Question: Benjamin Briggs was the captain of a merchant ship  that was discovered deserted off the shores of which Island ?
Context: SS "Michael E" was a  GRT cargo ship that was built in 1941.  She was the first British Catapult Aircraft Merchant ship: a merchant ship fitted with a rocket catapult to launch a single Hawker Hurricane fighter to defend a convoy against long-range German bombers.  She was sunk on her maiden voyage by a German submarine. USNS "Observation Island" (T-AGM-23) was built as the Mariner-class merchant ship "Empire State Mariner" for the United States Maritime Commission, launched 15 August 1953, and operated by United States Lines upon delivery on 24 February 1954, making voyages for the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) until going into reserve at Mobile, Alabama on 9 November 1954.  Title was transferred to the United States Navy on 10 September 1956 and, after conversion, the ship was renamed "Observation Island".  On commissioning the ship was classified as the "experimental miscellaneous auxiliary" (EAG), USS "Observation Island" (EAG-154) supporting fleet ballistic missile development.  On 1 April 1968 "Observation Island" was redesignated as a miscellaneous auxiliary USS "Observation Island" (AG-154).  "Observation Island" was decommissioned and placed in reserve from 1972 until 1977 in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet until withdrawn and then returned in 1978.  The ship was permanently withdrawn April 1979 and placed in service with MSTS successor, the Military Sealift Command. Benjamin Spooner Briggs (April 24, 1835 – probably November 1872) was an experienced United States seaman and master mariner.  He is famous today for being the Captain of the merchant ship "Mary Celeste" when she was discovered unmanned and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean near the Straits of Gibraltar, on December 4, 1872.  The lifeboat was missing, yet the "Mary Celeste" herself was still under sail and there were signs of a sudden and unexplained abandonment.  Benjamin Briggs, his wife Sarah and two-year-old daughter Sophia Matilda, along with the crew of the "Mary Celeste", the lifeboat and sextant, were never found and presumed lost. Nan'ao One (南澳一号) is a 25.5 m , 7.0 m wide ancient Chinese merchant ship that sank in the Sandianjin waters off the coast of Nan'ao Island, about 5.6 nautical miles from Shantou, Guangdong Province, China.  Accidentally discovered by a group of local fishermen in May 2007, it is currently considered the first late Ming dynasty (1368–1644) ship ever found and probably the only one from the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1573–1620) that China has discovered to date. Mary Celeste (often misreported as "Marie Celeste") was an American merchant brigantine, discovered adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Azores Islands, on December 5, 1872.  The Canadian brigantine "Dei Gratia" found her in a dishevelled but seaworthy condition, under partial sail, and with her lifeboat missing.  The last entry in her log was dated ten days earlier.  She had left New York City for Genoa on November 7, and on discovery was still amply provisioned.  Her cargo of denatured alcohol was intact, and the captain's and crew's personal belongings were undisturbed.  None of those who had been on board were ever seen or heard from again. Karl Rose was a naval officer in the German Imperial Navy who served under Karl August Nerger aboard the "SMS Wolf" (auxiliary cruiser) during World War I.  During the "Wolf's" epic 451-day sortie, Rose became Nerger's second in command after the death of kapitänleutnant Iwan Brandes.  Rose was made prize captain of two separate ships during the voyage; the Japanese mailship "Hitachi Maru", and the coal freighter "Igotz Mendi".  On the 7th of November, 1917, the order was given to sink The "Hitachi Maru" in order to preserve what little coal there was for the "Wolf's" engines.  However, Rose would soon be given command of another prize ship ten days later with the capture of the "Igotz Mendi".  Rose would command the "Igotz Mendi" for the rest of the voyage back to Germany.  Rose's fortunes would change when he accidentally ran his ship aground on the beaches of Denmark.  While passing through a minefield laid by the German Navy, Rose spotted mistook a lighthouse for a German patrol boat.  Eventually several Danish warships arrived and Rose attempted to pass the vessel off as a civilian German merchant ship.  However, the Danish sailors were not fooled and refused Rose's requests to be towed, despite his best efforts to maintain control of the situation and return to the ship back to Wilhelmshaven as a prize.  Once aground, Rose and the entire crew were detained by the Danish military police.  This caused a great deal of political bitterness between Denmark and Germany.  There was speculation that Kaiser Wilhelm II would declare war on Denmark for the Danish government's refusal to turn Rose and his men over to the Reich.  Rose was held in Danish prison for the remainder of the war.  After leaving the Navy, became a merchant officer with the Hamburg America Line and served with them until he died. Auguste was a full rigged sailing ship which sank at Aspy Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1761 while carrying exiles from the fall of New France.  "Auguste" was a former French privateer ship which had been captured by the British and converted to a merchant ship.  In September 1761, she was hired by the British government to transport French exiles and prisoners of war from Montreal to France.  For the voyage, she was under the command of Joseph Knowles, an English sea captain.  The ship was unarmed and carried 121 passengers and crew.  Almost immediately upon clearing the mouth of the St. Lawrence on October 28, she encountered a week of contrary winds followed by a nor'west gale and heavy seas which badly damaged the ship.  Leaking heavily with an exhausted crew and damaged rigging, the captain sought a sheltered harbour in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  However Knowles was unable to find a safe refuge as "Auguste" carried only charts of the French coast.  The ship struck land on the northeastern side of Cape Breton Island near an inlet known as Aspy Bay.  Only seven of the 121 made it to shore alive.  These included the captain, the merchant Luc de la Corne, two soldiers, two servants, and one discharged soldier. Vrouw Maria ("Lady Mary") was a Dutch wooden two-masted merchant ship carrying a valuable cargo of art objects, captained by Raymund Lourens, that sank on October 9, 1771, in the outer archipelago of the municipality of Nagu, Finland, 11 kilometers south-east of the island of Jurmo.  In 1999, the ship was discovered by the members of Pro Vrouw Maria, led by Rauno Koivusaari.  A dispute between the discoverers and the authorities was later resolved.  The ship was in good condition when it was discovered, but only six objects from the deck of the ship have been salvaged.  The cargo holds have not been disturbed, so the condition of any art on board remains unknown.  The Finnish National Board of Antiquities is responsible for the ship and all recovery efforts. SS "John W. Brown" is a Liberty ship, one of two still operational and one of three preserved as museum ships.  As a Liberty ship, she operated as a merchant ship of the United States Merchant Marine during World War II and later was a vocational high school training ship in New York City for many years.  Now preserved, she is a museum ship and cruise ship berthed at Clinton Street Pier 1 in Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. The Action of 26 July 1806 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought off the southern coast of the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies.  During the battle, a small British squadron attacked and defeated a Dutch force defending a valuable convoy, which was also captured.  The British force—consisting of the frigate HMS "Greyhound" and brig-sloop HMS "Harrier" under the command of Captain Edward Elphinstone—was initially wary of the Dutch, mistaking the Dutch East Indiaman merchant ship "Victoria" for a ship of the line.  Closer observation revealed the identity of the Dutch vessels the following day and Elphinstone led his frigate against the leading Dutch warship "Pallas while "Harrier" engaged the merchant vessels and forced them to surrender.  Only the corvette "William" escaped, taking no part in the engagement.
Answer: Azores Islands