Kismet II
Cargo Steamer · Panama · Lost 1955 · Nova Scotia & Sable Island
A former wartime Empire freighter ran aground under the cliffs at remote Meat Cove in a 1955 gale, prompting a dramatic Royal Canadian Navy rescue of her whole crew.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1942 at Hartlepool as the Empire Lorenzo, the ship later sailed as Baron Elcho before being renamed Kismet II under Panamanian registry. On a ballast voyage from Philadelphia to Summerside, Prince Edward Island, she was driven ashore in a snow gale at Meat Cove, on Cape Breton's remote northern tip, on 27 November 1955. All 21 crew were saved in a rescue that combined local residents, breeches buoys, and Royal Canadian Navy personnel who reached the site over icy mountain roads and on foot. The wreck was later stripped for scrap and souvenirs by area residents.
Vessel
- 1942
- William Gray & Co.
- Hartlepool, England
- Steel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Steam
- Compania Maritima Ircar S.A. (at loss); formerly British Government and H. Hogarth & Sons
Loss
- November 27, 1955
- Grounding
- Meat Cove, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
- Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Breton
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania → Summerside, Prince Edward Island
- Not established
- 21
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broke up under the cliffs; later stripped by local salvagers
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Meat Cove, Cape Breton Island
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)
Exact tonnage and dimensions of the vessel were not confirmed in the sources reviewed.
Hartlepool History Then & Now, shipbuilding records
Build history, ownership changes, and date/location of loss.
Cape Breton's Magazine, Issue 70, 'The Heroic Rescue of the Crew of the Kismet II'
Local eyewitness narrative of the wreck and rescue.
