The Mont-Blanc was a French general cargo and munitions ship was ordered by the French government to carry significant bulk of explosions from Gravesend Bay, New York to France via Halifax. Despite that the ship had a gross tonnage of 3121 tonnes, a net cargo capacity of 2252 tonnes, it carried 2366.5 tons of picric acid, 250 tons of TNT, 62.1 tons of gun cotton. On the night of December 1, 1917, the Mont-Banc sailed in darkness to join the next available convoy for Bordeaux, France at Halifax. It flew no flags warning of its cargo as this would be a prime target for German attack. the Mont-Blanc was a slow ship, under the current load she was unable to keep up with the larger and faster ships due to leave New York. Furthermore, the ship was
