Halifax Explosion - Disaster

Disaster

The Norwegian ship SS Imo had sailed from Holland en route to New York to take on relief supplies for Belgium. She arrived in Halifax on December 3 for neutral inspection and spent two days in Bedford Basin awaiting refuelling supplies. Though ready to depart late on the 5th, the Imo was held up one additional night as her refuelling was not completed until after the anti-submarine nets had been raised for the night. The French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc arrived from New York that same evening. Fully loaded with munitions including TNT, picric acid, benzol and guncotton, she intended to join a convoy gathering in Bedford Basin readying to depart for Europe, but was likewise too late to cross into the harbour before the nets were raised. Ships carrying dangerous cargo were not allowed into the harbour before the war, but the risks posed by German submarines had resulted in a relaxing of regulations.