Writers began calling the ghost ship Mary Celeste the “Marie Celeste” to add to its air of mystery.
One theory had it that there were unstable explosives in the cargo & the captain put everyone & himself in the longboat & tied it to the stern of the ship which was rigged to proceed under sail. The line snapped, the longboat was cut adrift & disappeared, and the Mary Celeste continued to proceed until discovered & boarded.
The explosive is conjectured to have been fumes of alcohol from casks in the hold that had leaked. The proper response was to open all the vents to the hold and to evacuate everyone into a lifeboat attached by a line, returning after enough time had elapsed for the vapors to disperse. Unfortunately, the line parted, stranding the lifeboat on the open seas and leaving a mystery.