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Morro Castle Ship Fire Still A Mystery

September 8, 1934, the Morro Castle, a cruise ship owned by the now defunct Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies Steamship Corp., caught fire and burned off the coast of New Jersey and eventually grounded off the Asbury Park Convention Hall. More than 65 years of speculation have not solved the mysteries of the deadly fire, which killed 134 people. This cruise, billed as “Forget the Depression” cruise to Cuba, was never forgotten by the survivors.

Research points to evidence that the fire was arson. The Chief Radio operator George Rogers has been long suspected of causing the fire aboard the passenger ship to cover up the killing of Captain Robert Wilmott. However, research points to the fact that the Captain died of natural causes, probably heart failure. They believer that Rogers found Captain Wilmott slumped across his bathtub hours before the fire broke out and believe that Rogers took advantage of the situation and resulting confusion to set a plan in motion to burn the ship at the behest of the ship’s owner, who may have been seeking an insurance payment.

According to onboard accounts, the fire broke out at 2:20 A.M. The acting Captain Williams Warms did not send an SOS until an hour later. Survivors claimed the crew did little to help the panic stricken passengers as lifeboats arrived on shore filled mostly with crew and few passengers.

Rogers who acted heroically to save passengers as the fire raged, had a criminal record before he worked on the ship and years after the fire, was sentenced to life in prison for killing his neighbors. He died in prison in 1958.

On exhibit in the museum are two life jackets from the Morro Castle and an oar from one of the lifeboats. Also, there is picture of the ship after the fire grounded it off Asbury Park.