4. SS Oregon (Long Island)

SS Oregon sinking, New York City shipwreck
The sinking of Cunard Line’s steamship Oregon, 15 miles off Long Island. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons 

The Titanic wasn’t the only ship that failed to complete the voyage from England to New York; the SS Oregon just had relatively better luck. After completing its maiden voyage in 1883, the SS Oregon won the Blue Riband in 1884 as the fastest liner to cross the Atlantic. It made the Queenstown-New York crossing in 6 days, 10 hours, and 10 minutes. After three years of smooth sailing, the SS Oregon departed from Liverpool with 852 passengers in March 1886. Just 15 miles from New York, the ship crashed into a schooner thought to be the Charles R. Morse.

In a crisis that would foreshadow the Titanic, there were only enough lifeboats for half the passengers. Luckily, another ship arrived on-site a few hours after the crash, and the passengers were saved. Today, the wreck still lies just off Long Island and is a popular diving site. As for the Charles R. Morse, this smaller schooner didn’t fare well in the collision. The ship simply disappeared, and no traces of the ship or the nine-man crew have been found to this day.

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