Tag Archives: 1914 Great Sealing Disaster

Memorial service marks sealing disaster

CBC News – A memorial service was held in St. John’s on Monday to mark the 99th anniversary of the 1914 Great Sealing Disaster. On March 30, 1914, sealers aboard the SS Newfoundland became stranded for 53 hours on North Atlantic ice floes in blizzard conditions. In the same storm, the ship Southern Cross sank while returning from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, taking her crew and sealers down with her. A total of 251 people died in both tragedies. continued