Researchers Map 1908 Site of Alaska’s Second-Largest Maritime Disaster
A team of volunteer researchers and divers working off the coast of Alaska succeeded in mapping the 1908 wreck site of Alaska’s second-worst maritime disaster (in terms of lives lost) and recovering the bell of the Star of Bengal. Built by Harland & Wolff, the shipyard famed for later building the Titanic, the vessel was lost 117 years ago located on the remote Coronation Island, approximately 80 miles west of Wrangell, Alaska.
The first successful research expedition to the wreck site was reported by Willian Urschel, the captain of the research vessel Endeavour which is operated by the nonprofit organization Alaska Endeavour. During the summer season, it is used for student expeditions while in the shoulder periods, it does professional expeditions.
The wreck of the Star of Bengal had remained a mystery. A team of divers visited the site in 2022 but did not manage to carry out any major surveys due to poor weather. This year, aboard Endeavour, the team returned to the site and during a 10-day period managed to locate and document the hull frames and plates, four anchors, the windlass, and other machinery. They also located and raised the ship’s bronze bell.
The ship which was 1,694 tons had been built in 1874 in Belfast, Ireland for the British trading company JP Corry & Co. as a 264-foot iron three-masted merchant sailing vessel. She was acquired by the Alaska Packers Association in 1906 and would become a workhorse for the association transporting cannery workers and supplies to Wrangell, Alaska in the spring and bringing the workers and canned salmon back to San Francisco in autumn.
On September 20, 1908, the ship was traveling through the Sumner Strait in Alaska for its return to California for the winter. It was under tow by two small tugboats, the Kayak and the Hattie Gage when they encountered a strong storm.
Historical accounts indicate that a combination of high winds, no communication, and mechanical failures forced the tugboats to sever the tow lines. The Star of Bengal dropped anchor but the anchor dragged. The ship was broken on the rocks of Coronation Island approximately 80 miles west of Wrangle.
Aboard the ship were 138 men – 106 cannery workers and 32 crew and 2.5 million one-pound cans of salmon from the Wrangell cannery. The sinking caused the deaths of 110 of the people on board including 96 of the canary workers. The majority of deaths were Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino laborers.
The bell was recovered as a memorial to the ship and has been sent for conservation at the Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation at Texas A&M University. It is expected to return to Wrangell where it will go on display at the Wrangell History Museum. The wreck of Star of Bengal will also be nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.