Case file · Anomaly hotspot
SS Naronic vanishes
The White Star Line cargo ship Naronic, almost new, left Liverpool for New York on 11 February 1893 with 74 crew and vanished; two of her lifeboats were later found floating upside down.
1893 CE · 44.50, -47.00 · status: unexplained
The account
Several bottled 'messages' claiming she had struck an iceberg washed up, but the inquiry treated them as hoaxes. Position approximate.
The sceptical view
An iceberg, a storm or a shifting cargo are all possible; the inquiry could not decide.
The researched reading
A new cargo ship lost in winter on the North Atlantic. Ice or storm explain it; the bottle messages were fakes.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 40% | Ice was reported in the North Atlantic that winter, and the two capsized lifeboats found near the iceberg track suggest she struck ice or foundered in a storm. |
| Undetermined | 20% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| Something known, misidentified | 12% | A cargo shift or structural failure in a new ship is possible. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 10% | Several messages in bottles claimed she hit an iceberg; they were judged fakes. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 6% | A vanishing ship invites mystery tales. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 6% | Rogue waves are known. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 4% | Ice or storm explains it. |
| Secret human technology | 2% | No hostile action in 1893. |
Official position: The Board of Trade inquiry could not determine the cause.