SS Poet: The Cargo Ship That Vanished Without a Trace in 1980
About this episode
The episode explores the mysterious disappearance of the cargo ship SS Poet in 1980.
On July tenth, we turn our attention to one of the most perplexing maritime mysteries of the twentieth century: the strange disappearance of the cargo ship SS Poet. The SS Poet was a massive vessel, stretching over five hundred feet long and capable of carrying thirteen thousand tons of cargo. On October twenty-fourth, nineteen eighty, she departed from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, bound for Port Said, Egypt, carrying a full load of yellow corn. The ship had a crew of thirty-four experienced sailors, and despite being an older vessel built in nineteen forty-four, she had been inspected and deemed seaworthy just months before her final voyage. The last known communication from the SS Poet came on October twenty-fifth, when the ship reported its position about one hundred and fifty miles off the Delaware coast. The weather was fair, and nothing in the transmission suggested any problems whatsoever. Then, the ship simply vanished. No distress signal was ever received. No wreckage was ever found. Thirty-four souls disappeared without a trace into the Atlantic Ocean. What makes this case particularly haunting is the complete absence of evidence. When ships sink, they typically leave…
Topics covered
- maritime mystery
- disappearance
- SS Poet
- search operation
- ocean
- cargo ship
Keywords
- SS Poet
- maritime mystery
- disappearance
- ocean
- search operation
- cargo ship
- Coast Guard
- yellow corn
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Coast Guard
Products: yellow corn
Places: Cape Henlopen, Delaware, Port Said, Egypt
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