Submerged Volvos in Halifax Harbor?

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by blurp, Feb 17, 2004.

  1. blurp

    blurp Guest

    Here's a weird one: on our trip to Nova Scotia last year we spent a
    day in Halifax and visited the Marine Museum there. On the second
    floor, as part of a display covering the rich heritage of sinking
    ships, was a satelite map of Halifax harbor with certain submerged
    landmarks annotated. The most unusual of the notes was one indicating
    a point where there was a pile of volvos lay at the bottom of the
    harbor.

    No one there could explain it for us and I've never been able to find
    an answer as to what a pile of Volvo's would be doing on the bottom of
    the harbor (besides rusting). My best guess is either improperly
    secured freight or part of a trade dispute.

    Anyone know more?

    blurp
     
    blurp, Feb 17, 2004
    #1
  2. Nope - entire ship full of them sank.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Feb 17, 2004
    #2
  3. blurp

    blurp Guest

    Wow, that's too bad. You'd think they'd mark it on the map as a
    shipwreck rather than submerged cars. Perhaps they salvaged the ship
    but some cars stayed behind.

    Got any more details?

    blurp
     
    blurp, Feb 17, 2004
    #3
  4. IIRC, the ship was a huge navagational hazzard, so it was
    cut up in sections and raised to the surface. About 1/4
    or so of the cars didn't make it up with the pieces.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Feb 17, 2004
    #4
  5. blurp

    James Sweet Guest

    How deep are they? Seems like someone would have tried to salvage rims and
    plastic parts if it's not too hard to get to.
     
    James Sweet, Feb 17, 2004
    #5
  6. blurp

    blurp Guest

    I know it was in the Bedford Basin which is a pretty high-traffic
    area...maybe not a safe recreational diving environment. In searching
    for details I came across this report of a different wreck from
    Cyprus:

    "Since it sank one nautical mile off the Larnaca coast 19 years ago,
    the Swedish vessel carrying a cargo of Volvos has become a tourist
    attraction for pleasure divers. Several local diving schools
    specialise in expeditions to the wreck."

    Let this be a lesson to all you freight captains: Beware the Curse of
    the Volvos!

    blurp
     
    blurp, Feb 17, 2004
    #6
  7. blurp

    blurp Guest

    This from
    http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/review/2002/english/BIO_2002_in_Review.pdf

    "Highlights of the talk focused on the presence of former islands in
    the basin; archaeological sites of interest; the discovery of the Erg
    shipwreck - a wartime sinking in the basin with the loss of 19 lives;
    the discovery of the barge that caused the 1945 magazine explosion; 32
    Volvo automobiles on the bottom; and many other fascinating aspects of
    the seabed."

    So there's 32 of them. Now I just need to figure out what year they're
    from and I'll start putting the expedition team together.

    Who needs parts?

    blurp
     
    blurp, Feb 17, 2004
    #7
  8. blurp

    blurp Guest

    A conflicting report! Page 3 of this document
    http://gom.nrcan.gc.ca/benthic/pdf/fader_etal_1999.pdf includes a nice
    sonogram of the sea floor in the bedford basin and points out a few
    scattered Volvos.

    They refer to the cars as "...discarded Volvo automobiles whose roofs
    have been collapsed before dumping. Known targets like these provide
    calibration for trials to improve sonar resolution."

    So the mystery both deepens and becomes less mysterious.

    Go figure.

    blurp
     
    blurp, Feb 17, 2004
    #8
  9. Some references to cars being scrapped, not ship wrecked:

    1) (Bedford Basin) Highlights of the talk focused on the presence of
    former islands in the basin; archaeological sites of interest; the
    discovery of the Erg shipwreck - a wartime sinking in the basin with the
    loss of 19 lives; the discovery of the barge that caused the 1945
    magazine explosion; 32 Volvo automobiles on the bottom; and many other
    fascinating aspects of the seabed.

    http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/review/2002/english/BIO_2002_in_Revi
    ew.asp?n=5


    2) (Bedford Basin) 330 kHz sidescan sonogram from Bedford Basin,
    Halifax Harbour, collected with a neutrally bouyant and decoupled
    towfish, configured to minimize towfish motion. Image shows flat muddy
    seabed with linear anchor drag marks. The approximately 20 rectangular
    features on the seabed are discarded Volvo automobiles whose roofs have
    been colapsed before dumping. Known targets like these provide
    calibration for trials to improve sonar resolution.

    http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/review/1996/Fader/Fader_e.html


    Of unrelated interest is the 1917 Halifax Disaster and the biggest
    non-nuclear explosion. It compared with 9-11 in terms of tragedy.

    On December 6, 1917, two war ships, a Belgian relief ship, Imo, and a
    French ship carrying munitions, the Mont Blanc, fatally collided in
    Halifax Harbor. Incorrect signaling and misunderstanding between the two
    ships led the Imo to strike the side of the Mont Blanc. The Mont Blanc,
    which was carrying 400,000 pounds of TNT, 300 rounds of ammunitions,
    along with other explosive ingredients, caught fire and drifted closer
    into the city of Halifax. Before the fire could be put out, the Mont
    Blanc exploded creating the "biggest man-made explosion before the
    nuclear age". The explosion killed over 2,000 people and injured 9,000.
    The explosion caused $28 million in damage - 326 acres of the north-end
    of Halifax's waterfront had been destroyed.
     
    Stephen M. Henning, Feb 17, 2004
    #9
  10. blurp

    Bigjon Guest

    blurp declared:
    I don't know about that one, but in December 2002
    a ship sank and dumped a few in the English Channel....

    "...About 1800 Volvo cars were on board,
    350 of which were state of the art 2003 Volvo XC90s,
    worth up to $50 million..."

    http://www.autoworld.com/news/full_story.asp?id=2105
     
    Bigjon, Feb 17, 2004
    #10
  11. Bigjon wrote:

    Ah - that's the one I was thinking about.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Feb 18, 2004
    #11
  12. You can read about the salvage of the Tricolor, which sank in 2002:

    <http://www.tricolorsalvage.com>


    Here are photos of the aft section of the cut-up ship on the dock
    afterward. I was particularly amazed at their ability to cut through
    things like the propeller shafts.

    <http://www.blognewsnetwork.com/members/0000001/mpg/tricolorAutos/tricol
    orAutos.html>


    This whole sinking business was amusing to read, since I have an XC90
    on order. According to the tracking info at the shipping company, my
    car was unloaded this morning in Los Angeles...
     
    Rick Auricchio, Feb 20, 2004
    #12
  13. blurp

    Gary Heston Guest

    [ ... ]

    It's easy, with an abrasive cable. They're used to slice chunks off
    of mountains without explosives. Given enough time and abrasive, I
    doubt there's anything that can withstand them.


    Gary
     
    Gary Heston, Feb 21, 2004
    #13
  14. This has nothing to do with Halifax Harbor, it says:

    "The ŒTRICOLOR¹ is a 1987 built Norwegian flagged vehicle carrier,
    which, in the early hours of 14 December 2002, was struck by ŒKariba¹, a
    1982 built Bahamian flagged container ship in the French Exclusive
    Economic Zone some 20 miles north of the French coast in the English
    channel."

    The last time I looked, the English Channel and French Coast weren't in
    Halifax Harbor.
     
    Stephen M. Henning, Feb 21, 2004
    #14
  15. blurp

    Guest Guest

    But WOW.. cutting a boat that size in half!!??? Those pictures were
    something!!!


     
    Guest, Feb 22, 2004
    #15
  16. blurp

    Sharon Klein Guest

    This is pictures of the Tri Color which went down december 2002
    news:...
     
    Sharon Klein, Feb 23, 2004
    #16
  17. They did the same thing with the nuclear submarine that sank off the
    coast of Finland and Norway a few years ago when I was vacationing
    there. Submarines are made of much heavier metal and much more
    substantial than a freighter.
     
    Stephen M. Henning, Feb 23, 2004
    #17
  18. I realize that. It's just that somewhere in the preceding posts,
    somebody began mentioning stuff that seemed like it was part of the
    Tricolor story. That's why I provided the links, to help clarify
    things.
     
    Rick Auricchio, Feb 23, 2004
    #18
  19. Steve, were you able to see any of the action? (Yeah, I know, it was
    underwater.)

    I'm wondering if it was really noisy.
     
    Rick Auricchio, Feb 23, 2004
    #19
  20. No, they had a real tight security zone because it was a nuclear sub
    presumably with weapons on board.
     
    Stephen M. Henning, Feb 23, 2004
    #20
Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments (here). After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.