Nearly five decades after the sinking of the Titanic, another tragedy struck in the oceans. A Danish liner was on her maiden voyage off the coast of Western Greenland, when she collided with an iceberg and sank on January 30, 1959 with the loss of all crew and passengers on board. Like the RMS Titanic, she too was deemed “the safest afloat.”
MS Hans Hedtoft was built by Frederikshavns Værft at Frederikshavn in northern Denmark. The 271-feet long, 2,857-ton freighter had been specially designed for the Danish government to withstand the harsh conditions of the North Atlantic Ocean, particularly along the desolate shores of Greenland. With its double hull and seven sealed compartments, along with fortified bow and stern sections, the ship was engineered for resilience. It was equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, ranging from radar and gyrocompasses to Decca Navigators and radio-equipped life rafts. Captain P. L. Rasmussen proudly proclaimed, “This ship means a revolution in Arctic navigation,” while a government official confidently asserted, “Now we can sail to Greenland all year round.”
Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.
Source: amusingplanet.com