Baychimo — a ghost ship drifting for 38 years

Built in 1914, the Angermanelfven cargo ship (later renamed Baychimo) is one of the longest-flying ghost ships. From his departure in 1931, he was seen until 1969, but his sinking was never confirmed. At the beginning of 1914, the cargo ship Ångermanelfven was launched in the Swedish shipyard Lindholmens Mekaniska Verkstad A / B. Its recipient was the German shipowner Baltische Reederei GmbH from Hamburg. The vessel was 70 m long and had a tonnage of about 1322 tons. The drive was a steam engine providing 10 knots.

Until the outbreak of World War I, Ångermanelfven was mainly used to transport various goods between Sweden and Germany. The fate of the ship during the war is unknown. The history of the unit appears only in 1921, when as part of war reparations the ship was transferred to the British shipowner Hudson’s Bay Company. After the acquisition, the unit received a new name — Baychimo and was sent to Canada, where it was used to transport supplies between cities scattered in the far north.

On October 1, 1931, during a cruise off the coast of Alaska, the ship was stuck in thick ice. Fearful of sinking the unit, the crew left the deck and headed towards the town of Barrow about a kilometer away from where the unit was stuck.

Over the next two days, the ice blocking the ship gave way and the crewless Baychimo began to drift. He was noticed again on October 8, and later, for a few days, his trace was lost. In mid-October, the ship’s crew found it, but they decided that it was not able to reach it in any weather conditions at that time. Therefore, they took the most important things and some valuable cargo, such as furs, from the deck and abandoned the ship.

In August 1932 a group of 20 people got on board of the drifting unit and wanted to tow away the ship, but they failed. In March 1933, another group of people tried to get on the ship with the intention of taking it over, but after a 10-day stay on board they had to leave the unit. Once again a group of sailors boarded Baychimo in July 1934, but also this time the ship could not be towed away. In November 1939, the group that wanted to take over the unit was able to board the ship for the last time. Also to no avail.

In 1968, the last case of Baychimo was noted. This time the unit was trapped in thick ice. Never before could the ship be found. The unit probably sank, although there is no confirmation. In 2006, Canadian authorities began not very intensive research to find the wreck or ship. However, they did not bring any result.