Nothing in the history of the
Maritimes stands out like the
Halifax
Explosion of 1917, the
greatest human-caused
cataclysm of the pre-atomic
age. It occurred when Halifax
was the departure point for
convoys transporting troops
and armaments to Europe during
World War I. Shortly after
dawn on December 6, a
Norwegian ship called the
Imo
, a vessel carrying relief
supplies to Belgium, and a
French munitions carrier
called the
Mont Blanc
were manoeuvring in Halifax
harbour. The Norwegian ship
was steaming for the open sea,
while the
Mont Blanc ,
a small, decrepit vessel, was
heading for the harbour
stuffed with explosives and
ammunition, including half a
million pounds of TNT - though
it flew no flags to indicate
the hazardous nature of the
cargo. As the ships approached
each other, the
Imo was
forced to steer into the wrong
channel by a poorly positioned
tugboat. With neither ship
clear about the other's
intentions and each attempting
to take evasive action, they
collided, and the resulting
sparks caused the ignition of
the drums of flammable liquid
stored on the
Mont Blanc
's deck. A fire took hold, and
the crew abandoned their
vessel, which drifted under
the force of the impact
towards the Halifax shore.
A large crowd had gathered
on the waterfront to witness
the spectacle when the TNT
exploded. The blast killed
2000 people instantly and
flattened over 300 acres of
north Halifax, with fire
engulfing much of the rest.
Windows were broken in Truro
over 90km away and the
shock-wave was felt in Cape
Breton. Nothing remained of
the Mont Blanc , and
part of its anchor, a piece of
metal weighing over half a
ton, was later found more than
4km away. To make matters
worse, a blizzard deposited
40cm of snow on Halifax during
the day, hampering rescue
attempts. The bodies of many
victims were not recovered
until the spring.
The vision of Armageddon
haunted Halifax after the
explosion as the poignant
newspaper cuttings in the
Maritime Museum show.
