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Catastrophic Mistakes: The RMS Magdalena Disaster

Oceanliner Designs

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The epic saga of the Royal Mail Lines' RMS Magdalena has all the hallmarks of a tale stranger than fiction. A luxurious ship on its first voyage - the captain set for retirement after this trip - a slight blow that resulted in total disaster and that fine new ship broken in half. If this sounds familiar you might be forgiven for thinking we’re talking about Titanic again - but this happened in 1949 to one of Britain’s newest and finest passenger ships at Rio de Janeiro. Magdalena was doomed - but what exactly had gone wrong? Why had this ship, bristling with the latest technology and navigational aids, ended up in disaster - and why did she break apart?

Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels– from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!

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#ships #sinking #disaster #titanic #wrecks #exploration #history #adventure #design #engineering #mairitime #safety #vessels #sailing #documentary #story #oceanlinerdesigns

20 Comments

@OceanlinerDesigns Creator 2 months ago Pinned

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@johnoneill5661 2 months ago

Note to self - Do not get on a ships maiden voyage if it's the captains last voyage.
Do not get on a great Lakes freighter for that one last voyage before winter layup.
And never ever get on a submarine.

@phaasch 2 months ago

Now THIS is what this channel is all about! I'd never heard of the Magdalena, and her story is desperately sad. For want of the use of her perfectly good radar suite, and a 30- minute lie-in, a world -renowned shipping line begins its slow decline to oblivion.
Mike, your account of the tale is peerless, as ever. Amongst the tangled shipping lanes of YouTube, you are our chronometer and sextant!

@davehanson7764 2 months ago

My Grandfather and Dad went to sea, they always sort of went wild when on shore leave, My Grandfather told me in a bar one evening that its because this maybe the last time you and me have a drink together, he said never take mother ocean for granted , because one day , she might ask for something back....always respect the sea...
As I grew up and went to sea myself, I never forget his words .

@chm77777 2 months ago

He still makes videos even locked in a cell underground somewhere. That's dedication.

@jeffpowley190 2 months ago

I was an Engineer onboard a British container ship that hit a volcanic island at near full speed in the 1990's, interestingly it was also the Captains retirement voyage and a navigation error. Top tip, avoid Captains retirement trips like the plague.

@spitfire1962 2 months ago

Moral of the story. Don’t get on a ship where the captain is making his last voyage.

@Dakiraun 2 months ago

Harland and Wolff's workers must have been devastated as well to hear what happened to their latest creation. At least in this case, there were no fatalities. Thank you for telling another neat tale. Perhaps one day We'll see the Magdalena in Ship Explorer.

@discoreview 2 months ago

I kept yelling at the screen: "Stop engines - STOP ENGINES!!!"

@george11419 2 months ago

I am satisfied that Capt Lee saved every passenger and crew member. A truly great captain. He also did his best to save his ship for the owners. Moreover, defective compasses were a major part of the catastrophe. As always, the courts had to find a scapegoat. So they chose the captain and first mate.

@lanceferraro3781 2 months ago

Having spent 22 years in the US Navy, circumnavigated the globe, over those years travelled a million nautical miles, I've wondered why, when a ship is in a positions of not knowing where they are, they don't stop and figure it out.

@gregb6469 2 months ago

Perhaps what the captain should have done is, while Magdalena was still a few miles from the rocks, put the ship into a holding pattern until sun-up, so they could enter the harbor in daylight.

@NickJohnCoop 2 months ago

It feels like a shame, but at least Captain Lee could console himself over the fact he wouldn't nearly leave as bad a remembrance as Titanic's Captain.

@ripLunarBirdCLH 2 months ago

Brave girl. She held on and withstood all that until her passengers and crew were safe in the boats. She even kept part of the cargo and most of the baggage and mail intact.

@thisintrovertknits 2 months ago

My turn to move house, thanks for keeping me company, gonna bust out 5 hours of Titanic next 😂

@robinmacfarlane4769 2 months ago

my dad a Lloyds register surveyor knew and was friendly with Cyril Senior In the fifties or early sixties. He was still in the shipping business. he remembered him as a lovely man but he did seem to be stalked by bad luck, and from what I remember he died early from health problems following an industrial accident after getting soaked in refrigerant from a reefer ship. cannot say more. but dad had a high opinion of him. R.I.P Cyril, you deserved better.

@Bob-xo7rk 2 months ago

The fact that the OOW didn't immediately order a turn away (to starboard) the moment he calculated danger ahead is sheer incompetence. He should THEN have called the captain and taken a second fix and checked his calculations. The watch was his, so he should have acted first, then reported and checked afterward.

@jimtalbott9535 2 months ago

42:00 - The manufacturer of that compass ALSO should have come into question. Yes, “the buck stops” with the Captain, but this disaster certainly has some “contributing” factors.