Haunted Ghost Ship – The Longest Drifting Vessel In History
The SS Baychimo is one of the most famous haunted ghost ships in the world. Many myths and legends recount the story of a cargo ship that was abandoned by its crew and was sighted for decades by many, drifting endlessly in the Arctic waters.
SS Baychimo was launched in 1914 as Angermanlfven by the Lindholmens Shipyard in Gothernburg, Sweden. She was 70.1 m long and had a tonnage of 1322 tonnes. The ship was equipped with a triple-expansion steam engine and had a speed of 10 knots.
It was used on trading routes between Hamburg and Sweden until WWI. After it ended, the ship was given to the U.K as a part of the reparations by Germany for shipping losses and was later purchased by Hudson’s Bay Company in 1921 for £15,000.
She was then named Baychimo and based in Ardrossan, Scotland.
After being acquired by the Canadian trading company, the steel-hulled ship served the fur trade in the Canadian Arctic, going on trips, delivering provisions to trading posts and collecting fur pelts.
The Story of the Haunted Ghost Ship
Baychimo’s legendary status as the longest floating ghost ship began in September 1931, during a routine voyage. It was carrying furs when it was caught in a powerful snowstorm close to Point Barrow, Alaska. The ship became trapped in thick ice.
The crew members abandoned the ship for some time and travelled over half a mile of ice to the town of Barrow to take shelter for 2 days. However, the ship broke free of the ice by the time the crew members returned.
It was stuck again on October 8, 1931, and the Hudson Bay Company sent aircraft to rescue 22 crew members. 15 of them remained behind and decided to wait till the winter ended.
They built a wooden shelter some distance away from the ship. Fate had other plans, and on November 24, 1931, a blizzard struck, and after it stopped, the ship was nowhere to be found. They concluded that the ship would have broken up and sunk in the storm.
After some days, an Inuk seal hunter told the crew members that the SS Baychimo was seen 72 km away from their position. The 15 men decided to track the ship down and thinking it would not survive the harsh winter, retrieved the most valuable furs from the cargo holds, which were taken by air, and the ship was abandoned.
The company noted it down as a loss, but to their surprise, the ship was sighted many times over the next 38 years, drifting unmanned through the Arctic waters.
Its sightings became the stuff of legend.
In March 1933, indigenous Alaskans boarded the haunted ghost ship and remained trapped on it for 10 days due to a sudden storm. After it had passed, the ship had been carried 250 miles from where they boarded it.
The next year, the crew of a schooner saw the vessel and boarded it. In November 1939, a captain tried to salvage the vessel, but bad weather and shifting ice forced him to give up.
The Baychimo was seen several times over the years by trappers, Inuit Hunters and sailors, appearing and disappearing from the ice sheets, which earned it the nickname, ‘The Ghost Ship of the Arctic.’
It was last seen in 1969 by Inuit who found it frozen in an ice pack.
What happened to the ship after this remains an enigma. Many say it might have sunk. In 2006, an expedition was organised by the Alaskan government to find the ship, but in vain.
The mystery behind its disappearance has led to many stories and legends about the ship, especially among the Arctic communities.
Mentioned below are some of the popular legends associated with SS Baychimo.
The Unsinkable Ship
One of the most popular theories about the SS Baychimo legend is about its unsinkable nature. The ship was abandoned as the crew believed it would not survive the winter, but it did for almost 4 decades. It appeared and vanished many times, leading many to say that it was being protected by some otherworldly power.
Its robust steel hull, along with the shifting nature of the Arctic ice, allowed the ship to be lifted and carried rather than be crushed, fuelling the legend that the ship was not willing to sink.
The Cursed Ship
Locals also call it a cursed ship as countless attempts to salvage it have failed, either due to sudden blizzards, shifting ice or its mysterious disappearance, which contributed to the idea that it was being protected by an evil spirit. The ship seemed to resist human re-entry. Sailors and locals alike said that trying to retrieve the ship or board it could bring bad luck, evil or even death.
The Phantom Apparition
Accounts of Inuit hunters and trappers state that the ship’s silhouette was seen in the fog many times before it suddenly vanished. These fleeting appearances, described by many as a ghostly form, added to the ship’s reputation as a haunted vessel. It was also called ‘the Flying Dutchman of the Arctic’, a ship forever doomed to sail the icy waters.
A Beacon for the Lost Souls
Not everyone saw the SS Baychimo as a sign of evil. Some saw it as a guiding light or divine symbol. Its existence without a crew was a subject of fascination, and its sighting was proof that the ocean was not empty, as an extraordinary object existed within it.
For those navigating the Arctic, the ship was a sign of the existence of a mysterious world beyond their immediate surroundings.
The Final Resting Place
The most enduring legend of all is the mystery regarding its resting place. Its last sighting in 1969 left people with many questions. Did the haunted ghost ship sink, or was it crushed by the ice and lies at the bottom of the Beaufort Sea, or has it become a relic and is waiting to be discovered?
The SS Baychimo is a legendary ship because of its history and long decades of survival amidst the harsh Arctic conditions without a crew.
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The information on this website is for general purposes only. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, we make no warranties of any kind regarding completeness, reliability, or suitability. Any reliance you place on such information is at your own risk. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of this website.
About Author
Zahra is an SEO-Strategist & a Technical Writer with over 5 years of experience crafting top-tier content for the shipping world. From news, articles, ebooks, blogs and marketing pieces to industry white papers, she has written it all and now brings that experience to her role as Senior Editor. She makes complex maritime stories clear, sharp, and engaging.
Disclaimer :
The information on this website is for general purposes only. While efforts are made to ensure accuracy, we make no warranties of any kind regarding completeness, reliability, or suitability. Any reliance you place on such information is at your own risk. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of this website.
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