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SS Germanic sinks at her berth in New York Harbor

When
1899
Where
New York Harbor
Episodes
2

In February 1899, the White Star liner SS Germanic sank at her berth in New York Harbor. Ice accumulated during her voyage from Liverpool, and a subsequent blizzard added significant topweight while she was refueling. The ship listed and sank, remaining on the harbor bottom for over a week before being salvaged and refurbished for three months.

Episodes

  1. 1899 · New York HarborSalvage and Refurbishment

    Germanic remained on the harbor bottom for more than a week before being salvaged and refurbished for three months.

  2. 11 February 1899 · New York HarborArrival with Ice

    SS Germanic arrived in New York on February 11, 1899, with decks and rigging laden with ice and snow, causing a list to starboard.

Background and detail

Background. SS Germanic was an ocean liner built by Harland and Wolff in 1874 and operated by the White Star Line. She arrived in New York on February 11, 1899, with her upper decks and rigging laden with ice and snow after sailing through a blizzard. This accumulation gave the ship a list to starboard, requiring the crew to chip away enough ice to allow docking and passenger disembarkation.

Sinking. On February 13, 1899, while being refueled with coal at White Star's New York City pier, another heavy blizzard added an even heavier layer of ice and snow. This added an estimated 1,800 tons to her topweight. The ship subsequently sank at her berth in New York Harbor.

Salvage. Germanic remained on the bottom of New York Harbor for more than a week while salvaging operations took place. After being raised, the ship required refurbishing for three months before becoming operational again. The harbor itself is a tidal body of water forming the upper part of New York Bay.

People involved

Sources

  1. SS Germanic (1874) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-04-22
  2. New York Harbor Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-25

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.