Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Of the 552 people on board for a weekend round trip between Miami and Nassau, on November 13, 1965, a total of 94 would perish when the cruise liner SS Yarmouth Castle caught fire and sank near Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Although the survival of over 450 people from the inferno was nothing short of a miracle, this tragedy marks the deadliest passenger ship disaster off the coast of the United States since the burning of the liner SS Morro Castle off the coast of New Jersey in 1934.
In his presentation, SSHSA Vice President Captain Eric Takakjian reviews the details of the tragedy and the subsequent accident investigation that eventually changed US and international standards for the construction and operations of passenger ships, and what became of the Yarmouth Steamship Company and its leadership.
He has written a book co-authored by Randall Peffer on the topic entitled, Yarmouth Castle Burning: The Deadliest Passenger Ship Disaster Off the Coast of the United States Since 1934.
Eric Takakjian has been a member of the Steamship Historical Society of America since 1989, and also served on its board of directors, currently serving as Vice President. Eric is the master of the Chincoteague, a 504-foot, oceangoing articulated tug and barge engaged in the coastwide petroleum transportation trade. He has been sailing ships and oceangoing tugboats to various corners of the world since 1978. Eric and his wife, Lori, owned and operated the oceanographic research vessel Quest for 17 years, conducting oceanographic and shipwreck research in the northeastern United States. He has conducted extensive historical research on the naval history of the region. A diver since 1972 and an avid shipwreck diver since 1975, he has been a National Fellow of the Explorers Club since 1997.
Of the 552 people on board for a weekend round trip between Miami and Nassau, on November 13, 1965, a total of 94 would perish when the cruise liner SS Yarmouth Castle caught fire and sank near Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Although the survival of over 450 people from the inferno was nothing short of a miracle, this tragedy marks the deadliest passenger ship disaster off the coast of the United States since the burning of the liner SS Morro Castle off the coast of New Jersey in 1934.
In his presentation, SSHSA Vice President Captain Eric Takakjian reviews the details of the tragedy and the subsequent accident investigation that eventually changed US and international standards for the construction and operations of passenger ships, and what became of the Yarmouth Steamship Company and its leadership.
He has written a book co-authored by Randall Peffer on the topic entitled, Yarmouth Castle Burning: The Deadliest Passenger Ship Disaster Off the Coast of the United States Since 1934.
Eric Takakjian has been a member of the Steamship Historical Society of America since 1989, and also served on its board of directors, currently serving as Vice President. Eric is the master of the Chincoteague, a 504-foot, oceangoing articulated tug and barge engaged in the coastwide petroleum transportation trade. He has been sailing ships and oceangoing tugboats to various corners of the world since 1978. Eric and his wife, Lori, owned and operated the oceanographic research vessel Quest for 17 years, conducting oceanographic and shipwreck research in the northeastern United States. He has conducted extensive historical research on the naval history of the region. A diver since 1972 and an avid shipwreck diver since 1975, he has been a National Fellow of the Explorers Club since 1997.
