Steamship Portland: New England's Titanic
Welcome to coverage of the National Marine Sanctuaries Steamship Portland mission. On Nov. 26, 1898, the Steamship Portland left India Wharf in Boston on her regularly scheduled run to Portland, Maine. She never made it to port.
None of the 192 passengers and crew survived the massive storm that wreaked havoc on New England's coast -- a storm that was later dubbed "The Portland Gale" after this tragic loss.
For years controversy reigned as to the location of the ill-fated ship. In the summer of 2002, the mystery was finally solved when researchers from the Stellwagen National Marine Sanctuary and the National Undersea Research Center brought back images from the seafloor that conclusively identified the remains of the Steamship Portland.
Join us as we follow the researchers' return to "New England's Titanic" and watch as they work to uncover the mystery behind the Portland's demise. Click here for the coverage.
This 1891 lithograph by Antonio Jacobsen is considered one of the best interpretations of the Steamship Portland in her prime. [Courtesy of the Maine Historical Society.]