

Halifax Explosion

The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...

 in 1917.

Early career

Imo was built as the Runic (I) for the White Star Line

White Star Line

The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...

 as a cargo liner

Cargo liner

A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...

, designed to carry 12 passengers in addition to freight, mostly livestock. She was sold in 1895 to the West Indies and Pacific Steamship Line and renamed Tampican. In 1912, the ship was bought by the Norwegian whaling firm, the South Pacific Whaling Company to serve as a whaling supply ship. Renamed Imo by the new owners, she operated out of the port of Christiana, Norway.

Halifax Explosion

In 1917 Imo sailed as a charter for the Belgian Relief Commission. Being neutral, SS Imo sailed alone. Painted on its side were the words "Belgian Relief" to protect it from German submarines. Imo was sailing in ballast (empty) en route to New York to load relief supplies. Early on December 6, 1917, Imo left the Bedford Basin

Bedford Basin

Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast.-Geography:Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres long and 5...

 of Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

 where she had refueled with coal and headed down the harbour for sea bound for New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 to load her cargo of relief supplies.

Imo was commanded by Captain Haakon From and with crew of thirty-nine. At 430 feet in length but only 45 feet wide Imo was a long and narrow ship and, as she was unloaded, her propeller and rudder were nearly out of the water, making her difficult to steer. She was powered by a triple expansion steam engine with a single 20 foot right-hand propeller able to make 60 revolutions per minute. Due to this propeller, the ship had a "transverse thrust", i.e. while making headway it veered to the left, in reverse it swung to the right. Under these conditions, Imo was at a disadvantage in navigating in tight quarters. "Due to the combined effect of transverse thrust and the length, and depth of SS Imo's hull, and its keel, she was difficult to maneuver".

At 8:45 am, the SS Mont-Blanc

SS Mont-Blanc

The SS Mont-Blanc was a French freighter which exploded while carrying ammunition in Halifax Harbour on December 6, 1917 causing the Halifax Explosion which killed 2000 people. The explosion was caused by a collision with the Norwegian ship SS Imo...

, a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

, fully loaded with wartime explosives, accidentally collided with the Imo in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

. The collision caused only minor damage to Imo's hull plates but ignited a fire aboard Mont-Blanc. Twenty minutes later the fire detonated Mont-Blanc's cargo causing a huge explosion. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. The explosion wrecked the upper decks of Imo, killing Captain From, harbour pilot William Hayes and almost everyone on the bridge but sparing those below decks as Imo's hull was only slightly damaged. The blast and the tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

 that followed threw the ship ashore on the Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...

 side of the Narrows.

The official inquiry into the explosion initially held Imo's crew as blameless, putting all responsibility for the collision on the crew of Mont-Blanc. However following an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

 in May 1919, both ships were found to have made errors and were equally at fault for the collision and its consequences.

Later career

Imo was repaired after the explosion and returned to service. Renamed Guvernøren ("The Governor") in 1920, she served as a whale oil tanker until November 30, 1921, when the ship ran onto the rocks off the Falkland Islands.

The ship encountered heavy fog and was grounded on rocks at Cow Bay, two miles off Cape Carysfort

Cape Carysfort

Cape Carysfort is a headland in the north east of East Falkland between Macbride Head and Volunteer Point. Lochhead Pond is behind it.-References:...

 on East Falkland

East Falkland

East Falkland the largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, has an area of and a coastline long. Most of the population of the Falklands live in East Falkland, almost all of them living in the northern half of the island...

. No crew were lost. Salvage attempts were halted on December 3 and the ship was abandoned to the sea.

Stamp and Commemoration

In 2005, a stamp was issued by the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

, showing Imo. An exhibit about the ship's role in the Halifax Explosion is found at the at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a Canadian maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts...

 in Halifax, Nova Scotia which also displays some fittings from Imo including a dog collar

Dog collar

A dog collar is a is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A collar might be used for control, identification, fashion, or other purposes. Identification tags and medical information is often placed on dog collars. Collars are also useful for controlling a dog manually, as they provide...

 from the ship's mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

.

External links

• Guver Noren [+1921] WRECK