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TIMES CARIBBEAN FEATURED ARTICLE

By Times Caribbean Staff Writer | August 1, 2025

Today, the people of St. Kitts and Nevis solemnly mark the 55th anniversary of the sinking of the MV Christena — the deadliest maritime disaster in the history of the English-speaking Caribbean.

On Saturday, August 1, 1970, the MV Christena sank in The Narrows between St. Kitts and Nevis, claiming the lives of 233 people, most of them Nevisians. Just 91 souls survived.

This tragedy was not just an accident at sea. It was a national trauma that forever changed the socio-political fabric of Nevis. From the anguish and loss came a movement — the founding of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) — which demanded justice, self-determination, and dignity for the people of Nevis.

THE TRAGEDY UNFOLDS

The MV Christena, a 160-foot government-owned ferry, was heavily overloaded for an Emancipation holiday trip. Designed to carry 155 passengers, the vessel left Basseterre with over 320 people on board. Just off Nags Head, the ferry began to list and quickly sank. Rescue efforts pulled only 91 survivors from the sea.

Families were shattered. Generations were lost. The heartbeat of Nevis was broken.

FULL LIST OF SURVIVORS OF THE M.V. CHRISTENA

1. Reuben Allen
2. Carlton Arisleth
3. Joseph Bartlette
4. Vincent Benjamin
5. Robert Blake
6. Michael Brisbane
7. Ivor Brookes
8. Arrington Browne
9. Clifford Browne
10. Dulcita Browne
11. Edna Browne
12. Franklyn Browne
13. Leonard Browne
14. Roger Browne
15. Joseph Budgeon
16. Luella Budgeon
17. Tom Carlton
18. Livingstone Chapman
19. Charles Clarke
20. Edward Clarke
21. Wilson Condelle
22. Everson Davis
23. Denning Dawes
24. William Depouisor
25. Terrence Duzan
26. Ivan Elliott
27. Bertram Foster
28. James France
29. Rudolph Francis
30. Samuel Freeman
31. Eustace Hanley
32. Vincent Harris
33. Ronald Hendrickson
34. Alice Herbert
35. Robert Hinds
36. Fitzroy Huggins
37. Phillip Huggins
38. Jonathan James
39. Leroy James
40. Belinda Jeffers
41. Charles Johnston
42. Llewellyn Johnston
43. Edmund Kelly
44. Ian Kelsick
45. Samuel Lake
46. Devon Liburd
47. Edwin Liburd
48. Edgar Martin
49. Joseph Martin
50. Julie Martin
51. Samuel Mason
52. Frank Matthews
53. Edward Merchant
54. Charles Moore
55. Franklin Morton
56. Vincent Morton
57. Shernelle Mullraine
58. Carlton Nisbett
59. Gerard Prentice
60. Conrad Procope
61. Clive Rawlins
62. Euste Richards
63. Alice Richardson
64. Wendell Richardson
65. Copeland Roberts
66. Joseph Robertson
67. Leroy Sage
68. Laughton Sargeant
69. Livingstone Sargeant
70. Clive Scarborough
71. Malcolm Simmons
72. Victor Simmons
73. Vincent Stapleton
74. Earl Stroud
75. Victor Swanston
76. Grenville Tross
77. Livingstone Trotman
78. Oswald Tyson
79. Herman Uddenberg
80. St. Clair Walwyn
81. Cecil Warner
82. James Weekes
83. Herman Webbe
84. Diana Williams
85. Leroy Williams
86. Aubrey Williams
87. Lewis Solas Wilson
88. Alice Wilkin
89. Henry Wilkin
90. Hugh Wilkin
91. Agatha Wilkin

55 FACTS ABOUT THE CHRISTENA DISASTER

1. Built by Sprostons Ltd. in British Guiana, commissioned May 1959.
2. Arrived in Basseterre June 7, 1959.
3. Measured 66 ft in length, 16 ft breadth.
4. Cost $132,500, paid by the British government.
5. Powered by Caterpillar Diesel engines from the USA.
6. Christena began service June 15, 1959.
7. Designed to carry 155 passengers — exceeded 320 on final trip.
8. Fare: $1 upstairs, 50 cents downstairs.
9. Administered by the Ministry of Communications, Works & Transport.
10. Replaced MV Anslyn, destroyed by Hurricane Greta in 1956.
11. Captain: James Richard Ponteen, aged 57, ex-police officer.
12. Regularly made two round-trips daily.
13. Regarded by many as “unsinkable.”
14. Captain Ponteen planned to retire weeks later.
15. Crew: 9 members including engineers and deckhands.
16. Last dry-docking: May 1970 in Barbados.
17. Repair cost: $42,282.79.
18. Sinking occurred 0.5 miles off Nags Head, near The Narrows.
19. Christena capsized stern-first within minutes.
20. Over 50 women traders died.
21. Three Catholic nuns perished.
22. Bodies were piled on Charlestown Pier post-recovery.
23. 57 bodies were identified and retrieved.
24. 66 were unidentifiable.
25. Others were never recovered.
26. Many passengers were trapped below deck.
27. The wreck lies 71 feet underwater.
28. Some rescue boats ignored distress signals.
29. U.S., British, and French navies assisted recovery.
30. Theories on the cause: overcrowding, obeah, fate, manholes.
31. Dr. Kennedy Simmonds was sole physician on Nevis at the time.
32. He treated 63 of the 65 injured.
33. A Commission of Inquiry was held but cause remained unclear.
34. Sea Hunter 1 and local fishing boats helped rescue survivors.
35. 13 victims buried at Bath Cemetery, Nevis.
36. 39 buried in Springfield Cemetery, St. Kitts.
37. Most casualties were women and children.
38. The disaster fueled the Nevis Reformation Party’s formation.
39. Nevis’ population dropped in the aftermath.
40. Many orphans were sent overseas.
41. A survivor swam ashore with breadfruit in a crocus bag.
42. Captain Ponteen could not swim.
43. The event remains the worst maritime disaster in Caribbean history.
44. Christena Memorial built in Charlestown in 2001.
45. Second monument erected at Bath Cemetery in 2011.
46. No monument exists in St. Kitts.
47. Victor Swanston began annual memorials in Gingerland.
48. The tragedy is remembered every August 1 in Nevis.
49. August 1, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary — also on a Saturday.
50. Survivor Oswald Tyson recited Psalm 107 while swimming to safety.
51. Calypsonian King Barky survived by clinging to floating foam.
52. Skeletons of birthday party attendees later seen in the captain’s cabin.
53. Cultural festival Culturama began in 1974 as part of Nevisian identity recovery.
54. Christena tragedy remains a deep scar on Nevisian memory.
55. The Federation’s political landscape was permanently altered.

A MONUMENT IN ST. KITTS – A NATIONAL SYMBOL OF REMEMBRANCE

For decades, Nevis stood as the primary custodian of the Christena legacy, with memorials in Charlestown and at Bath Cemetery. However, in 2022, under the leadership of Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris and his Team Unity administration, a national Christena Memorial Monument was finally commissioned, constructed, and opened on St. Kitts, bringing long-overdue closure to many families and citizens on both islands.

This national project was led by the late Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, Q.C., former Governor-General of the Federation, who brought statesmanship, empathy, and urgency to the effort.

The architectural design and project management were masterfully executed by Mr. Calvin Pemberton, a respected local architect known for his attention to national symbolism and cultural heritage. Construction was carried out by Mr. Russ Isaac, the general contractor, whose craftsmanship brought the vision to life.

The monument stands adjacent to the Old Treasury Building in Basseterre, a location rich in historical relevance. Its unveiling marked a moment of unity, healing, and recognition — a collective step forward in finally honouring all who perished, all who survived, and all who grieved.

We honour these gentlemen for their visionary leadership and service to this worthy national endeavour.

NEVER FORGET

The Christena Disaster was more than a tragedy — it was a catalyst. It reshaped the political, emotional, and cultural identity of Nevis and its people.

The Federation mourns together, but it is Nevis that has shouldered the bulk of the loss and the burden of remembrance.

As the tide continues to wash over the wreck, the call to remember grows louder. To honor. To build. To ensure that never again will so many be lost, so many silenced, so many forgotten.

Fifty-five years later — we still remember. We still grieve. And we still rise.

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