The Mystery of the Mary Celeste

The tale of Mary Celeste (or Amazon) stands as one of the most puzzling naval events of all time. On 4, December 1872, a two-masted sailing vessel was discovered in the Atlantic Ocean by the team of Dei Gratia ship, almost 600 miles away from the coast of Portugal.

Their first observation after the discovery of the ship was perplexing and confusing. They found that the ship, despite being completely abandoned, was intact and unharmed. The ship was fully operational. There was no captain, no family, no technician, or, we can say, no human, on the ship. The compass, lifeboats, and other relevant equipment were missing from the ship. It was, however, surprising that the crew found some personal possessions, food, and valuables for 6 months.

The alcohol cargo on the ship was undamaged, ruling out the possibility of a fire eruption. Since the mystery has occurred, many theories have been drawn to demonstrate the vanishing of the crew members of Mary Celeste. The first theory suggests that Captain Briggs abandoned the ship purposefully, but the reason behind it is unknown.

Another surprising theory emerged that asserted that the Dei Gratia crew that found the abandoned ship pirated it and killed everyone onboard. However, after three months of intense investigation, the courts found no evidence to support these theories. An underlying theory suggests that pirates were internally deployed from the ship due to being significantly drunk. The inspection suggested the names of two German brothers who were in the crew to be mutinous, as they were the only ones whose belongings were not on the ship. Another speculates that the occurrence of any natural event, such as a seaquake provoked hysteria among the crew members, forcing them to abandon the ship.

The mystery of Mary Celeste has caught public attention for decades, inspiring many films and infinite hypoytheses. There have been detailed investigations over the years, but solid evidence has yet to be found to draw a strong conclusion, making Mary Celeste one of the most lasting paradoxes of all time.