From collection Ed Coffin Collection
PARTHIA
Ship PARTHIA at wharf. On October 1st, 1895, the American fully rigged ship PARTHIA, built in 1891 by Houghton Brothers. Parthia only made four round-trip voyages to California. On the fifth voyage, laden with Welsh coal, Parthia’s cargo spontaneously combusted about 400 miles from the coast of Chile. After struggling to extinguish the fire for four days, Parthia had to be abandoned. The crew escaped in two boats. The two boats were separated, and after much travail, rescued—none were lost.
