AH-WR-1212

SS Humboldt

Ocean Liner · United States · Lost 1853 · Nova Scotia & Sable Island

The American mail steamer Humboldt ran aground on a fogbound shoal near Halifax in 1853, a near-total loss with a single death recorded.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

SS Humboldt was a wooden side-wheel steamer of the New York and Havre Steam Navigation Company, running the transatlantic mail route between Le Havre and New York. On 6 December 1853, twelve days out of Southampton and approaching Halifax in thick fog, she struck a shoal called The Sisters off Portuguese Cove and was wrecked. Contemporary illustrated newspapers documented the scene, and one life was reported lost.

Vessel

Built: 1850
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 2350
Propulsion: Steam, side-wheel paddle
Owners: New York and Havre Steam Navigation Company

Loss

Date: December 6, 1853
Cause: Grounding
Location: The Sisters shoal, off Ketch Harbour, near Portuguese Cove, Halifax Harbour approach
Water: Atlantic Ocean, approach to Halifax Harbour
Voyage: Southampton, England (via Le Havre) → New York, United States
Cargo: Mail and passenger baggage
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 1
Master: Not established