SS Mont-Blanc
Mont-Blanc in 1899 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| France | |
| Name | Mont Blanc |
| Namesake | Mont Blanc |
| Owner |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | Sir Raylton Dixon & Co, Middlesbrough |
| Yard number | 460 |
| Laid down | March 23, 1899 |
| Launched | March 25, 1899 |
| Completed | June 1899 |
| Maiden voyage | November 1900 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | collision and explosion, December 6, 1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 3,279 GRT, 1,919 NRT |
| Length | 97.5 m (320.0 ft) |
| Beam | 13.7 m (44.8 ft) |
| Depth | 4.7 m (15.3 ft) |
| Installed power | 247 NHP |
| Propulsion |
|
| Armament | in WW1: 2 × naval guns |
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 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.