The Halifax explosion
When you think of the destruction of World War the first image would come to mind would be the trenches of the Western Front or maybe even a tragedy of Gallipoli. However far from Europe in 1917 a harbor Nova Scotia Canada saw one of the largest explosions of the war yielding a death toll of nearly 2,000 people and flattening vast waves of the city of Halifax. All because of two cargo ships colliding as speed of barely two miles an hour.
Halifax for most of its history has been a hub of Commerce and trading ever since its founding in 1749. this was due to its large natural harbour called the Bedford Basin allowing easy access from the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the convenience of the bay a bustling city developed under British rule for features of the land allowed the harbour to have a well-defended entrance. The city became the center point for many British naval operations the harbour had two main parts with Halifax on the south and Dartmouth on the north. With this link to the Navy the city developed well under periods of war. As successive governments poured resources into the area’s infrastructure the port developed even further after the construction of the Intercontinental railway and its deepwater terminal allowing large warships to dock. In 1880 the city faced economic downturns. In 1905 the British garrison left Halifax handing over power to the Canadian authorities eventually turning into a command post for the Royal Canadian Navy. Halifax gained renewed importance with the outbreak of World War one. Halifax the city saw an increase in population to 65,000.
The narrow strait leading into the port required ships to adhere to a strict speed limit for five knots which is around five point eight miles an hour. The ships were expected to travel on the right port side as they passed on coming ships.
By 1917 a steady flow of troops animals weapons and supplies traveled through to harbour destined for the many theaters of war.
IMO was a cargo ship built by the Harland & Wolff company in 1889, it was sailing as a neutral ship for a Belgian relief commission under the command of Captain Hackin with a crew of 39 people. She was travelling empty to collect supplies for Belgian from New York and as mandated for all neutral ships she arrived in Halifax on the 3rd of December 1917 for inspection and was set to be in harbor for two days while she took on fuel with a scheduled departure day of the 5th. Due to her traveling without cargo she had to rely on her ballast to wade a ship below the waterline to make the most of the propeller and rudder however this didn’t happen resulting in the ship being difficult to control. IMO was also a long and thin vessel and had a propeller on the right-hand side of the ship causing her to veer off to the left and in reverse veer off to the right. Not the most ideal ship to navigate the tight passage at Halifax.
The refuelling went over schedule and IMO couldn’t leave on the 5th. Instead she was rescheduled to depart the next day on the morning of the 6th at 7:30 a.m. The ship entered the strait breaking the speed limit and attempt to make up the lost time for the one day delay in Halifax. Upon her journey down a strait she encountered a ship sailing on the wrong side. Both ships agreed to pass each other starboard to starboard against what they should have done.
The SS Mont Blanc built in 1899 and in 1917 she been charted to carry some explosives for the wartime effort from New York to France via Halifax. At 7:30 a.m. on the 6th Mont Blanc was cleared for entry to the harbor. The captain of the ship Mackay spotted the IMO at a distance of around three-quarters of a mile travelling a trajectory that would cause a potentialcollision. Mackay blew one short blast of the ship’s communication whistle to indicate that Mont Blanc had the right-of-way. In return IMO replied with two blasts of her whistle indicating that she would not yield. The Mont Blanc halted their engines and turned toward the other side on the passage. Once again Mackay blew the whistle and IMO replied with two blasts indicating she would not yield again. IMO also cut her engines but a collision was inevitable. At 8:45 a.m. the ships collided. Not much damage had been physically inflicted on a Montblanc but her deadly cargo of benzol had been disturbed causing vapors to be released. Sparks from the collision caused the vapors to ignite creating a fire onboard. The fire quickly spread and became uncontrollable. Worried of the risk of explosion the captain ordered to abandon ship.
At 9:04 a.m. the fire set off the explosives inside the Mont Blanc. The explosion completely blew a partnership releasing white-hot shards of iron into Halifax and Dartmouth. The explosion reached a temperature of five thousand degrees centigrade and released a shock wave of a thousand meters per second. The smoke rose nearly 12,000 feet into the air and the shock wave was felt as far away as a hundred and twenty-nine miles. Over 400 acres was destroyed and the floor of the harbour became visible as the explosion displaced water. As the water rushed back into the harbor, a 18 meter high tsunami was formed and raced towards the Halifax. Every building within 1.6 miles of the blast especially in a suburb of Richmond were destroyed killing 1,600 people instantly, injuring thousands more, 300 which would later die from their wounds. Many people were blinded as they had watched a fire from their windows as the explosion shattered the glass in front of their faces. Multiple fires ignited in Halifax.
Surviving police and firefighters initially started the rescue effort, the volunteers began to help with any surviving vehicles being used to carry the dead and wounded. Trains of relieving firefighters came in from as far as 200 miles away. The Royal Navy ships in the harbor sent parties to help with the rescue efforts.
Many were made homeless and an estimated cost of 569 million dollars worth of damage was caused in today’s money. It took several years for Halifax to completely rebuild, however due to the war effort the harbor continued to be used with its first convoy departing on the 11th of December.
An investigation was launched as initially it was thought to have been an attack by the Germans which was understandable due to the war that was going on. The helmsman John Johansen of the IMO being arrested under suspicion of espionage due to him having a letter on his person thought to be written in German. It has turned out to be written in Norwegian. Any German citizens and Halifax were rounded up and imprisoned. Eventually the German fury dissipated as eyewitness reports became available and an inquest was set up.
Royal Canadian Navy’s chief examining officer in charge of the harbour stated that it was the Montblanc sole responsibility to ensure she avoided collision due to her dangerous cargo. The freemen were charged with criminal negligence and manslaughter, however Benjamin Russell of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court overturned the charges due to lack of evidence.
In the end both ships were found equally to blame after all of the legal fighting not a single person was convicted or fined for the Halifax explosion.
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