Secrets of marine vessels abandoned by the crew

Abstract

The article describes the destiny of vessels abandoned by the crew. «Flying Dutchmen» and wandering ships were mentioned as early as in ancient Scandinavian sagas. According to the vikings’ religious ceremony, the dead «sea king» was buried together with his vessel – drakkar which was cut adrift at the high sea together with the deceased. The ship settled down not at once and frequently was wandering under seal for a long time. Mariners consider the appearance of such vessels to be the sign of a catastrophe. «Flying Dutchmen» can be found nowadays. However, they are not considered to be the heralds of disaster, as people understand that these are disabled vessels which were abandoned by the crew and did not settle down for any reason. However, there are such vessels which were abandoned by the crew not because of the emergency situation, but for some other reasons.

Keywords:

abandoned vessels, Flying Dutchman, wandering ship