Editing SS Carnatic (section)

===Grounding===
On 12 September 1869, she ran aground on [[Sha`b Abu Nuhas]] [[coral reef]] near [[Shadwan]] Island at the mouth of the [[Gulf of Suez]] in the [[Red Sea]]. Having assessed the ship to be safe and the pumps intact, Captain P. B. Jones denied passengers' repeated requests to abandon ship, and reassured them that the ship was safe and that the P&O liner ''Sumatra'' was due to pass by and would rescue them. There was a general air of calm and normality on board until about 2 a.m. on the 14th, when the rising water engulfed the ship's boilers and the ship was left without power or light. At 11 a.m. the following morning, after 34 hours on the reef, Captain Jones had just given the order to abandon ship and the first four passengers had taken their seats in one of the [[Lifeboat (shipboard)|lifeboat]]s when ''Carnatic'' suddenly broke in half. Thirty-one people drowned. The survivors made it to barren island of Shadwan, where the next day the ''Sumatra'' rescued them.[[File:Carnatic 1869.jpg|thumb|A contemporary print of the wreck of Carnatic]]

''Carnatic'' was carrying £40,000 worth of [[gold]] (well in excess of £1,000,000 in modern terms), so the wreck was the subject of a salvage operation two weeks later. All the gold was reported recovered, but persistent rumours of remaining [[treasure]] have added to the romance of the ship.

Captain Jones was recalled to England to face an official Board of Inquiry, which labelled him "a skilful and experienced officer". However, the inquiry added that "it appears there was every condition as regards ship, weather and light to ensure a safe voyage and there was needed only proper care. This was not done, and hence the disaster." Although Jones's Master's certificate was suspended for only nine months, he never returned to sea.

Rediscovered in May 1984, the wreck of the ''Carnatic'' is now a popular [[scuba diving]] site.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.aquatours.com/wrecks/carnatic.htm |title=SS CARNATIC. Wreck Directory & Diving Guide. |work=aquatours.com |year=2012 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Ship wreck Carnatic 2017-04-22 Egypt-7947.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Wreck of the SS Carnatic, in the Red Sea, Egypt.]]