Bianca C
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She
is often called the Titanic of the Caribbean, and was one
of the big cruise liners from the Italian Costa Line
company who operated in the Caribbean in the 1950 and
1960s. 22.October 1961 she was on a journey from Naples to
Venezuela with nearly 400 passengers and a crew of 200
men. She had stopped outside St. George on Grenada on her
voyage when in the morning an explosion occurred in the
engine room . Two crew members were killed in the
explosion, and shortly after the whole ship was on fire.
Bianca C laid engulfed in fire for several days before she
disappeared in the deep outside the harbor of St. George.
The remains of her rest today on a depth of 30 to 50
meter.
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  Pictures: Bianca C and company poster Courtesy of Naviearmatori  "She has been sitting on
the seabed a mile off Grand Anse beach since 22 October
1961. That quiet Sunday morning, the peace of St
George's was shattered by the repeated and urgent
sounding of a ship's siren. It came from the 600ft
passenger vessel lying at anchor in the harbour. The
ship was the Bianca C, and her distress was caused by a
massive explosion, presumably in the main boilers, had
wrecked the engine room, killing two crewmen before
setting the whole vessel on fire. Not only that, but 600
people found themselves stranded unexpectedly and
without their possessions. It was the generous locals
who took them into their homes until they could be
repatriated. Today you can see a statue with a plaque on
the quay, donated by the Costa shipping line as a
permanent thank you to the people of Grenada. The vessel
burnt fiercely for several days. The paint on her
massive hull bubbled and flaked, and the water around
her began to boil. The port authorities became anxious
that she would sink and become an unsurmountable
obstruction in the harbour. Visiting British warship HMS
Londonderry took the stricken vessel in tow. Her anchor
chains were severed with explosives and she was dragged
out into open water, but by this time the Bianca C was
taking on water and had become exceedingly heavy. The
tow parted and, issuing violent columns of steam, what
was left of the magnificent liner slipped away into 50m
of water"
Last updated: April 2018
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