One of the most remarkable ghost ships in history is the SS Baychimo, a steel freighter from Sweden that wandered the waters off the Alaskan coast for an astonishing 38 years without a crew. This ship, weighing 1,322 tons, was launched in 1914 under the name Ångermanelfven, built at the Lindholmens Shipyard in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Birth of the SS Baychimo
Initially, this freighter was designed to serve the Baltic trade route between Hamburg and Sweden. It was powered by a coal-driven triple-expansion steam engine. The 230-foot-long vessel could reach a top speed of 12 miles per hour. However, its journey would take an unexpected turn.
After World War I ended, the ship was transferred in 1921 to the Hudson’s Bay Company as part of compensation for wartime shipping losses. It was renamed the Baychimo. Soon, it became a key part of the fur trade, traveling between Canada and various coastal points. Each summer, the ship carried tobacco, sugar, tea, and weapons in exchange for pelts. 
The Great Journey Around the World
In 1924, the Baychimo completed a remarkable circumnavigation of the globe. It continued transporting fur and goods until 1931. That year, while navigating the icy waters of the Alaskan coast, disaster struck. The crew became trapped in the ice after completing their trade voyage. They had to trek half a mile across the frozen land to reach Barrow, Alaska. They planned to wait for the ice to thaw and then resume their journey.
However, the ice quickly refroze, trapping the Baychimo once again. Some of the crew were airlifted to safety, while a few stayed behind to monitor the vessel, hoping to return once conditions improved.
The Disappearance of the Baychimo
On November 24, 1931, temperatures soared from minus 60°F to zero in just a few hours. A fierce storm trapped the crew in their makeshift shelters. When the storm passed, the Baychimo was gone. Only a pressure ridge of ice remained at its former docking point, leading many to believe it had sunk.
A few days later, an Inuit seal hunter reported spotting the Baychimo floating free from the ice, around 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) from its original location. When Captain Sydney Cornwall discovered the ship was still intact, he assumed it was no longer seaworthy. He removed the cargo and valuable goods before abandoning it. However, the ship’s resilience exceeded expectations, and several months later, it was found drifting 250 miles (402.3 kilometers) eastward.
The Ghost Ship’s Relentless Drifting
In 1932, Leslie Melvin and his dog sled team encountered the Baychimo near Nome, Alaska, where it seemed to be waiting for its crew. This eerie sighting was followed by several more reports from explorers and traders. In 1933, a group of Eskimos boarded the ship but became stranded due to a storm. Several months later, the Hudson’s Bay Company was informed the Baychimo was still afloat. However, they dismissed it as too far out to be of use.
In the years following, several attempts were made to board and retrieve the ship. In 1934, explorers tried to reach it but returned to their vessel due to ice. A year later, the ship was spotted again off Alaska’s northwest coast. In 1935, Captain Hugh Paulson tried to salvage the ship but was thwarted by ice.
The Final Sightings and the Ongoing Mystery
Over the following decades, numerous reports surfaced about the ship’s whereabouts. The last recorded sighting occurred in 1969 when it was stuck in the ice of the Chukchi Sea. Despite a dedicated search by the Alaskan government in the early 2000s, which included scanning both the surface and the seabed, the Baychimo remains missing. It continues its mysterious existence as the “Ghost Ship of the Arctic.
