Sinking of SS Santísima Trinidad

Sinking of the SS Santísima Trinidad

SS Santísima Trinidad on January 1900
Date	7 July 1900 (1900-07-07)
Time	15:43 - 17:20 p.m.
Duration	1 hour and 37 minutes
Location	Barnesian Sea, 100 miles (160 km) south of Chalatenango, Atitlan.
Cause	Striking a off-course Bergenarian mine set.
Participants	Santísima Trinidad crew and passengers
Outcome	New legislation on local ship building. 1,298 of the 1,970 people aboard killed, leaving 672 survivors. Outbreak of the First Bergenarian–Atitlanese War

The SS Santísima Trinidad was a Atitlanese-registered ocean liner that sank by an explosion caused by a naval mine of the Royal Bergenarian Navy near 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the coast of Chalatenango, in the Barnesian Sea. The sinking ocurred in the context of tensions and skirmishes between Atitlan and Bergenaria, and World War I, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Atitlanese history.

The Maritima Nacional ship struck a off-course Bergenarian mine that was intended to be placed on the maritime border between the two countries. Faulty anchor chains caused many of the mines laid to drift from the oceanic corridor, spreading to other places in the Bernesian Sea. Research showed that ocean currents caused mines to reach as far as the coasts of Triania Minor. At the time of her sinking, Santísima Trinidad was returning from her tenth Barnesian cruising voyage to Mava, and was carrying an approximate 1,143 passengers and 827 crew members. 672 survived. The sinking turned public opinion in Atitlán against Bergenaria. It also contributed to the outbreak of the First Bergenarian–Atitlanese War a couple months later; images of the stricken liner were used heavily in propaganda and military recruiting campaigns.

Although the loss of Santísima Trinidad did not attract the same level of attention as that of RMS Achilleus fifteen years later, the disaster did lead to major redesigns of Atitlanese ships, and more regulation for local shipyards to follow. For example, naval designers were forced to add watertight doors to the stern of ships, as the lack of watertight doors on the area contributed to a faster sinking.

Background

At the time of her entry to service in 1896, SS Santísima Trinidad was the lead ship of the Santísima-class liners (the other three being SS Santísimo Redentor, SS Santísmo Sacramentoand SS Santísima Concepción). Named after religious elements, the Santísima Trinidad and her sisters were concieved to consolidate Atitlanese influence on Triania.