French Lines (CGT)
SS Mont-Blanc
French cargo ship
History
SS Mont-Blanc was a cargo steamship that was built in Middlesbrough, England, in 1899 for a French shipping company. On Thursday morning, December 6, 1917, she entered Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada, laden with a full cargo of highly volatile explosives. As she made her way through the Narrows towards Bedford Basin, she was involved in a collision with SS Imo, a Norwegian ship. A fire aboard the ship ignited her wet and dry cargo - 2,300 tons of picric acid, 500 tons of TNT, and 10 tons of guncotton. The resultant Halifax Explosion killed about 2,000 people and injured about 9,000.
Text: Wikipedia — SS Mont-Blanc, CC BY-SA 4.0
Further Reading
Ship Facts & Specifications
Tonnage
3,279 GRT, 1,919 NRT
Length
320 ft
Beam
44.8 ft
Builder
Sir Raylton Dixon & Co, Middlesbrough
Yard number
460
Launched
March 25, 1899
Maiden voyage
November 1900
Owner
1899: Société Générale de Transports Maritimes à Vapeur; 1906: E. Anquetil
Port of registry
1899: Marseille
Propulsion
1 × triple-expansion engine
Fate
disintegrated after collision with SS Imo, December 6, 1917
Also Known As
- Mont Blanc
