RSA is one of the world’s longest serving general insurance companies, and we’re proud to have been at the heart of the insurance industry for more than 300 years. With this comes a wealth of rich history with fascinating stories of events we’ve played a key role in doing what we do best – “Helping people, businesses and society prosper in good times and be resilient in bad times”.
Kaye Williams, Head of Marine Claims at RSA, recently shared this fascinating story where we played a part in history over 100 years ago.
The sinking of SS Islander
Built in Scotland in 1888, the SS Islander, a luxurious passenger and cargo steamer, met a tragic fate in 1901 when it struck an iceberg and sank off the coast of Alaska. The collision caused a catastrophic breach in its hull, and within 20 minutes the ship sank. Of the approximately 168 people aboard, more than 40 perished. This included prominent businessmen and their families.
Designed to navigate the icy waters of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the Islander was renowned for its opulence and popularity among wealthy travellers and gold miners heading to and from the ‘Klondike Gold Rush’ – following news that gold had been found in Klondike River.
It was established on the day of that fateful voyage the ship was likely carrying gold owned by the Canadian Bank of commerce, being shipped as registered mail. It was believed to have been seen on the docks in Skagway escorted by 3 police officers.
Marine Insurance Company, a subsidiary of RSA, were the cargo insurers of the gold aboard the SS Islander. Documentation shows that the Canadian Bank of commerce took out an insurance policy with us which included cargo open cover, and we paid out an estimated $2 million USD at the time to cover the claim.
This wasn’t uncommon at the time as records also demonstrated that Marine Insurance Company were considerable underwriters of gold.
The hunt for gold
Rumours of the SS Islander and suggestions that it had been carrying gold estimated to be worth millions of dollars in today’s currency, spurred speculation and fuelled numerous salvage efforts over the decades, beginning as early as 1902. In 1930, the bulk of the vessel was lifted but the bow section broke away and remained submerged in deep waters.
Being the section of most interest due to the location of the cargo stores, the bow section was located in 2012. Following the claim pay-out, Marine Insurance Company are now the legal owners of the gold and engaged a professional salvage company. They were given exclusive rights to the wreck, and a salvage contract was established by us on a no-cure no-pay basis.
In September 2024, a further sophisticated attempt to access the bow section commenced. Unfortunately, weather and natural conditions conspired against them, and they did not get close to the lifting operation necessary to find the gold. However, during the operation, a large number of artefacts and items were found, which were turned over to the Alaska State Museum.
Fortunately, while no gold was recovered, the operation demonstrated that the part of the ship in which we believe the insured gold was carried is still intact and has not been disturbed. Consequently, survey operations are continuing with a plan to return to the site to lift the bow section, whole or in pieces, in the spring of 2025.
What does this mean for RSA?
If the expected cargo of gold was salvaged in today’s market, this would be valued in excess of $200 million USD. Whilst the salvors would get a larger proportion of the proceeds as they have to absorb the costs of the salvage mission, this should still leave us a sizeable recovery amount, hence why we continue to maintain interest and, as needed, renegotiate the salvage contracts at minimal costs to us.
The sinking of the SS Islander remains one of Alaska’s most infamous maritime disasters - a grim reminder of the perils of early seafaring in the icy waters of the North Pacific. Its story continues to captivate historians, treasure hunters, and maritime enthusiasts alike, and is significant for RSA too.
