The case record
What was reported?
The merchant brigantine Mary Celeste was found deserted near the Azores in December 1872. Its ten occupants were never reliably traced, although the vessel could still be sailed.
Captain Benjamin Briggs, his family and seven crew had departed New York for Genoa with industrial alcohol. The last log entry was dated 25 November. Dei Gratia’s boarding party found the ship’s boat missing, some water below and supplies still aboard; the familiar story of an untouched hot meal owes more to retelling than to a secure record.
Bounds cover the last recorded log entry and early-December discovery; accounts give 4 or 5 December. The map represents an ocean region, not a recovered wreck.
- Reported date
- 25 November–early December 1872
- Witnesses
- Historical records, investigators and observers; see case-specific account · Not reliably reducible to a single count
- Investigation
- Historical and research accounts reviewed from: Royal Museums Greenwich; Smithsonian Magazine
Evidence in the record
Salvage proceedings, contemporary descriptions and surviving correspondence establish abandonment, but provide no witness account of the decision. Museum and magazine histories disagree by a day on discovery.
Competing explanations
Official and research context
The Gibraltar salvage proceedings did not establish why the people abandoned Mary Celeste; modern maritime explanations remain reconstructions.
Conventional explanations
A mistaken assessment of flooding, pump trouble or fear of alcohol vapour could explain evacuation into the boat. Separation from the ship could then be fatal. These maritime scenarios remain reconstructions, while piracy and mutiny lack decisive support.
Arguments that remain contested
Why the occupants left and what happened to their boat remain unknown.
Locations & timeline
Coordinates are representative. Area and route labels do not imply exact paths or object positions.
- Primary reference location
Atlantic east of the Azores
Bounds cover the last recorded log entry and early-December discovery; accounts give 4 or 5 December. The map represents an ocean region, not a recovered wreck.
Representative case location · Approximate area radius: 600 km
38.000°, -22.000° · point · Regional reference only; not survey-grade
Record notes
Map coordinates are representative and do not establish an exact incident position.
Case-specific sources researched 8 September 2026. Evidence, alternatives, dates and representative geography reviewed.
Original dataset status: unresolved