The harbour was the site of a notorious 15 March 1889 naval standoff in which seven ships — from Germany, the US, and Britain —refused to leave the harbour, even though a typhoon was clearly approaching, lest the first one to move lose face. All the ships sank or were damaged beyond repair, except for the British cruiser ''Calliope'', which managed to leave port, traveling at a rate of one mile per hour, and was able to ride out the storm. Nearly 200 American and German lives were lost.