...One hundred and twenty persons missing. Official report.

Loss of the P&O steamer Bokhara
by Pascal Kainic

In response to the message dispatched by Sir Thomas Sutherland, Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, to the agents of the company at Shangaï and Hong Kong, asking for the fullest particulars respecting the wreck of the steamship “Bokhara”, together with a list of the drowned and the names of the survivors. Hong Kong 18th October – “Chief Officer “Bokhara” reports:

“Bokhara” struck Monday night, 10th October, vessel becoming helpless at 10 pm., owing to the heavy seas putting fires out. All deck fittings and boats gone before vessel struck, she sinking immediately. European and native crew acted splendidly throughout. One hundred and two of the crew missing…
Further details will be forwarded as soon as the weather permits.

The cargo consisted of : - Treasure $ 200.000, silk 1300 bales, tea 800 tons and general cargo”

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Lost Treasures of the Seven Seas

The forgotten explorer's submerged treasure

The Golden Scarab
by Pascal Kainic

This ship had been especially chartered by a famous, but also controversial explorer returning to Europe after a 18 long years voyage of discoveries through Abyssinia, Middle East and Asia. All the fruits of his ventures had been loaded on this ship who was finally lost en route with all her contents.

Amongst various exotic goods was a consignment of 15 tons of silver coins; fine gold jewellery, precious stones, antiques from Petra (the mysterious city) and Egypt; cameos, precious statues in bronze, golden beetles, hieroglyphs, old inscriptions on bas-reliefs, and a whole library of books, manuscripts and works revealing amongst others, the Mysteries of Isis …

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Loss of l'Aimable Marthe returning from Senegal with a cargo of gold

L’Aimable Marthe
by Pascal Kainic

This story is about the loss of L’Aimable Marthe, on the coast of Wales, in the year 1786, from the account of one of the passenger, M. Durand, formerly Governor of Isle Saint Louis :

“I left the Senegal for Le Havre, says M. Durand, on the 24th of July, 1786, on board the brigantine L’Aimable Marthe; the crew consisted of Captain Dore, a Lieutenant, a Carpenter, a Mate and three sailors. The passengers were Messrs. Gourg, Naval Commissioners at Senegal, Longer, Captain of a frigate, Bernard, my cook, a young negro, and myself. 
After an uncommonly long and dangerous passage, we were of opinion, on the morning of the 12th September that we should arrive in the course of the night at Havre, in Normandy, and we in consequence gave ourselves up to that pleasure which travellers always experience at the end of a long voyage; when I perceived that the Captain was out in his reckoning, and that we were in the British Channel. I informed him of this circumstance and his surprise was equal to my own....

Read the full story and much more at...
Lost Treasures of the Seven Seas