Sindia: the cargo and the long-lived wreck (1901)

The ship named on the marker

The four-masted Sindia grounded in a southeasterly storm on December 15, 1901, while sailing from Kobe to New York. Ocean City’s historical marker identifies captain Allen McKenzie and a cargo of porcelain, bamboo matting, camphor oil, manganese and wax. It records that everyone aboard was rescued by the Ocean City lifesaving station under Captain J. M. Corson.

The same marker says the vessel broke in two on the third day. Its cargo offers a documented starting point for the story; accounts of exotic treasure require evidence beyond the ship’s Asian departure port.

The wreck becomes an image

The Historical Society of Riverton’s collection includes Sindia postcards with dates extending into the 1930s. These preserve the wreck’s role in shore tourism long after the storm. A card’s postal or catalog date should not automatically be treated as the date its photograph was taken.

The wreck becomes a court case

In 1990 the Third Circuit revived a dispute over who could salvage the Sindia. Sindia Expedition sought title or a salvage award; competing salvors and claimants to the underlying land intervened. New Jersey asserted ownership but declined to join the lawsuit. The trial court dismissed the case because the state was absent.

The appeals court reversed: the proceeding against the wreck could determine the rights of the private parties without deciding New Jersey’s interest against its will. That was permission for litigation to continue, not an award of the cargo to the expedition. The opinion also corrected an earlier description placing the wreck 3,000 yards offshore; photographs showed it much closer, although the exact position was left unresolved. Sindia Expedition v. Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel, 895 F.2d 116, February 8, 1990.