- The SS Dix, a commuter ferry that took people to Seattle, was lost in 1906 and sank so deeply that none of the victims were ever recovered
Explorers have made a groundbreaking discovery in Washington state’s Puget Sound after locating wreckage from the worst maritime tragedy in Seattle’s history.
The SS Dix sank on November 18, 1906, after colliding with another ship while on its regular route between Seattle and Port Blakely. It was said at the time that the Dix crashed in an instant after hitting the SS Jeanie, which was six times its size.
Many of the victims were women and children who “died like rats in a trap,” according to a report from the time. The ship was built in 1904 and was considered part of the Mosquito fleet of ships.
It is impossible to know the exact number of those who died, with most giving the number as at least 42 as many on board did not pay the fare.
More than 100 years later, explorer Jeff Hummel, CEO of Rockfish Inc., believes his crew has found the SS Dix near Alki Point and now hopes to work with local officials to protect the area.
The wreckage was discovered just off the coast of Seattle in an area known as Alki Point
The SS Dix was wrecked on November 18, 1906, after colliding with another ship while on its regular route between Seattle and Port Blakely.
Hummel said the ship is covered in sediment and large sea anemones, making it difficult to navigate the entire structure, he said. Fox Seattle. He said the area must be handled carefully because it is essentially a grave.
Hummel said other explorers have identified the area as home to a wreck, but his crew are the first to call the discovery the SS Dix.
In an interview with KING5, Hummel said his crew was able to identify the Dix thanks to sonar images.
“What they thought was the stern was actually the bow, so the bow has some damage. That made it look a bit like the blunt end of the ship, not the pointed end, but the Dix has a canoe stern, so it was pointed at both ends,” he said.
“If you take the image and turn it over, and then compare the features of a photo with what we see on the sonar, we get a perfect alignment of all the different features of the wreck.”
Hummel further told the station that he did not want to disrupt the site further, so no other testing took place.
At the time of the crash, Captain Parker Lermond blamed his first mate. It is believed that Jeanie had the right of way in the incident.
‘I was in the middle of collecting the freight when the ships struck. I knew nothing of the Jeanie’s proximity until the sound of the slow bell caused me to rush on deck, Lermond said, according to Fox Seattle.
‘The sight fascinated me because of its horror. The lights were still on and I could see people in the cabin. The expressions on the faces were of indescribable despair.’
“There were cries and prayers and groans of men and women, and the wails of a child and the screams of those who fought desperately to take the deck,” he also said.
After the crash, Lermond would never pilot a passenger ship again.
The wreck had sunk so deeply that no bodies were ever recovered.