 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.[1] 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 cargo of wet and dry 2,300 tons of picric acid, 500 tons of TNT, and 10 tons of guncotton. The resultant Halifax Explosion killed approximately 2,000 people and injured about 9,000.
- ^ "French Lines". Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013. "The History of Mont-Blanc" from the French Lines website.