SS Caribou

SS Caribou
Career
Name:	SS Caribou
Route:	port aux basque to nova scotia
Ordered:	1925
Builder:	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Fate:	Sunk by German U-boat in the Cabot Strait, 14 October 1942
Notes:	Homeport St. John's, Newfoundland
General characteristics
Length:	84 metres long
Speed:	14.5 knots
Capacity:	3,000 horsepower

The SS Caribou was a passenger ferry used by the Newfoundland government's ferry service between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and North Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The Caribou was built in 1925 at Rotterdam, Holland, for the Newfoundland Railway. Launched in 1925, she had a capacity of 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) and was able to reach a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h) when fully-loaded. She also had steam-heat and electric lights in all of her cabins, which were considered to be a luxury at the time. Also, due to her ice-breaking design, the Caribou also assisted during the seal hunt along the Newfoundland coast each spring.

The Caribou was torpedoed by the German submarine U-69, and also sunk in the Cabot Straits during the night of 14 October 1942. The Caribou was carrying 46 sailors and 206 civilian and military passengers. 137 of these people perished. Of the deceased, two of them were rescued at first, but they later died of freezing from exposure to the cold water. The bodies of 34 of the war victims were found. Sadly, only one of the eleven children on board the Caribou survived her sinking.

See also

• Newfoundland Railway
• Marine Atlantic
• CN Marine

Further reading

• Douglas How, Night of the Caribou Hantsport: Lancelot Press, 1988.

External links

• Railway-Coastal Museum
• Canadian Military Heritage
• Paper on topic
• The History of the Nursing Sisters of Canada
• The Last Voyage of the S.S. Caribou Includes a list of victims and survivors.