AH-WR-0315

SS Main

Ocean Liner · Germany · Lost 1900 · New York Harbor

North German Lloyd liner Main was destroyed alongside her sister ships in the deadly 1900 Hoboken pier fire.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Main was a North German Lloyd liner moored at the Hoboken piers when fire swept through the waterfront on June 30, 1900. The blaze destroyed Main along with Saale and Bremen and killed hundreds of people trapped aboard the ships and along the piers. The disaster remains one of the deadliest maritime fires in New York Harbor history.

Vessel

Built: 1889
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Iron
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: North German Lloyd

Loss

Date: June 30, 1900
Cause: Fire
Location: Hoboken piers, New York Harbor
Water: New York Harbor
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: The combined Hoboken fire killed over 300 people; the toll specific to Main is not separately confirmed.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 40.77° N 74.02° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Hoboken, New Jersey
Region: New York Harbor

Wikipedia's account of the 1900 Hoboken Docks fire states the burning Main broke loose from her Hoboken pier and was ultimately towed to Weehawken, NJ, where she was beached; the coordinate approximates the Weehawken waterfront where she came to rest, not the original Hoboken pier or a surveyed fix.