September 8, 1934, 90 years ago: The cruiseliner SS Morro Castle burns and sinks, killing 135 people, off the coast of Asbury Park, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Launched in 1930, the ship was run by Agwi Navigation Lines, and regularly sailed between New York City and Havana. Before 1959 and the revolution of Fidel Castro, Cuba, especially its capital city of Havana, was considered a resort for America's rich. And in the days before air travel was considered safe, cruise ships were the way to go to islands that couldn't be reached by train or automobile. The ship was named for a castle built in Havana by their former colonial overlords, the Spanish Empire.
On September 5, the Morro Castle set out from Havana to New York. On September 7, a storm began brewing, and when the rain started, many crewmembers retired early to their berths. Among them was the Captain, Robert Rennison Willmott. He had his dinner delivered to his quarters, rather than dining with his officers.
Shortly thereafter, he complained of stomach pain. Shortly after that, he died. Chief Officer William Warms was forced to assume command. As Midnight and September 8 came, the winds increased past 30 miles per hour.
At around 2:50 AM, the ship was 8 nautical miles -- the limit of a country's jurisdiction being 3 miles, until a 1982 United Nations agreement made it 12 miles -- off the coast of New Jersey's Long Beach Island. That's when a fire was detected in a storage locker on B Deck. Within 20 minutes, the fire had burned through the ship's main cables. This ended all electrical power, including the radio. The hydraulic lines were also severed by the fire, costing everyone the ability to steer the ship.
Of the ship's 12 lifeboats, only 6 could be launched. The sea was still rough, but the passengers pretty much had the choice to jump or burn. Some people tossed deck chairs and life rings overboard, to act as makeshift flotation devices. Several boats came to the rescue, but the rough sea made that difficult. Out of 549 people on board, 135 died.
There is a theory that the ship had been used to smuggle things between New York and Havana and back, and that the fire was purposely set to disguise this, and that the Captain was killed to silence him. Of course, Prohibition had ended 9 months earlier, so if they were transporting liquor, that wouldn't have been very profitable. And, of course, this was long before the embargo on Cuban products such as cigars. So this theory might not be accurate.
Less than 3 years later, less than 30 miles to the southwest, at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Ocean County, the zeppelin LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and crashed, killing 36 people.
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