AH-WR-0047

Sindia

Sailing Ship · United States · Lost 1901 · The New Jersey Coast

A four-masted iron bark (or barque) laden with silk and porcelain that ran aground in a blizzard off Ocean City, New Jersey, and was never refloated.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Sindia was an iron-hulled four-masted sailing ship built in 1887 and engaged in the Far East trade. On 15 December 1901, inbound to New York with a cargo of silk, porcelain, and other goods, she ran aground in a blizzard on the beach at Ocean City, New Jersey. All hands were saved by the local Life-Saving Service, but repeated efforts to refloat the ship failed, and she gradually settled into the sand. The wreck became one of the Jersey Shore's best-known local legends, long rumored to hold buried treasure.

Vessel

Built: 1887
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: 329 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: American Trading Company

Loss

Date: December 15, 1901
Cause: Storm
Location: Beach off 16th Street, Ocean City, New Jersey
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Kobe, Japan → New York
Cargo: Silk, porcelain, and other Far East trade goods
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Buried in the sand beneath the beach
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 39.27° N 74.59° W
Accuracy: Reported, unconfirmed
Nearest: Ocean City, New Jersey
Region: The New Jersey Coast

Position cited in federal admiralty litigation over the wreck as a reference point off Ocean City, New Jersey, not a modern survey fix.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

Precise original tonnage and shipbuilder are not established in the sources reviewed.

NJ.com – Looking Back historical feature
Grounding date, cargo, and local legend.
Ocean City Life Saving Station Museum
Eyewitness account of the wreck and rescue.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Sindia Expedition, Inc. v. Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel Known as The Sindia
Reference coordinates for the wreck cited in the court's description of the site.