List of maritime disasters
Encyclopedia
Notable disasters
The sinking of in 1912 with 1,523 fatalities, is probably the most famous shipwreck. The wartime sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff during World War II, with an estimated loss of about 9,300 people in 1945 remains the greatest maritime disaster ever. In peacetime, the loss of the Doña Paz with an estimated 4,386 dead is the largest non-military loss recorded involving a single ship.Peacetime disasters
Many maritime disasters happen outside the realms of war. All ships, including those of the military, are vulnerable to problems from weather conditions, faulty design or human error. Some of the disasters below occurred during periods of conflict, although their losses were unrelated to any military action. The listing is in descending order of the magnitude of casualties suffered.
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- MV Doña PazMV Doña PazThe MV Doña Paz was a Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after colliding with the on December 20, 1987. With a death toll of at most 4,375 people, the collision resulted in the deadliest ferry disaster in history...
(PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
) - On 20 December 1987, the passenger ferryFerryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
Doña Paz collided with the oil tankerOil tankerAn oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
Vector. The resulting fire and sinking left an estimated 4,341 dead. - (China) - The Kiangya was a passenger steamship that blew up and sank in the mouth of the Huangpu RiverHuangpu RiverThe Huangpu River is a -long river in China flowing through Shanghai...
50 mi (80.5 km) south of ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
on 4 December 1948. The suspected cause of the explosion was the Kiangya hitting a mineNaval mineA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
left behind by the Imperial Japanese NavyImperial Japanese NavyThe Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
during World War II. The exact death toll is unknown, however, it is thought that between 2,750 and 3,920 died with 700-1,000 survivors being picked up by other vessels. and the Halifax ExplosionHalifax ExplosionThe Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
(Canada) - On 6 December 1917, the city of HalifaxCity of HalifaxHalifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the French cargo ship Mont-Blanc, which was fully loaded with wartime explosives, after a collision with the Norwegian ship Imo. The collision happened in "The Narrows" section of Halifax HarbourHalifax HarbourHalifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
. About 2,000 people were killed by falling debris, fires or collapsing buildings, over 9,000 people were injured, particularly by flying glass. This explosion is still ranked as the largest accidental explosion of conventional weapons to date. - Le Joola (SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
) - On 26 September 2002, the overloaded ferry Le Joola capsized in rough seas with an estimated death toll of more than 1,800. - Tek SingTek SingThe Tek Sing was a large three-masted Chinese ocean-going junk which sank on February 6, 1822 in an area of the South China Sea known as the Belvidere Shoals. The vessel was 50 meters in length, 10 meters wide and weighed about a thousand tons. Its tallest mast was estimated to be 90 feet in...
(China) A junkJunk (ship)A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
struck a reef near Indonesia and sank on 6 February 1822, leaving an estimated 1,600 dead. (Great Britain) - A passenger liner and at the time the world's largest ship. On 14 April 1912, during its maiden voyage, the Titanic collided with an iceberg, buckling a part of the hull and mortally wounding the ship. In total, only 31.8% of the ship's 2,228 passengers and crew survived, leaving 1,523 dead. This disaster was the catalyst for major reforms in safety for the shipping industry and is arguably the most famous maritime disaster of all time, being the subject of countless media portrayals. - The Scilly naval disaster of 1707Scilly naval disaster of 1707Scilly naval disaster of 1707 is an umbrella term for the events of 22 October 1707 that led to the sinking of a British naval fleet off the Isles of Scilly. With four large ships and more than 1,400 sailors lost in stormy weather, it was one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of...
(Great Britain) - On the night of 22 October 1707, a Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
fleet on their way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth sailed through dangerous reefs west of the Isles of ScillyIsles of ScillyThe Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
. Four ships sank. The exact number of sailors killed is unknown. Statements vary between 1,400 and over 2,000. It was later determined that the main cause of the disaster was the navigatorNavigatorA navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
s' inability to calculate their longitudeLongitudeLongitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
accurately. - Toya MaruToya MaruThe was a Japanese train ferry constructed by the Japanese National Railways which sank during a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū on September 26, 1954. It is said that 1,153 people aboard were killed in the accident...
(Japan) -A Japanese passenger ferry that sank during Typhoon Marie in the Tsugaru StraitTsugaru Straitis a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
between the Japanese islands of HokkaidōHokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
and HonshūHonshuis the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
on 26 September 1954. It is said that 1,153 people aboard were killed in the accident. However, the exact number of fatalities remains unknown because some victims managed to get on board the ship unticketed and others cancelled their passage just before the incident. (Canada) - On 29 May 1914, the Empress of Ireland sank after colliding with SS StorstadStorstadThe Storstad was a 6,000 ton Norwegian collier , built in 1910 in Newcastle upon Tyne, owned by A. F. Klaveness & Co. She was torpedoed and sunk during World War I on March 8, 1917 by U-62 at .-Disaster:...
on the Saint Lawrence RiverSaint Lawrence RiverThe Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
claiming 1,012 lives. - Al Salam Boccaccio 98 (EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
) - On 3 February 2006, the ro-ro passenger ferry Al Salam Boccaccio 98 sank in the Red SeaRed SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
en route from Duba, Saudi ArabiaDubaDuba is a small city on the northern Red Sea coast, of Saudi Arabia. It is in Tabuk Province. Local citizens describe it as The Pearl of the Red Sea. Population: Population of Duba is about 65,000.-History:...
, to Safaga in southern Egypt. The ship was carrying 1,312 passengers and 96 crew members at the time of the disaster. Only 388 persons were saved and over 1,000 were lost. - SS General SlocumGeneral SlocumThe PS General Slocum was a passenger steamboat built at Brooklyn, New York, in 1891. The General Slocum was named for Civil War officer and New York Congressman Henry Warner Slocum. She operated in the New York City area as an excursion steamer for the next thirteen years under the same ownership...
(United States) - The General Slocum caught fire and sank in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's East RiverEast RiverThe East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
on 15 June 1904. More than 1,000 people died in the accident, making it New York City's worst loss-of-life incident until the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (Japan) - Sank during a typhoon in the Pacific Ocean 22 September 1912. It is estimated that more than 1,000 persons lost their lives. (SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) - On 3 March 1921, the Hong Moh struck the White Rocks on Lamock Island near Swatow (Shantou) on the southern coast of China. She broke in two and sank with the loss of about 1,000 lives out of the 1,100 aboard. - MS Estonia (EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
) - The MS Estonia sank in heavy seas on 28 September 1994. An investigation claimed that the failure of the bow visor door allowed water from the Baltic SeaBaltic SeaThe Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to enter the ship. The accident claimed almost 1,000 lives. Only 137 survived. (United States) - On 24 July 1915, while moored to the dock in the Chicago River, the capacity load of passengers shifted to the river side of the ship causing it to roll over, killing 845 passengers and crew. - (Great Britain) - Just before midnight on 9 July 1917 at Scapa Flow, HMS Vanguard suffered an explosion, probably caused by an unnoticed stokehold fire heating corditeCorditeCordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom from 1889 to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. Like gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burning rates and consequently low brisance...
stored against an adjacent bulkhead in one of the two magazines which served the amidships gun turrets "P" and "Q". She sank almost instantly, killing an estimated 843 men; there were only two survivors. - MV BukobaMV BukobaMV Bukoba was a Lake Victoria ferry that carried passengers and cargo between the Tanzanian ports of Bukoba and Mwanza. On 21 May 1996 she sank with great loss of life, reported as up to 1000 passengers drowned. This occurred in of water, off Mwanza....
(TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
) - The overloaded Bukoba sank on 21 May 1996 on Lake VictoriaLake VictoriaLake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
. While the ship's manifest showed 443 aboard, it is estimated that about 800 people died in the sinking. - sank while moored at PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
while the ship was being heeled for repairs on the underside on 29 August 1782 with a full crew and a considerable number of visitors on board. The ship heeled too far and began taking water in the gun ports and sank. More than 800 lives were lost including up to 300 women and 60 children as well as the captain. (Great Britain) - On 26 November 1914, a powerful internal explosion ripped the Bulwark apart at 7:50am while she was moored at Number 17 buoy in Kethole Reach, 4 mi (6.4 km) west of SheernessSheernessSheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
in the River MedwayRiver MedwayThe River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
estuary. All of her officers were lost, and out of her complement of 750, only 14 sailors survived; two of these men subsequently died of their injuries in hospital. (Great Britain) - The Camorta was caught in a cycloneCycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
and sank in the Irrawaddy DeltaIrrawaddy DeltaThe Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Ayeyarwady Region , the lowest expanse of land in Burma that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, 290 km to the south at the mouth of the Ayeyarwady River...
on 6 May 1902 with the loss of all 655 passengers and 82 crew. She was en route from Madras, India, to Rangoon, Burma, across the Bay of BengalBay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. - MV Princess of the StarsMV Princess of the StarsMV Princess of the Stars was a ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines that capsized off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen on June 21, 2008...
(Philippines) - On 21 June 2008, the ferry Princess of the Stars capsized and sank in Typhoon FengshenTyphoon Fengshen (2008)Typhoon Fengshen was the sixth named storm and the fourth typhoon recognised by the Japan Meteorological Agency...
off the coast of San Fernando, RomblonSan Fernando, RomblonSan Fernando is a 4th class municipality in the province of Romblon, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 21,214 people in 4,159 households.-Barangays:San Fernando is politically subdivided into 12 barangays.* Agtiwa...
, in the Philippines. Of the estimated 747 people aboard, only 57 survived. (Denmark) - On 28 June 1904 the Norge ran aground close to RockallRockallRockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office....
on St. Helen's Reef. The final death toll was 635 with 160 survivors who spent up to eight days in open lifeboats before rescue. - Ramdas1947 Ramdas Ship Disaster1947 Ramdas Ship Disaster was a ship disaster that occurred near Mumbai in India. The Indian passenger ship Ramdas bound for Rewas in Maharashta on July 17, 1947 capsized near Gull Island, ten miles from the Colaba Point at Mumbai killing 625 people on board....
(India) - On 17 July 1947 the Ramdas capsized 10 miles from MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, killing 625 people on board. The disaster only became known as survivors swam ashore. - NovorossiyskItalian battleship Giulio CesareGiulio Cesare , motto Caesar Adest was a Conte di Cavour-class battleship that served in the Regia Marina in both World Wars before joining the Soviet Navy as the Novorossiysk. Her keel was laid down on 24 June 1910 at Cantieri Ansaldo, Genoa...
(Soviet Union) - On 29 October 1955, the Novorossiysk was moored in Sevastopol Bay, 300 meters (1000 feet) from shore and opposite a hospital. At 1:30am, an explosion of undetermined origin occurred. The Novorossiysk capsized and sank with the loss of 608 sailors. - Shamia (BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) - On 27 May 1986, the ferry Shamia capsized and sank during a storm on the Meghna RiverMeghna RiverThe Meghna River is an important river in Bangladesh, one of the three that forms the Ganges Delta, the largest on earth fanning out to the Bay of Bengal. Being a part of the Surma-Meghna River System, Meghna is formed inside Bangladesh by the joining of different rivers originaing from the hilly...
in southern Barisa, Bangladesh. An estimated 600 people lost their lives. (Great Britain) - On 3 September 1878 the Princess Alice was making what was billed as a "Moonlight Trip" to GravesendNorthfleetNorthfleet is a town in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. Its name is derived from North creek , and the settlement on the shore of the River Thames adjacent to Gravesend was known as Norfluet in the Domesday Book, and Northflet in 1201...
and back. The Bywell CastleBywell CastleBywell Castle is situated in the village of Bywell overlooking the River Tyne, four miles east of Corbridge, Northumberland, England . It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument...
collided with the Princess Alice off Tripcock Point. The Princess Alice broke in two and sank within four minutes with an estimated 600 people losing their lives. (United States) - On 16 April 1947, the French registered ex-liberty shipLiberty shipLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
caught fire and exploded dockside while being loaded with ammonium nitrate at Texas City, TexasTexas City, TexasTexas City is a city in Chambers and Galveston counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 41,521 at the 2000 census. It is a part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. In what came to be called the Texas City DisasterTexas City DisasterThe Texas City Disaster was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history. The incident took place on April 16, 1947, and began with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp which was docked in the Port of Texas City...
an estimated 581 people, including 28 firefighters, were killed and 5,000 were injured. (France) - The passenger steamer was sunk on 4 July 1898 after a collision in dense fog with the British ship Cromartyshire off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. At the time of the disaster she was carrying 730 passengers and crew, of whom 565 were lost. (Great Britain) - During the ship's 19th voyage, on 1 April 1873, it ran onto rocks and sank off the coast of Nova Scotia, killing 535 people. - ErtuğrulErtugrul (Ottoman frigate)This article is about the Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul. For the Ottoman leader, see Ertuğrul.Ertuğrul, launched in 1863, was a sailing frigate of the Ottoman Navy. While returning from a goodwill voyage from Japan in 1890, she encountered a typhoon off the coast of Wakayama Prefecture, subsequently...
(Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
) - Sank on 18 September 1890 after striking a reef during a typhoon off Kushimoto, Japan. The maritime accident resulted in the loss of 533 sailors including Admiral Ali Osman Pasha. (Great Britain) - The Sussex was lost in a severe storm on 1 March 1694 off GibraltarGibraltarGibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
. There were only two survivors out of a crew of 500. - SS ValbaneraValbaneraThe Valbanera was a steamship operated by the Pinillos Line of Spain from 1905 until 1919, when it sank in a hurricane with the loss of all 488 crew and passengers aboard. The Valbanera was a steamer capable of carrying close to 1,200 passengers. It sailed a regular route between Spain and Puerto...
(Spain) - Sank in the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
45 mi (72.4 km) west of Key West, FloridaKey West, FloridaKey West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
during a hurricane in September 1919. All of the 488 crew and passengers were killed. (Great Britain) - On 7 September 1870, the Captain capsized and sank in high winds on the Atlantic Ocean. An estimated 480 sailors perished, 18 sailors survived. - CospatrickCospatrick (ship)The Cospatrick was a wooden 3-masted full-rigged sailing ship that was the victim of one of the worst shipping disasters to a merchant ship during the 19th century. The ship caught fire south of the Cape of Good Hope on 17 November 1874 while on a voyage from Gravesend, England to Auckland, New...
(Great Britain) - The Cospatrick caught fire south of the Cape of Good HopeCape of Good HopeThe Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
on 17 November 1874 while on a voyage from GravesendGravesend, KentGravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, England, to AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand. Only three of 472 persons on board at the time ultimately survived. - MV Salahuddin-2MV Salahuddin-2MV Salahuddin-2 was a ferry that sunk in the Meghna River south of Dhaka, Bangladesh on the night of May 3, 2002, killing more than 450 people.-External links:* *...
(Bangladesh) - On the night of 3 May 2002, the ferry Salahuddin-2 sank in the Meghna River south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 450 people. (United States) - Sank off the CarolinasThe CarolinasThe Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
during a hurricane on 9 September 1857. An estimated 425 out of 578 aboard perished. (Soviet Union) - On 31 August 1986, Admiral Nakhimov collided with the large bulk carrierBulk carrierA bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
Pyotr Vasyov in Tsemes BayTsemes BayThe Tsemes Bay is an ice-free bay located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, in Krasnodar Krai of Russia. It takes its name from the Tsemes River which flows into the bay. The depth of the sea varies from 21 to 27 meters...
, near the port of NovorossiyskNovorossiyskNovorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
, Russian SFSR. 423 of the 1,234 people on board died. - MV Nasrin-1MV Nasrin-1MV Nasrin-1 was a ferry that sunk in the Meghna River near Chandpur, Bangladesh, on the midnight of July 8, 2003, killing more than 400 people.-External links:*...
(Bangladesh) - At midnight on 8 July 2003, the passenger ferry Nasrin-1 capsized and sank in the Meghna River near Chandpur, BangladeshChandpur DistrictChandpur is a district in east-central Bangladesh. It is located at the mouth of the Meghna River. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. The town of Chandpur is terminus of a metre gauge branch of Bangladesh Railways. It also has a water terminal situated here.-Geography:Chandpur district has a...
, killing more than 400 people. - Reina Regente (Spain) - the cruiser sank in a storm on 9 March 1895, with the loss of all 420 crewmen.
- Cataraqui (Great Britain) - An emigrant ship bound for Australia, the Cataraqui struck a reef south-west of King Island, TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, on 4 August 1845. The sinking is Australia's worst ever maritime civil disaster, claiming the lives of 400 people. - Lady Elgin (United States) - Sunk in a collision with the schoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Augusta of Oswego on Lake MichiganLake MichiganLake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
on 8 September 1860 with the loss of about 400 lives. (Great Britain) - On 16 March 1801, she was damaged in a storm and driven onto a sandbar off the coast of Norfolk. The following day the Invincible drifted off the sandbar and sank in deep water. Over 400 sailors drowned in the disaster, 196 were saved. (Great Britain) - In what would come to foreshadow the Titanic tragedy, the Charles Moore & Company clipper shipClipperA clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
Tayleur grounded and sank during its maiden voyageMaiden voyageThe maiden voyage of a ship, aircraft or other craft is the first journey made by the craft after shakedown. A number of traditions and superstitions are associated with it....
. The accident happened off Lambay IslandLambay IslandLambay lies off the coast of Fingal / north County Dublin, Ireland in the Irish Sea. It is located north of Ireland's Eye at and is the easternmost point of the Republic of Ireland...
, Dublin BayDublin BayDublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south...
, on 21 January 1854. Out of the 652 people on board 380 lives were lost, many of them immigrants. (Great Britain) - On 24 March 1878, the training ship Eurydice was caught in a heavy snow storm off the Isle of WightIsle of WightThe Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, capsized, and sank. Only two of the ship's 378 crew and trainees survived, most of those not carried down with the ship dying of exposure in the freezing waters. - Arniston - On 30 May 1815, the East Indiaman was wrecked during a storm on the South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n coast after a navigational error; 372 lives were lost, with only 6 survivors. (Great Britain) - Accidentally rammed by the and sank on 22 June 1893 during annual summer fleet exercises off TripoliTripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
in Syria (now part of Lebanon) when Admiral Tryon ordered two parallel lines of ships to turn toward each other. Out of a crew of 715 aboard the Victoria, 357 crew were rescued, 358 died. Known as Admiral Tryon's blunder. - SIEV XSIEV XSIEV X stands for Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel X. SIEV is the acronym used by the surveillance authority for any boat that has entered Australian waters without prior authorisation and the X is a designation where a tracking number has not or is yet to be assigned, in accordance with Australian...
(Australia) - A boat carrying over 400 Asylum seekers to Australia sank on October 19, 2001. 353 people died in the disaster. The Australian government has been strongly criticized for not doing anything to help the survivors for three days. (Great Britain) - On the evening of 20 October 1806, she struck a submerged reef on the EsquirquesSkerki BanksThe Skerki Banks are an area of relatively shallow open sea, situated in the central Mediterranean in the Strait of Sicily between Sicily and Tunisia, at approximately ....
, in the Strait of SicilyStrait of SicilyThe Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Its maximum depth is ....
and sank. In all, 347 people died, 141 men and two women were rescued. - SS Princess SophiaPrincess Sophia (steamer)The SS Princess Sophia was a steel-built coastal passenger liner in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway . Along with the SS Princess Adelaide the SS Princess Alice and the SS Princess Mary, the SS Princess Sophia was one of four sister ships built for CPR during 1910-1911.On...
(Canada) - The Princess Sophia ran aground on 23 October 1918. After rescue ships were unable to assist due to the ongoing storm, she sank on the night of 25 October. The only survivor found was a pet dog from the 343 aboard. (Germany) - On 7 May 1875, the Schiller sank after hitting the Retarrier Ledges in the Isles of Scilly. Most of her crew and passengers were lost, totalling 335 fatalities. (Germany) - Sank on 30 January 1895 after a collision with the steamship Crathie in the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. One lifeboat with 20 people in it was recovered out of 354 passengers on the ship. (Japan) - On 14 May 1904, the cruiserCruiserA cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
sank with the loss of 319 lives after a collision. 19 survived. (France) - battleship that suffered an accidental ammunition explosion in 1911, about 300 people were killed. (United States) - On the evening of 4 November 1875, the Pacific was involved in a collision with the SS Orpheus off the coast of Cape Flattery, Washington. Both vessels continued on their way, the captain of the Orpheus later testified he was unaware of the collision. Only two people survived out of 300 on board. - NorthfleetNorthfleet (ship)The Northfleet was a British full rigged ship that is best remembered for its disastrous sinking in the English Channel in January 1873.The Northfleet was a Blackwall Frigate of 951 tons gross, 895 net registered tons on dimensions of between perpendiculars, beam and depth of hold...
(Great Britain) - On the night of 22 January 1873, the Northfleet was at anchor about two or three miles (5 km) off Dungeness. Around 10.30 pm, she was run down by the steamer Murillo that backed off and disappeared into the darkness. In the ensuing panic a total of 293 people were drowned. - New Era (United States) - On 13 November 1854, the New Era sank after grounding in a storm at Deal Beach in New Jersey. Of the 427 aboard, an estimated 284 died. (United States) - On 15 February 1898, while at anchor in HavanaHavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
(Cuba) harbor, an explosion of undetermined origin in the ship's magazineMagazine (artillery)Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
damaged and sank the ship. Of the 374 officers and men aboard, 266 died immediately, another eight died later from their injuries. The sinking of the Maine precipitated the Spanish-American WarSpanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. - Great Lakes Storm of 1913Great Lakes Storm of 1913The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, historically referred to as the "Big Blow", "Jeff Kinsland's Wash," the "Freshwater Fury" or the "White Hurricane", was a blizzard with hurricane-force winds that devastated the Great Lakes Basin in the Midwestern United States and the Canadian province of Ontario...
(United States) - A cyclonic blizzardBlizzardA blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
(sometimes referred to as an inland hurricane) on the Great LakesGreat LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
that occurred between 7 and 10 November 1913. In total 12 ships were sunk with a combined crew loss of 255. An additional seven ships were damaged beyond repair, 19 more ships that had been stranded were later salvaged. - PowhatanPowhattan (1854)The Powhattan or Powhatan was a United States ship that is best remembered as one of the worst New Jersey shipwrecks in terms of loss of life. The number of victims varies according to sources between 200 and 365....
(United States) - On 16 April 1854, the Powhatan sank off the coast of New Jersey in a severe storm with no survivors. The loss of life was estimated by various sources to be between 250 and 311 people. (Great Britain) - The Avenger sailed from Gibraltar on 17 December 1847 bound for Malta. On 20 December she ran onto the Sorelle RocksSorelle RocksThe Sorelle Rocks are two submerged rocks approximately west of Galita Island near Malta, at approximately ....
near Malta. Only eight crew members out of 250 survived. - NevaNeva (ship)The Neva was a three-masted barque that as a convict ship was wrecked in Bass Strait on 13 May 1835. One of the worst shipwrecks in Australian history, 224 lives were lost.-Origins of the Neva:...
(Great Britain) - The Neva was a convict shipConvict shipThe term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
that left CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland, bound for SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia. On 13 May 1835, the ship was wrecked on a reef near King Island, Tasmania. 224 lives, mainly women and children, were lost. (Great Britain) - Around 27 July 1909, the 500 ft (152.4 m) steamer Waratah, en route from Australia to London, was lost without trace off DurbanDurbanDurban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
on the east-coast of South Africa. All 211 on board were lost. The disappearance of the ship remains one of the most baffling nautical mysteries of all time. - IolaireIolaireThe Iolaire was an Admiralty yacht whose sinking on the 1 January 1919 in the Minch strait was one of the worst maritime disasters in United Kingdom waters during the 20th century...
(United Kingdom) - The Iolaire (Scottish Gaelic for "Eagle") was an Admiralty yacht that hit rocks and sank on 1 January 1919 just off the island of LewisLewisLewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
, carrying soldiers coming home from World War I. At least 205 men perished of the 280 aboard. - Sovnarkom - on 10 May 1921 crashed into NovosibirskNovosibirskNovosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
railway bridge and sank in the ObOb RiverThe Ob River , also Obi, is a major river in western Siberia, Russia and is the world's seventh longest river. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean .The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary.-Names:The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the...
river, resulting in the death of at least 225 (according to other estimates, 400). - Brazilian battleship AquidabãBrazilian battleship AquidabãAquidabã, anglicized as Aquidaban, was a Brazilian ironclad warship built in the mid-1880s. The ship participated in two naval revolts; during the second she was sunk by a government torpedo boat. After being refloated, Aquidabã was sent to Germany for repairs and modernization...
(Brazil) was a Brazilian ironclad warship built in the mid-1880s. On 21 January 1906, the powder magazines of the ship blew up, sinking the ship within three minutes. 212 people were killed. (Greece) - On 8 December 1966, while en route from the port of Souda to Piraeus in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, the RO-RO car ferryRORORoll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
capsized and sank in the Aegean Sea. The sinking resulted in the deaths of over 200 people with 47 being saved. It was later determined that an unsecured vehicle had broken through the loading door, which allowed seawater to enter the ship. - SS Atlantic (United States) - Sank after a collision with the steamer Ogdensburg off Long Point on Lake ErieLake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
on 20 August 1852. It is estimated that between 150 and 200 people lost their lives of the more than 500 persons on board. - MS Herald of Free Enterprise (Great Britain) - Capsized and sank on 6 March 1987 due to taking on water just minutes after leaving the harbour at Zeebrugge in Belgium. The doors to the car decks were left open by the Assistant Bosun, Mark Stanley, causing the ferry to take on water and quickly capsize. Of the 539 aboard, 193 passengers and crew died.
- SS PortlandPortland GaleThe Portland Gale was a storm that struck the coast of New England on November 26 and 27, 1898. The storm formed when two low pressure areas merged off the coast of Virginia and travelled up the coast; at its peak, it produced a storm surge of about ten feet in Cohasset harbor and hurricane-force...
(United States) - On 26 November 1898, the steamship SS Portland left India WharfIndia WharfIndia Wharf was one of the largest commercial wharves in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by Charles Bulfinch, it was built in 1804 to accommodate international trade...
in Boston, Massachusetts, for Portland, MainePortland, MainePortland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, on a regularly scheduled run. She never reached her destination. None of the 192 passengers and crew survived the massive storm that also wreaked havoc on New England's coast — a storm that was later dubbed "The Portland Gale" after the tragic loss of the ship. (Canada) - Lost in a storm between 31 March and 3 April 1914. Believed to be in the vicinity of Cape PineCape PineThe Headland of Cape Pine is the point of land marking the boundary of Trepassey Bay on the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador....
. The entire crew of 173 were lost in the sinking. (Canada) - Sank after striking a reef at Horn Head Point Cape RaceCape RaceCape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare"...
near Cappahayden, Newfoundland, Canada, on 23 February 1918. 173 people died. - Shiun Maru (Japan) -11 May 1955 Collided in dense fog with sister ship Uko Maru in the Seto Inland Sea and sank with the loss of 166 passengers and two crew members.
- MadagascarMadagascar (ship)The Madagascar was a large British merchant ship built for the trade to India and China in 1837, which went missing on a voyage from Melbourne to London in 1853...
- The full rigged ship disappeared without a trace in 1853 after sailing from MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
for London, with the loss of about 110 passengers and about 50 crew. - MS Scandinavian Star (Denmark) - caught fire in 1990 on route between Norway and Denmark with the loss of 157 lives.
- MV Princess of the OrientMV Princess of the OrientMV Princess of the Orient was a passenger ferry owned by Sulpicio Lines that sank off Fortune Island, near Batangas City in September 1998.-The sinking:...
(Philippines) - On 18 September 1998, the Princess of the Orient, while traveling from ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
to CebuCebuCebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
, sailed into Typhoon Vicky. She capsized at 12:55 pm near Fortune IslandFortune Island (Philippines)Fortune Island is a resort island in the Philippines. The 27-hectare island lies about off the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines...
in BatangasBatangasBatangas is a first class province of the Philippines located on the southwestern part of Luzon in the CALABARZON region. Its capital is Batangas City and it is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Laguna to the north and Quezon to the east. Across the Verde Island Passages to the south is the...
. Of 388 passengers on board, an estimated 150 perished. Passengers floated in the sea for more than 12 hours before rescuers were able to reach the survivors. - SS Larchmont (United States) - On 12 February 1907, the paddlewheel steamship Larchmont sank off Block Island, Rhode Island after a collision with the schooner Harry Knowlton. An estimated 150 persons of the 200 on board died.
- MS Express Samina (Greece) - On 26 September 2000, the RO-RO ferry Express Samina hit a reef and sank at 23:02 near the island of ParosParosParos is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets...
. 143 people died: 82 of the 473 passengers, plus 61 crew. - MV Cebu CityMV Cebu CityMV Cebu City was a ferry operated by William Lines Incorporated which later merged with Aboitiz Incorporated in 1996. On December 2, 1994, the 2,452 tonnes ferry sunk in Manila Bay after colliding with Singaporean freighter Kota Suria claiming 140 lives. After the investigation by the Philippine...
(Philippines) - On 2 December 1994, the ferry sank in Manila BayManila BayManila Bay is a natural harbor which serves the Port of Manila , in the Philippines.The bay is considered to be one of the best natural harbors in Southeast Asia and one of the finest in the world...
after colliding with a Singaporean freighter, the Kota Suria. The accident claimed 140 lives. - Moby PrinceMoby PrinceMoby Prince was an Italian ferry owned by Navarma Lines which crashed near Livorno on April 10, 1991.Built in 1967 by the English shipyard Cammell Laird of Birkenhead as Koningin Juliana for ferry operator Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland of the Netherlands, it was used on the Harwich to Hook of...
(Italy) - On 10 April 1991, the ferry Moby Prince collided with the oil tanker Agip Abruzzo in Livorno harbourLivornoLivorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
and caught fire, killing 140 people. (New Zealand) - On 29 October 1894, the steamship Wairarapa, en route from Sydney to Auckland, ran into Great Barrier IslandGreat Barrier IslandGreat Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of it is the fourth-largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, with its highest point, Mount Hobson, rising...
. She was traveling at nearly full speed through heavy fog. Approximately 140 out of 230 people on board lost their lives. (Canada) - Caught fire at the dockside in Toronto HarbourToronto HarbourToronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. It is a commercial port on the Great Lakes as well as a recreational harbour...
on 16 September 1949. Estimates ranged from 118 to 139 fatalities. Most of the deaths were from suffocation or burns. However, some died from being trampled or from leaping off the upper decks onto the pier; only one person drowned. - A coastal passenger and cargo steamship in Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
which sank at an unknown location during a cyclone on 20 March 1912 with the loss of approximately 138 lives, including 20 crew. Other than some floating wreckage, no trace was ever found of the ship. (United States) - In the early morning hours of 8 September 1934, while en route from Havana to New York, the Morro Castle caught fire and burned, killing 137 passengers and crew members out of the 549 on board. The ship was beached near Asbury Park, New JerseyAsbury Park, New JerseyAsbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...
, and remained there for several months until she was eventually towed away and sold for scrap. (Finland) - A steamship that sank after capsizing in high winds on 7 September 1929 in Lake NäsijärviNäsijärviNäsijärvi is a lake above sea level, in Pirkanmaa region, Finland. Näsijärvi is the biggest lake in the Tampere region at in size. The city of Tampere was built around the rapids of Tammerkoski, through which the lake drains into Pyhäjärvi. The water quality of the lake has improved as forest...
near Tampere, Finland. It is estimated that between 136 and 138 people lost their lives. (United States) - Shortly before midnight on 22 January 1906, she struck a reef near Pachena Point on the southwest coast of Vancouver IslandVancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
and sank. Estimates of the number of lives lost in the disaster vary widely, with some sources listing it at 117 while others claim it was as high as 181; according to the federal report, the official death toll was 136 persons. 37 men survived, but every woman and child on the Valencia died in the disaster. - Aleksandr Suvorov (near UlyanovskUlyanovskUlyanovsk The city is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin , for whom it is named.-History:Simbirsk was founded in 1648 by the boyar Bogdan Khitrovo. The fort of "Simbirsk" was strategically placed on a hill on the Western bank of the Volga River...
, Soviet Union) - on 5 June 1983 Suvorov crashed into a girder of the Ulyanovsk railway bridge. The catastrophe led to 177 deaths yet the ship stayed afloat, was restored and is still in use. - Majakovskis (RigaRigaRiga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Soviet Union) - sank in the Daugava on 13 August 1950, 147 perished. - A British India Line merchant ship, on a regular route between Great Britain, India and the Far East. She was wrecked on the Far North Queensland coast on 28 February 1890. Of the 292 people aboard, 134 perished. - MV Princess VictoriaMV Princess VictoriaMV Princess Victoria was one of the earliest roll-on/roll-off ferries. Built in 1947, she operated from Stranraer to Larne. During a severe European windstorm on 31 January 1953, she sank in the North Channel with the loss of 133 lives, the deadliest maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters...
(United Kingdom) - Sank on 31 January 1953 in the North ChannelNorth Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)The North Channel is the strait which separates eastern Northern Ireland from southwestern Scotland...
(between Scotland and Northern Ireland), during a severe storm with the loss of 133 lives. The sinking of the Princess Victoria was the deadliest maritime disaster in United Kingdom waters since World War II. - BulgariaBulgaria (ship)Bulgaria was a class 785/OL800 Russian river cruise ship which operated in the Volga-Don basin. On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River near Syukeyevo, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District, Tatarstan, Russia, with 201 passengers and crew aboard when sailing from the...
(near SyukeyevoSyukeyevoSyukeyevo is a village in Kamsko-Ustyinsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the bank of the Mordovskaya River , 23 kilometers south-west of Kamskoye Ustye, the administrative center of the district. Population: 750 ; 792 ; all ethnic Russians. There is a secondary school...
, TatarstanTatarstanThe Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
, Russia) - sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga river on 10 July 2011 in a storm while when sailing from the town of BolgarBolgar (town)Bolgar is a town and the administrative center of Spassky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River, from Kazan. Population:...
to the KazanKazanKazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. Of the 201 people aboard 112 perished. (Great Britain) - The Ontario sank in a storm on 31 October 1780 while under way from Fort NiagaraFort NiagaraFort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
to OswegoOswego, New YorkOswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
. Approximately 130 men perished with the ship, comprising 60 British soldiers of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot, a crew of about 40 Canadians and possibly up to 30 American prisoners of warPrisoner of warA prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. News of the Ontarios sinking was kept quiet for a number of years to hide the military loss. - The Fourth disaster - a boat sank in the Volga near YaroslavlYaroslavlYaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
, Soviet Union on 9 July 1933. At least 98 perished. - TSMS LakoniaTSMS LakoniaThe TSMS Lakonia, originally named MS Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, was an ocean liner and troop ship that operated for over 30 years, before burning on December 22, 1963 with high loss of life.-Construction:...
(Greece) - Caught fire and burned in the Atlantic Ocean on 22 December 1963. 128 people died, of whom 95 were passengers and 33 were crew members. Only 53 people were killed in the actual fire. The rest died from exposure, drowning, and injuries sustained while diving overboard. (Great Britain) - The SS Daphne capsized and sank moments after her naming and launchingShip naming and launchingThe ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
at a shipyard in Govan,GlasgowGovanGovan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on 3 July 1883. When launched, the Daphne had a work crew aboard to continue fitting out the ship. Although 70 people were saved, an estimated 124-195 died, which included many young boys. (United States) - En route from Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, this passenger ship sank on 21 February 1901 after striking a submerged reef at the entry to San Francisco BaySan Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, killing more than 135 passengers and crew. (Great Britain) - A steamship that sank in a typhoon on 10 October 1892, off the coast of FormosaFormosaFormosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
, killing 125 people. (Great Britain) - A steamship on a cross-ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
run that sank in 1905 with the loss of 125 lives. - DunbarDunbar (shipwreck)The Dunbar was a full-rigged ship that was wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1857 with the loss of 121 lives.The Dunbar was launched on 30 November 1853 for London shipowner Duncan Dunbar and entered the passenger and cargo trade between London and Sydney early the following...
- She was wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour, Australia, in 1857 with the loss of 121 lives. (Australia) - The Yongala sank off Cape Bowling Green, Australia, after steaming into a cyclone. There were no survivors of the 122 on board. (Great Britain) - A steamerSteamboatA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
that sank off CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
after hitting a reef on 14 October 1898, with the loss of 106 lives; 40 were rescued by shore-based lifeboat. (Great Britain) - A steamship that was wrecked on the Barrier Reef off the north Queensland coast in a cyclone-strength storm, killing between 98 and 112 persons, 22 survived. - SS City of ColumbusCity of ColumbusThe passenger steamer City of Columbus ran aground on Devil’s Bridge off the Gay Head Cliffs in Aquinnah, Massachusetts, USA in January 1884. She was owned by Boston & Savannah Steamship Co. and was built in 1878. She was an early iron steamer with a tonnage of 2,200. She drew 26 feet and had a...
(United States) - A passenger steamer that ran aground off Massachusetts in January 1884. Approximately 100 people froze to death or drowned, only 29 were saved by land-based rowboats and a revenue cutter. (United Kingdom) - A T class submarineBritish T class submarineThe Royal Navy's T class of diesel-electric submarines was designed in the 1930s to replace the O, P and R classes. Fifty-three members of the class were built just before and during the Second World War, where they played a major role in the Royal Navy's submarine operations...
that sank in Liverpool BayLiverpool BayLiverpool Bay is a bay of the Irish Sea between northeast Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Irish Sea. The bay is a classic example of a region of freshwater influence...
on 1 June 1939 after inadvertent opening of both doors of a torpedo tube to the sea whilst diving. A total of 99 people died, including shipyard workers who were onboard for sea trials. Raised and refitted, as HMS Thunderbolt the boat was later sunk by Italian A/S forces in the Mediterranean in March 1943. (United States) - On 23 November 1877, the Huron departed for a scientific cruise on the coast of CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. The Huron encountered heavy weather soon after departure and was wrecked shortly after 1 am on 24 November near Nags Head, North CarolinaNags Head, North CarolinaNags Head is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,700 at the 2000 census.-History:Early maps of the area show Nags Head as a promontory of land characterized by high sand dunes visible from miles at sea...
. For a time her crew worked in relatively little danger, attempting to free their ship but she soon heeled over, carrying 98 officers and men to their deaths. - Hans HedtoftHans Hedtoft (ship)MS Hans Hedtoft was a Danish liner that struck an iceberg and sank on 30 January 1959 on her maiden voyage.-History:Hans Hedtoft was built by Frederikshavns Værft at Frederikshavn in northern Denmark. She was yard number 226, launched on 13 August 1958 and completed on 17 December. She had a...
(Denmark) - The Hans Hedtoft, a Danish liner sailing from Greenland, struck an iceberg and sank on 30 January 1959. Besides the 40 crew members, there were 55 passengers on board at the time. There were no survivors. The Hans Hedtoft was on its maiden voyage and was said to be "unsinkable" due to its strong design. - DS Seacrest Unocal's Drillship "Seacrest" capsized in the Gulf of Thailand on November 3, 1989 during the passage of Typhoon "Gay". 91 of her crew complement of 97 went to the bottom. (PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
) - The Yarmouth Castle was a steamship whose loss in a disastrous fire in 1965 prompted new laws regarding safety at sea. 87 people went down with the ship, three of the rescued passengers later died in hospital, bringing the final death toll to 90. (United States) - On 7 October 1837, the Home struck a sandbar off the New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
coast. Unaware of the extent of the damage, her captain proceeded on schedule toward Charleston when she encountered the 1837 Racer's Storm1837 Racer's StormThe 1837 Racer's Storm was one of the most powerful and destructive hurricanes in the 19th century, causing heavy damage to many cities on its 2,000+ mile path...
. The Home started taking on water as she rounded Cape HatterasCape HatterasCape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...
and was put aground to ride out the developing storm. Before rescue operations could be effected the next day, the Home was torn to pieces by the surf and 90 lives were lost. - On 30 October 1914 Rohilla struck Whitby Rock, a reef at Saltwick south of Whitby. Many of the 229 people on board were saved, but 85 died in the disaster. - Metropolis (United States) - On 31 January 1878, the wooden steamer Metropolis sank off the North Carolina coast with 85 dying in the accident. (Australia) - On the evening of 10 February 1964, while undergoing post-refit exercises, the destroyer HMAS Voyager was rammed and sunkMelbourne-Voyager collisionThe Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
off Jervis Bay, New South Wales, by the aircraft carrierAircraft carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, which was also carrying-out post-refit exercises. 82 of the 314 personnel aboard Voyager were killed; the largest loss of military life in Australia's peacetime history. - CurrachCurrachA Currach is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "Curragh". The construction and design of the currach is unique to the west coasts of Ireland and Scotland, with variations in...
Fishing Tragedy (Ireland) - On 11 February 1813, 200 currachs were fishing off BrucklessBrucklessBruckless is a small village in Southwest Donegal, Ireland, with a population of around 200. It lies on the N56 national secondary road which links it to Donegal Town 20 km east and to Killybegs 7 km west. The village overlooks McSwyne's Bay, an inlet in Donegal Bay. Bruckless is part of...
Bay, DonegalDonegalDonegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
. The shoal of herringHerringHerring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
moved out to sea, followed by the fragile boats. A sudden storm capsized most of them. Over 80 fishermen drowned - AlpenaAlpena (boat)The SS Alpena was a sidewheel steamer built by Thomas Arnold of Gallagher & Company at Marine City, Michigan in 1866. She was operated by the Goodrich Line after being purchased from Gardner, Ward & Gallagher in April 1868...
(United States) - The Alpena was a sidewheel steamerPaddle steamerA paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
that capsized and sank on Lake Michigan in the "Big Blow" storm of 15 October 1880. An estimated 80 people lost their lives in the sinking. - English passenger ferry that was wrecked on a submerged reef on 30 March 1899, 78 were people lost of the 190 passengers and crew on board. - MV George PrinceMV George Prince ferry disasterThe MV George Prince ferry disaster was a nautical disaster that occurred in the Mississippi River in Louisiana, United States, on the morning of . The ferry George Prince was struck by the Norwegian tanker SS Frosta, which was traveling upriver...
(LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, United States)- On October 20, 1976, a small automobile ferry crossing the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
capsized and sank when it collided with the tanker SS Frosta. Of the 96 passengers and crew aboard the ferry, 78 died. (New Zealand) - On 12 February 1909, the inter-island ferry Penguin hit a rock near the entrance to Wellington HarbourWellington HarbourWellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
, sinking then exploding when water entered her boiler room. Of the 105 people on board, 75 died. (United Kingdom) - an Amphion class submarineAmphion class submarine|-See also:- External links :**...
which disappeared on 16 April 1951, during a training exercise in the English Channel with the loss of all 75 lives. She was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea. (United States) - In the early morning of 3 June 1969, while operating as a plane guard for the Australian aircraft carrier during the SEATO training exercise Sea Spirit, the destroyerDestroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
crossed the bows of the carrier and was rammed and sunk. Of the 273 aboard Evans, 74 died. The handling of the inquiry into the collision was seen as detrimental to United States-Australia relations. (Great Britain) - The ship was lost at sea after leaving Liverpool on February 11, 1893 bound for New York, with the loss of all 74 people on board. The ship's fate is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. - STV Royston GrangeSTV Royston GrangeThe STV Royston Grange was a British cargo liner which was destroyed by fire after a collision in the Rio de la Plata on 11 May 1972. She had been built in 1959 and was owned by the Houlder Line.-Disaster:...
(United Kingdom) - The British cargo linerCargo linerA Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...
Royston Grange was destroyed by fire after a collision with the petroleum tanker Tien Chee in the Rio de la PlataRío de la PlataThe Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
on 11 May 1972. There were no survivors from the 72 aboard. (United Kingdom) - A submarine that sank with all hands (69) on 12 November 1925 after being struck by the Swedish ship SS Vidar while submerged in the English Channel. (United Kingdom) - HMS Cobra was a turbine-powered destroyer of the Royal Navy. Her short career came to an end when she broke her back and sank near Cromer on 18 September 1901. Twelve men were saved; 67 drowned. (United Kingdom) - A T class submarine that sank in the Thames Estuary on 12 January 1950 after colliding with the Swedish oil tanker Divina. A total of 64 people died, most in freezing cold mid-winter conditions after escaping the collision. (United Kingdom) - A British K class submarineBritish K class submarineThe K class submarines were a class of steam-propelled submarines of the Royal Navy designed in 1913. Intended as large, fast vessels which had the endurance and speed to operate with the battle fleet, they gained notoriety, and the nickname of Kalamity class, for being involved in many accidents....
, lost with all hands (57) on 20 January 1921 when she sank en route to a mock battle in the Bay of BiscayBay of BiscayThe Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. - Lucy WalkerLucy Walker steamboat disasterThe Lucy Walker steamboat disaster was an 1844 explosion of the boilers of the steamboat Lucy Walker while the steamboat was near New Albany, Indiana, on the Ohio River.- Circumstances of the disaster:...
(United States) - On 23 October 1844, the sidewheel steamboat Lucy Walker was en route from Louisville, Kentucky; to New Orleans, Louisiana, when her three boilers exploded, the boat caught fire and sank mid-stream in the Ohio River, about four miles below New Albany, Indiana. Pieces of boat and humanity were washed up on both the Indiana and Kentucky banks of the river. Since passenger and crew lists were lost, estimates of deaths range from 50 to 100 persons killed, with some 50 survivors. The boat may have been engaged in a race with another vessel, her captain driving the Lucy Walkers engines too hard. - ClallamClallam (steamboat)The steamboat Clallam operated for about six months from July 1903 to January 1904 in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. She was sunk in a storm on what should have been an ordinary voyage to Victoria, British Columbia.-Construction:...
(Canada) - A steamboat which on January 9, 1903 sank in a storm with the loss of 56 lives. - SS Mackinac (United States) - late in the afternoon of 18 August 1925, the 162-foot excursion ship was passing the Naval StationNaval Station NewportThe Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
off Newport, Rhode Island, when its boiler exploded, killing 55 passengers. The ship was on a day cruise from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to Newport, [Harbor] Rhode Island, in order for passengers to enjoy the sites and beaches of the city. The bulk of the injuries and deaths were due to burns and smoke or steam inhalation, although some jumped overboard, none died from drowning. Many boats came to the rescue, while the ship remained afloat. Over 600 passengers survived the melee, many without injury. The ship's skipper was Captain George W. McVey, who had also been captain of the SS Larchmont when she was involved in her own drama (see above), which occurred in an area less than 20 miles away, in 1907. [www3.gendisasters.com] - TEV "WahineWahine disasterThe Wahine disaster occurred on 10 April 1968 when the TEV Wahine, a New Zealand inter-island ferry of the Union Company, foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour and capsized near Steeple Rock...
( New Zealand) The "Wahine", an inter island ferry, foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington harbour and capsized near Steeple Rock. Of the 610 passengers and 123 crew on board, 53 people lost their lives. (Italy) - On 25 July 1956, approaching the coast of Nantucket, MassachusettsNantucket, MassachusettsNantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket...
, bound for New York City, the Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound MS Stockholm. 1,660 passengers and crew were rescued and survived, while 46 people died as a consequence of the collision. In what became one of history's most famous maritime disasters, the loss of the Andrea Doria generated great interest in the media and was responsible for many lawsuits. - DixDix (steamboat)The steamboat Dix operated from 1904 to 1906 as part of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet. She was sunk in a collision which remains one of the most serious transportation accidents in the state of Washington to this day....
(United States) On November 18, 1906 Dix sunk after a collission with the loss of over 45 lives. (Australia) - The ship was wrecked in 1902 off the north coast of New Zealand carrying a large consignment of gold with the loss of 45 lives. Now the Elingamite wreck is a favourite site for adventurous divers because of the drama associated with it, and wild tales of lost treasure. - MV DerbyshireMV DerbyshireThe MV Derbyshire was an ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built in 1976 by Swan Hunter, as the last in the series of the Bridge-class sextet. She was registered at Liverpool and owned by Bibby Line....
(United Kingdom) - Lost on 9 September 1980, south of Japan, during Typhoon Orchid. All aboard (42 crew and 2 spouses) perished. At 91,655 gross tons she was, and remains, the largest UK ship to have ever been lost at sea. (Canada) - On 15 August 1901, while sailing down the narrow Lynn CanalLynn CanalLynn Canal is an inlet into the mainland of southeast Alaska.Lynn Canal runs about from the inlets of the Chilkat River south to Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage...
south of Juneau, the Islander struck what was reported to be an icebergIcebergAn iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
that stove a large hole in her forward port quarter. The Islander sank quickly, with 40 lives lost out of the 172 on board. - SecheltSechelt (steamboat)The steamship Sechelt operated from 1893 to 1911 on Lake Washington, Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia.. For most of the ship's career, she was known as the Hattie Hansen....
(United States) - Sank On Friday, March 24, March 1911 under mysterious circumstances with the loss of 37 lives. - Carl D. Bradley - Sank on Lake Michigan in a 18 November 1958 storm with the loss of 33 crewmen.
- MV Demas VictoryMV Demas VictoryThe MV Demas Victory, a Dubai-based supply ship which sails to offshore oil and gas platforms, capsized 10 nautical miles off the coast of the Qatari capital city of Doha on Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 6:30 a.m. local time. The disaster resulted in over 30 missing of the 35 reported to be on board. ...
- a DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
-based supply steamer capsizeCapsizeCapsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
d 10 nmi (11.5 mi; 18.5 km) off the coast of the QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
i capital city of DohaDohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
in rough seas on Tuesday, 30 June 2009, at 6:30am local time. The disaster resulted in over 30 missing. - MV Tritonica (United Kingdom) - The ore carrierTritonica, registered in Bermuda, was on a voyage on the St Lawrence River from Havre St-Pierre to Sorel, Québec, Canada with approximately 18,300 tons of ilmenite when she was involved in a collision in dense fog with the British cargo ship Roonagh Head shortly before 3 a.m. on July 20, 1963, off Petite Rivière-Saint-François (40 n.m East of Québec City). She sank within eight minutes of the collision with all hatches open. The sinking was so sudden that all navigation crew remained stuck in the wheelhouse. 18 bodies were recovered while a further 15 remained missing. Her Canadian pilot was also reported to be missing. Unaware of the collision, a third vessel, the Spanish Conde de Fontamar came out of the fog in the night and collided with the superstructure of the Tritinica wreck. She was able to save seven survivors. (United States) - The Edmund Fitzgerald sank without warning during a Lake SuperiorLake SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
gale on 10 November 1975 in 530 ft (161.5 m) of water. There were no survivors from her crew of 29. - Superior City (United States) - Sank in 1920 in Whitefish BayWhitefish BayWhitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of the southern shore of Lake Superior between Michigan and Ontario. It begins in the north and west at Whitefish Point in Michigan, about 10 miles north of Paradise, Michigan and ends at the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie on the southeast...
on Lake Superior after a collision with the Willis L. King with the loss of 29 lives. The boiler exploded as the vessel sank. (United States) - A Great Lakes freighterCargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
that broke up during a strong storm 29 November 1966 on Lake HuronLake HuronLake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
. Of the 29 crewmen aboard, 28 died. (Great Britain) - Sank off the Isle of Wight on 25 April 1908 with the loss of 27. The Gladiator was heading into port when she struck the outbound SS Saint Paul. - Charles K. Buckley - Lumber schooner destroyed by high speed winds on 5 April 1914. Only one man from the crew of eight survived.
- FinanceFinance"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
- Outbound to Panama sank off Sandy Hook on 26 November 1910 after being rammed by the White Star freighter Georgic. Four died. - Eleanor LancasterEleanor Lancaster (ship)The Eleanor Lancaster was a 3-masted barque built at Maryport in 1839. Launched in 1840, and initially registered in Liverpool, it was operated by David Laidman , with Captain P.Cowley as captain...
(Great Britain)- was wrecked in a gale on Oyster Bank, Newcastle, New South WalesNewcastle, New South WalesThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, on 7 November 1856. She was on passage from Newcastle to Melbourne with 640 tons of coal, under the command of Captain James McLean. All fifteen crew were rescued by a Mr. Skelton, who rowed out to them three times from the shore. The event is described in the anonymous 19th century poem "The Perilous Gate". - Andrea GailAndrea GailThe F/V Andrea Gail was a commercial fishing vessel that was lost at sea with all hands during the "Perfect Storm" of 1991. The vessel and her six-man crew had been fishing the North Atlantic Ocean out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Her last reported position was northeast of Sable Island on...
(United States) - Sank on October 1991 with a crew of six during "The Perfect Storm".
Wartime disasters
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Pre World War II
- Spanish ArmadaSpanish ArmadaThis article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
- On 8 August 1588, Philip II of SpainPhilip II of SpainPhilip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
sent the Armada to invade England. Spain lost 15,000-20,000 soldiers and sailors. (Great Britain) - After being captured in battle, the Revenge was lost in a storm near the AzoresAzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
in 1591. An estimated 200 Spanish sailors who captured her lost their lives in the sinking. - KronanKronan (ship)Kronan, also called Stora Kronan, was a Swedish warship that was the flagship of the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea in the 1670s. When built, she was one of the largest seagoing vessels in the world. The construction of Kronan lasted 1668–72, delayed on account of difficulties with financing and...
(Sweden) - During the Battle of ÖlandBattle of ÖlandThe battle of Öland was a naval battle between an allied Dano-Norwegian-Dutch fleet and the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea off the east coast of the island of Öland on 1 June 1676. The battle was a part of the Scanian War that was fought for supremacy over the southern Baltic...
in 1676, the Kronan capsized while turning. Gunpowder on board ignited which resulted in an explosion. Of the estimated 800 on board, 42 survived. - The troopship struck a rock near Cape Town on 26 February 1852 while ferrying troops to the 8th Xhosa War. The ship sank with the loss of 450 men. (France) - Sank in a storm on 22 October 1805 during the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of TrafalgarThe Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. Of the 1,200 sailors aboard, 1,050 were killed. - TroopshipTroopshipA troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
s Rochdale and Prince of WalesThe Sinking of the Rochdale and the Prince of WalesThe Rochdale and the Prince of Wales were two troop ships that sank in Dublin Bay in 1807.Dublin Port had long been dangerous because it was accessible only at high tide and was subject to sudden storms. Many ships were lost while waiting for the tide, but little was done until this disaster...
- Bound for the Napoleonic warNapoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
were caught by a stormStormA storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
in Dublin Bay and lost on 19 November 1807. Over 400 lives were lost. (United States) - A Mississippi river paddlewheeler being used as a troop transport. On 27 April 1865, one of the ship's four boilers exploded, setting the ship on fire and leaving an estimated 1,800 dead and 500 injured. - During the Battle of TsushimaBattle of TsushimaThe Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
, the decisive naval battle of the Russo-Japanese WarRusso-Japanese WarThe Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1904-1905, two-thirds of the Russian fleet was destroyed. The Russians suffered 4,380 killed and 5,917 captured, including two admirals; 1,862 were interned. The battleships , , and were sunk. (Russia) - During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian battleshipBattleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
was sunk on 31 March 1904 after striking two mines near the Port Arthur naval base. A total of 18 officers, including an Imperial vice admiral and 620 men were lost. (Japan) - A Japanese battleship that hit a mine on 15 May 1904 and sunk 496 men. (Japan) was a 2nd class protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Takasago struck a mine and sank off Port Arthur on 13 December 1904, with the loss of 273 officers and crew. - (Japan) A Naniwa class cruiserNaniwa class cruiserThe two were protected cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They participated in numerous actions during the First Sino-Japanese War.-Background:...
, she was torpedoed and sunk on 17 October 1914 with the loss of 271 officers and men. (Japan) - A Japanese battleship that hit a mine on 15 May 1904 and sunk under tow with nearly 200 of its crew.
World War II
- MV Wilhelm Gustloff (Germany) - The German KdF flagship, constructed by the Blohm & Voss shipyard, sank after being hit by three torpedoes fired by the on 30 January 1945, with the loss of over 9,000 lives. Most of them were German refugees – the greatest loss of life in maritime history.
- GoyaGoya (ship)The Goya was a German transport ship sunk by a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea, near the end of the Second World War, while carrying wounded Wehrmacht troops and civilians who were fleeing the advance of Soviet forces. Most of the crew and passengers died...
(Germany) - The German transport ship Goya was torpedoed and sunk by a Soviet submarine on 16 April 1945. An estimated 7,000-8,000 civilians and German troops died, 183 were rescued. - Junyō MaruJunyo MaruThe was a Japanese cargo ship that was sunk in 1944 by the British submarine , resulting in the loss of over 5,000 lives.The ship was built in 1913 by Robert Duncan Co. Glasgow. It displaced 5,065 tons, was long, wide, and deep. The engines were rated at...
(Japan) - She was a "Hell shipHell ShipA hell ship is a ship with extremely unpleasant living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to transport Allied prisoners of war out of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore during World War II. The...
" sunk by the Royal Navy in September 1944, 5,620 DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
POWs and Javanese slave labourerUnfree labourUnfree labour includes all forms of slavery as well as all other related institutions .-Payment for unfree labour:If payment occurs, it may be in one or more of the following forms:...
s died. - - sunk by British planes on 3 May 1945 with the loss of 2,750 lives.
- Montevideo MaruMontevideo MaruThe Montevideo Maru was a Japanese auxiliary ship that was sunk in World War II, resulting in the drowning of a large number of Australian prisoners of war and civilians being transported from Rabaul...
(Japan) - On 22 June 1942, after the fall of RabaulRabaulRabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
, Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
the Japanese ordered 845 Australian POWs (prisoners of war) and 208 civilian internees to board the unmarked Japanese ship, Montevideo Maru, for transport to Japan. On 1 July, the US submarine attacked and sank the ship near the northern Philippine coast. Of the ship's total complement of about 1,140 (including 88 crew), there were reportedly only 18 survivors (all crewmen). - RMS Nova Scotia (28 November 1942) - sunk near South Africa by a (German submarine U-177German submarine U-177German submarine U-177 was a Type IXD2 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 25 November 1940 at the AG Weser yard at Bremen, launched on 1 October 1941, and commissioned on 14 March 1942 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Schulze...
), she was carrying 1,000 people, there were only 192 survivors. (Soviet Union) - the GulagGulagThe Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
ship was transporting released scientists to help in the war effort when she sank in a blizzard off the Japanese coast on 13 December 1939, with the loss of 741 lives.
Wartime sinkings of passenger ships, troopships or POW-ships
This section lists ships that were current or former passenger ships at the time of their sinking.During World War I
(Great Britain) - The Lusitania, designated an Armed Merchant Cruiser for the Royal Navy was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 on 7 May 1915. The ship sank in just 18 minutes 8 mi (12.9 km) off the Old Head of KinsaleKinsale
Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...
, Ireland killing 1,198 of the people aboard.
- HMT Royal EdwardHMT Royal EdwardHMTIn this case HMT stands for His Majesty's Troopship. Royal Edward was a passenger ship belonging to the Canadian Northern Steamship Company that was sunk during the First World War with a large loss of life while transporting Commonwealth troops...
(Great Britain) - Royal Edward was a passengership used to transport troops. It was sunk 13 August 1915 by a submarine with the loss of 935 lives. (Great Britain) - The Persia was torpedoed and sunk without warning off CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
on 30 December 1915 by German World War I U-Boat ace Max ValentinerMax ValentinerCaptain Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner was a German U-boat commander during World War I.He was the third highest-scoring U-boat commander of the war, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite, the highest Prussian military order until the end of the war, for his achievements.He was also branded...
(commanding U-38). The Persia sank in five to ten minutes, killing 343 of the 519 aboard. - Provence II (France) - The French auxiliary cruiser was torpedoed in the Mediterranean Sea on 26 February 1916. An ocean liner in peace-time, the La Provence was refitted for troop transport during World War I. She was transporting troops from France to Salonika when she was sunk by the German submarine U-35 south of Cape MatapanCape MatapanCape Tainaron , also known as Cape Matapan , is situated at the end of the Mani, Laconia, Greece. Cape Matapan is the southernmost point of mainland Greece. It separates the Messenian Gulf in the west from the Laconian Gulf in the east.-History:...
. Nearly a thousand French soldiers and sailors died in the sinking. (Italy) - An Italian passenger steamer which was sunk on 8 November 1915 by the GermanGerman EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
U-BoatU-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U 38, causing an diplomatic crisis. About 200 persons perished. - HMHS BritannicHMHS BritannicHMHS Britannic was the third and largest of the White Star Line. She was the sister ship of and , and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was launched just before the start of the First World War and was laid up at her builders in Belfast for many months before...
(Great Britain) - After conversion into a hospital shipHospital shipA hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
, the Britannic was either stuck by a mine or torpedoed on 21 November 1916 off the coast of Greece with the loss of 30 people in a lifeboat were killed during an attempt to escape the ship in a lifeboat without the captain's knowledge. It was sucked into the still moving propellers of the ship and destroyed. (Great Britain) - The Laurentic struck two mines off Lough SwillyLough SwillyLough Swilly in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three known glacial fjords in Ireland....
in the north of Ireland on 25 January 1917 and sank within an hour. 354 aboard were killed in the disaster, 121 survived. (Great Britain) - On 21 February 1917, the Mendi was transporting members of the 5th Battalion, South African Native Labour Corps, to France. At 5:00am, while under the escort of the destroyer HMS Brisk, the Mendi was struck and cut almost in half by the SS Darro. Of the 823 on board, 646 died.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, taking 210 lives. (Great Britain) - The Transylvania was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Genoa
Gulf of Genoa
The Gulf of Genoa is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. The width of the gulf is about 125 km, from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on the its coast is Genoa, which has an important port....
on 4 May 1917 by the German U-boat U-63. At the time of her sinking she was carrying Allied troops to Egypt; she sank with the loss of 412 lives.
- HMHS Llandovery CastleHMHS Llandovery CastleThe Llandovery Castle, built in 1914 in Glasgow as RMS Llandovery Castle for Union Castle Line, was a Canadian hospital ship torpedoed off southern Ireland on 27 June 1918 with the loss of 234 lives....
(Canada) - On 27 June 1918, the Canadian hospital ship HMHS Llandovery Castle was torpedoed off southern Ireland by U-86. When the Llandovery Castles crew took to the lifeboats, U-86 surfaced, ran down all the lifeboats except one and shot at the people in the water. Only the 24 people in the remaining lifeboat survived. They were rescued shortly afterwards and testified to what had happened. In total, 234 were killed. (United Kingdom) - The Leinster was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UB-123 on 10 October 1918, while bound for Holyhead. Over 500 people perished in the sinking — the greatest single loss of life in the Irish Sea.
During World War II
(Great Britain) - On 3 September 1939, just hours after Britain declared war on Germany, U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-30
Unterseeboot 30 (1936)
German submarine U-30 was a Type VIIA U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that served during World War II. She was ordered on 1 April 1935 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, which prevented the construction and commissioning of any U-boats into the German navy, and as part of the German naval...
sank Athenia mistaking her for an armed merchant cruiser. Of the 1,103 civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s the passenger liner was carrying, 118 passengers and crew were killed. (Great Britain) - While on patrol, the Rawalpindi encountered two German warships and was sunk on 23 November 1939. Out of a crew of 276, 238 men died. (Canada) - The Nerissa was a passenger and cargo steamer which was torpedoed and sunk on 30 April 1940 by the German submarine U-552. She was the only transport carrying Canadian troops to be lost during World War II with 207 people, soldiers and civilians, being lost.
- RMS LancastriaRMS LancastriaThe RMS Lancastria was a British Cunard liner sunk on 17 June 1940 during World War II with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces , in the whole conflict and claimed more lives...
- sunk by German aircraft in June 1940, with an estimated 4,000 deaths (2,477 survived and 1,738 known dead).
- Arandora StarArandora StarSS Arandora Star was a British registered cruise ship operated by the Blue Star Line from the late 1920s through the 1930s. At the onset of World War II she was assigned as a troop transport and moving refugees. At the end of June 1940 she was assigned the task of transporting German and Italian...
(Great Britain) - On 2 July 1940, the Arandora Star, which was being used to transport German and Italian POWs and internees, was sunk by U-47 commanded by U-Boat ace Günther PrienGünther PrienLieutenant Commander Günther Prien was one of the outstanding German U-boat aces of the first part of the Second World War, and the first U-boat commander to win the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Under Prien's command, the submarine sank over 30 Allied ships totaling about...
. Of the 1,673 aboard, over 800 people were killed. (Great Britain) - The City of Benares was sunk by U-48 on 17 September 1940. Out of 407 people, 260 were lost, including 77 children of the Children's Overseas Reception BoardChildren's Overseas Reception BoardThe Children's Overseas Reception Board was a British organisation that between July and September 1940 evacuated British children from that country in order to escape the Blitz . The children were sent to mainly to Canada, but also to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa...
(CORB) program. The loss of the ship caused the CORB program to be cancelled immediately. - PatriaPatria disasterThe Patria disaster on 25 November 1940 was the sinking by the Haganah of a French-built ocean liner in the port of Haifa, in which 260 people were killed and 172 injured....
(France) - An ocean liner carrying around 1,770 Jewish refugees from Europe and 134 other passengers, sunk by a bomb just outside the port of HaifaHaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
on 25 November 1940, while en-route to MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. The refugees on board had been transferred to the ship at Haifa (in British-Mandate Palestine) after being denied entry to the country. The bomb, planted there by members of the Jewish HaganahHaganahHaganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
in the hope of disabling the ship, ended up sinking the vessel instead. 260 were lost (209 bodies recovered), 172 injured. The surviving refugees were allowed to remain in Palestine. - RefahRefah TragedyThe Refah tragedy refers to a maritime disaster during World War II, when the cargo steamer Refah of neutral Turkey, carrying Turkish military personnel from Mersin in Turkey to Port Said, Egypt was sunk in eastern Mediterranean waters by a torpedo fired from an unidentified submarine...
(Turkey) - A cargo steamer carrying 171 Turkish military personnel (150 seamen and 21 airmen) and 28 crew from MersinMersin-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
to Egypt was sunk on June 23, 1941 by a torpedo fired by a Vichy FranceVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
submarine. The vessel belonging to neutral Turkey was mistook for a vessel of Free France. Only 32 people survived the disaster. - ArmeniaArmenia (ship)The Armenia was a transport ship operated by the Soviet Union during World War II to carry both wounded soldiers and military cargo. It had originally been built as a passenger ship for operations on the Black Sea, one of the first passenger ships constructed in the Soviet Union.Armenia was sunk on...
- (Soviet Union) A hospital ship that was sunk on 7 November 1941 by German torpedo-carrying He 111 aircraft. The ship was evacuating refugees, wounded military personnel and staff from several of the Crimea's hospitals. An estimated 7,000 people died in the sinking, 2,000 of whom are believed to have been unregistered passengers. Only eight survivors were picked up by an escort vessel. - Iosif StalinIosif Stalin class passenger shipThe Iosif Stalin-class passenger ship was a two-strong class of large turbo-electric powered passenger ships, operated by the Soviet Baltic State Shipping Company . The ships were taken over by the Soviet Navy during World War II and used as transport vessels...
(Soviet Union) - On 3 December 1941, struck three mines with 5,589 people aboard near Hanko in the Baltic Sea. While the crew tried to repair the ship, Finnish coastal artillery opened fire and the Iosif Stalin took a hit aft from a 12 in (304.8 mm) shell, which caused a large explosion in the ammunition storage. Only 1,740 men were rescued from the sinking ship by the escorting minesweepers, (Nos. 205, 211, 215 and 217) and a further five patrol boats from the convoy escort. - RMS Lady Hawkins (Canada) - On 19 January 1942, the Lady Hawkins was torpedoed and sunk by U-66 130 mi (209.2 km) off the North Carolina coast. An estimated 251 people were killed in the sinking.
- Struma (RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
) - On 23 February 1942, with its engine inoperable, the Struma, while carrying Jews attempting to escape the Holocaust and sail to Palestine, was towed from Istanbul through the BosporusBosporusThe Bosphorus or Bosporus , also known as the Istanbul Strait , is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with the Dardanelles...
and into the Black Sea by the Turkish authorities with its refugee passengers still aboard, where it was left adrift. Within hours, she was torpedoed and sunk by the Soviet submarine Shch 213Shchuka class submarineThe Shchuka class submarines , also referred to as Shch or SC class submarines were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II...
(on 24 February). There was only one survivor; 768 men, women and children died.
- RMS LaconiaRMS Laconia (1921)The second RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson as a successor to the Laconia of 1911 to 1917...
(Great Britain) - On 12 September 1942, 130 mi (209.2 km) north-northeast of Ascension IslandAscension IslandAscension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
, the Laconia was hit and sunk by a torpedo fired by U-156. The U-boat commander realized that Italian prisoners were among of the ship's passengers and ordered an ill-fated rescue effort in what came to be called the Laconia IncidentLaconia incidentThe Laconia incident was an abortive naval rescue attempt in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. On 12 September 1942, , carrying some 80 civilians, 268 British Army soldiers, about 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, and 160 Polish soldiers , was struck and sunk by a torpedo from Kriegsmarine...
. This episode also led to Germany's 'Laconia OrderLaconia OrderThe Laconia Order was issued by German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz during World War II as a result of the Laconia incident....
' regarding assistance to the survivors of sinking ships. In all an estimated 1,649 persons died. (Canada) - A passenger ferry, torpedoed by the German submarine U-69, sank in the Cabot Straits during the night of 14 October 1942. Losses: 46 sailors and 206 civilian and military passengers.
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- MS PalatiaMS Palatia (1928)MS Palatia was a German liner, built in 1928. After serving for several years on the Hamburg America Line's route to the Caribbean, she was sold to the Soviet Union in 1940...
was sunk on 21 October 1942 by a Royal New Zealand Air Force torpedo bomber, while carrying Sovjet prisoners of war. In total, 986 people have later reported killed. - AHS CentaurAHS CentaurAustralian Hospital Ship Centaur was a hospital ship which was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943...
(Australia) - A hospital ship attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine on 16 May 1943 off QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia. Of the 332 medical personnel and crew aboard, 268 died. It was not until 1979 that the attacking submarine, , was identified. - Gaetano DonizettiItalian ship Gaetano DonizettiThe Gaetano Donizetti was an Italian merchant ship, which sank on September 23, 1943 in the Aegean Sea, killing some 1,800 people on board, 1,576 Italian POW's and 220 guards and crew.- Background :...
(Italy) - sunk by the destroyer on 23 September 1943, carrying some 1,800 Italian POW's captured by the Germans in Rhodes. No survivors. - Mario RoselliItalian ship Mario RoselliThe Mario Roselli was an Italian cargo ship, which sank on 11 October 1943 in Corfu Bay, killing some 1,302 Italian POW's.- History of the ship :The Mario Roselli was built by Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico in 1940...
(Italy) - sunk in CorfuCorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
Bay by an allied bomber on 10 October 1943, killing 1,302 Italian POW's. - HMT RohnaHMT RohnaHis Majesty's Troopship Rohna was a troop ship carrying U.S. troops that was sunk by an air attack of the Luftwaffe during World War II, on 26 November 1943...
- sunk by the Germans in November 1943. An estimated 1,138 deaths, 1,015 of them Americans, this still constitutes the largest loss of US soldiers at sea. - SS PetrellaGerman ship PetrellaThe Petrella was an German merchant ship, which sank on February 8, 1944 north of Suda Bay, Crete, killing some 2,670 Italian POWs.- Background :...
- torpedoed by the submarine , while transporting 3,173 Italian POW's from Crete to the mainland. 2,670 men drowned. (Norway) - On the night of 12 February 1944, while carrying under Germany's flag, 4,096 Italian POWs (after Italy left the Axis), from the Dodecanesse Islands to Athens, Oria entered a thunderstorm some 50 mi (80.5 km) from her intended destination, Pireaus harbor. The ship cracked and sank; 4,025 Italians, 44 German soldiers (guards) and five crew, an estimated total of 4,074 souls, died in the accident. Only 28 people (combined) were saved. - MefkureMefkureMefkura was a motor schooner chartered to carry Jewish Holocaust refugees from Romania to Istanbul, sailing under the Turkish and Red Cross flags....
(Romania) - Mefkure was a motor schooner chartered to carry Jewish Holocaust refugees from Romania to Palestine, sailing under the Turkish and Red Cross flags. On 5 August 1944, while crossing the Black Sea, she was torpedoed by the Soviet submarine SC 215 and sunk, killing 305 people. 11 survived {five passengers and six crew}. - Tsushima MaruTsushima MaruTsushima Maru was a Japanese unmarked passenger/cargo ship that was sunk while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren by the submarine USS Bowfin during World War II. The ship was on her way from Okinawa to Kagoshima. On August 22, 1944, at between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m...
(Japan) - The Tsushima Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the American submarine on 22 August 1944. The sinking claimed the lives of 1,484 civilians including 767 schoolchildren. - HansaHansa (Swedish ship)The Hansa was a Swedish passenger ship, in use on the route between the Swedish mainland and Visby.-Career and sinking:The Hansa was a passenger steamship built in Stockholm in 1899 for Ångfartygs AB Gotland, of Visby. It was built along luxury yacht lines and had dining room for 40 guests...
(Sweden) - On 24 November 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk between Nynäshamn and Visby by a Soviet submarine. The ship sank within a few minutes, leaving 84 people dead; two survived. (Belgium) - Sunk by a torpedo on 24 December 1944 in the English Channel. Of the 2,235 American servicemen on board, approximately 515 are presumed to have gone down with the ship. Another 248 died from injuries, drowning or hypothermia. - Awa MaruAwa Maru (1943)The was a Japanese ocean liner owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The ship was built in 1941-1943 by Mitsubishi Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. at Nagasaki, Japan...
(Japan) - On 1 April 1945, the Awa Maru was intercepted and sunk in the Taiwan StraitTaiwan StraitThe Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...
by the American submarine which mistook her for a destroyer. Only one person of the 2,003 aboard survived.
- Wilhelm GustloffWilhelm Gustloff (ship)The MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a German KdF flagship during 1937-1945, constructed by the Blohm & Voss shipyards. It sank after being torpedoed by the Soviet submarine on 30 January 1945....
(Germany) - On 30 January 1945 while evacuating civilian refugees, German soldiers and U-boat personnel, the Gustloff was sunk by a Russian submarine in the Baltic Sea. 5,348 are known dead but it has been estimated that up to 9,400 died as a result of this disaster. (Germany) - The Steuben was torpedoed and sunk on 10 February 1945 by a Soviet submarine. An estimated 3,400 died out of the 4,267 people aboard.
- SS Cap Arcona (Germany) - On 3 May 1945 the prison ship Cap Arcona was attacked by the British Royal Air Force (RAFRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
). The ship caught fire and capsized, leaving an estimated 5,000 dead. - SS Thielbek (Germany) - On 3 May 1945 the prison ship Thielbek was attacked by the RAF. The ship caught fire and capsized, leaving an estimated 2,800 dead.
- Ukishima MaruUkishima MaruThe Ukishima Maru was a Japanese naval transport vessel. She was originally built as a passenger ship in March 1937. During World War II, she served as a naval vessel after receiving heavy armament...
(Japan) - Exploded and sank on 22 August 1945, on entering the port of Maizuru, killing 549 people, mainly Koreans.
Warships sunk
In some cases more than one ship was lost, but they are classed as one disaster. An example of this is the Battle of MidwayBattle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
where four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk. Entries are shown in descending order of lives lost.
During World War I
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
on 31 May 1916, with the loss of 1,245 men. (Great Britain) - a British battlecruiser which exploded and sunk during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916; 1,026 men were lost, there were six survivors. (Great Britain) - Battlecruiser, she sank during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, with the loss of 1,015 men, there were only two survivors. (Great Britain) - Armoured Cruiser, exploded during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, 903 men were lost, there were no survivors (Great Britain) - She was sunk on 1 November 1914 off the Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an coast along with in the Battle of Coronel
Battle of Coronel
The First World War naval Battle of Coronel took place on 1 November 1914 off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. German Kaiserliche Marine forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee met and defeated a Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher...
by the German armoured cruisers Scharnhorst
SMS Scharnhorst
SMS Scharnhorst was an armored cruiser of the Imperial German Navy, built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. She was the lead ship of her class, which also included her sister . Scharnhorst and her sister were enlarged versions of the preceding ; they were equipped with a greater...
and Gneisenau
SMS Gneisenau
SMS Gneisenau was an armored cruiser of the German navy, part of the two-ship . She was named after August von Gneisenau, a Prussian general of the Napoleonic Wars. The ship was laid down in 1904 at the AG Weser dockyard in Bremen, launched in June 1906, and completed in March 1908, at a cost of...
(Germany) - The entire complement of 900 hands were lost. (Great Britain) - Armoured Cruiser, was sunk during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, with the loss of 857 men, the entire crew. (Germany) - Pre Dreadnought, she was torpedoed by , exploded and sank at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 with her entire crew of 839. (Germany) - German armoured cruiser sunk during the Battle of the Falkland Islands
Battle of the Falkland Islands
The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a British naval victory over the Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 during the First World War in the South Atlantic...
by the British battlecruiser , taking all 860 occupants on board, including Admiral Maximilian von Spee. (Germany) - A sister ship of SMS Scharnhorst, she was sunk during the same battle where her sister went down, by British cruisers, taking 596 men with her. (Great Britain) - Sunk on 1 November 1914 off the Chilean coast along with in the Battle of Coronel. There were no survivors of the ship's complement of 678. Prinz Adalbert
SMS Prinz Adalbert
SMS Prinz Adalbert was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the Imperial German Navy, named after Kaiser Wilhelm II's third son Prince Adalbert of Prussia. She was the lead ship of her class, which included a second ship, . Prinz Adalbert was built at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel...
(Germany) - On 2 July 1915, the British submarine torpedoed and badly damaged Prinz Adalbert near Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
Island. On 23 October 1915, torpedoed Prinz Adalbert 20 mi (32.2 km) west of Libau
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
. The magazine exploded and the ship sank with the loss of 672 crew. There were only three survivors. (France) - The Suffren was returning to Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
for a refit when on 26 November 1916, off the Portuguese coast near Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, she was torpedoed by U-52. The torpedo detonated a magazine and Suffren sank within seconds, taking the crew of 648 with her. (France) - Sunk by a mine in the Dardanelles Campaign
Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign
The naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
on 18 March 1915. The Bouvet capsized and sank within two minutes, taking over 600 crew with her. (Russia) - On 11 October 1914, the Pallada was torpedoed by the German submarine U-26. The exploding torpedo set off the ship's ammunition and within a few minutes the cruiser disappeared along with the entire crew of 597. The Pallada was the first Russian warship sunk during World War I. (Great Britain) - On the night of 12–13 May 1915, Goliath was anchored in Morto Bay off Cape Helles
Cape Helles
Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the south-westernmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Turkish and British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at the beginning of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915....
when she was torpedoed. Goliath began to capsize almost immediately, she rolled over and began to sink by the bow, taking 570 of the 700-strong crew to the bottom. (Great Britain) - On 1 January 1915, the Formidable was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-24, she capsized and sank in the English Channel. The loss of life was 35 officers and 512 men out of a total complement of 780.
Action of 22 September 1914
The Action of 22 September 1914 was a naval engagement that took place during the First World War, in which three Royal Navy cruisers were sunk by one German submarine while on patrol. Approximately 1450 sailors were killed, and there was a public outcry at the losses...
(Germany) SMS
SMS Yorck
SMS Yorck"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was the second and final ship of the Roon-class of armored cruisers built for the German Imperial Navy. Yorck was named for Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, a Prussian field marshal...
(Germany) - was a German cruiser which accidentally 4 November 1914 went into an German minefield and sank with the loss of several hundred lives. (Great Britain) (Great Britain) (Great Britain) (Japan) - The Takachiho was struck by three torpedoes launched by an Imperial German Navy S90 torpedo boat on 14 October 1914 during the Battle of Tsingtao
Battle of Tsingtao
The Siege of Tsingtao was the attack on the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China during World War I by Imperial Japan and the United Kingdom....
. It sank with the loss of 271 men
SMS Leipzig
SMS Leipzig was a Bremen class light cruiser, of the German Imperial Navy. It was named after the German city of Leipzig.The ship was stationed off the west coast of Mexico at the outbreak of war in 1914...
(Germany) was a light cruiser which was sunk in action at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, 8 December 1914 with the loss of 268 men.
SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm
SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm"SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff", or "His Majesty's Ship" in German. was one of the first ocean-going battleshipsAt the time she was laid down, the German navy referred to the ship as an "armored ship" , instead of "battleship" , see Gröner, p13. of the German...
(Ottoman Empire) - The Heireddin Barbarossa was sunk on 8 August 1915 in the Dardanelles by the British submarine with the loss of 253 men. (United States) - The loss of the ship and 306 crew and passengers without a trace sometime after 4 March 1918 remains the single largest loss of life in US Naval history not directly involving combat. The ship's fate is still a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. No wreckage of the vessel was ever found. (Great Britain) - Sank after striking a mine while engaged in battle in the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
on 18 March 1915. The Irresistible lost 150 crew members in the sinking. (Great Britain) - The first British loss in World War I, striking a mine while chasing a minelayer. 150 lives were lost.
During the Spanish Civil War
- Almrante FerrándizSpanish destroyer Almirante FerrándizAlmirante Ferrándiz was a Churruca-class destroyer in the Spanish Navy. She took part in the Spanish Civil War on the government side.She was named in honor of José Ferrándiz y Niño, a Spanish Admiral and former Navy Minister.-History:...
- sunk by Spanish cruiser CanariasSpanish cruiser CanariasThe Canarias was a heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in the United Kingdom and was a modified version of the Royal Navy's County class cruiser. She was built in Spain by the Vickers-Armstrongs subsidiary Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval...
on 29 September 1936; 130 killed. - BalearesSpanish cruiser BalearesBaleares was a Canarias-class heavy cruiser of the Spanish Navy. She was designed in Great Britain and was a modified version of the Royal Navy′s County-class cruiser...
- sunk by the LepantoSpanish destroyer LepantoLepanto was a Churruca-class destroyer of the Spanish Navy. She took part in the Spanish Civil War on the government side.She was named after the Battle of Lepanto.- Civil War :Lepanto saw a lot of action in during Civil War...
on 6 March 1938. 765 seamen died. - SS Castillo de OliteSS Castillo de OliteThe Castillo de Olite was a merchant steamship, which was sunk by the costal defense batteries of Cartagena in the last days of the Spanish Civil War, while transporting 2,112 Spanish Nationalist troops.-History:...
- sunk by costal artillery on 7 March 1939 near Cartagena Harbor; 1,476 killed.
During World War II
Battle of North Cape
The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle which occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic Campaign. The German battlecruiser , on an operation to attack Arctic Convoys of war materiel from the Western Allies to the USSR, was brought to battle and sunk by superior...
on 26 December 1943, being outgunned by , and later finished off by British destroyers. Of the 1,968 crewmen, 36 survived. (Great Britain) - The aircraft carrier, with escorting destroyers and were sunk by the German battleships and off Norway, 8 June 1940; 1,519 men were lost. (Great Britain) - The battlecruiser HMS Hood was attacked and sunk by the on 24 May 1941. Of the 1,418 crewmen aboard, only three survived. (Japan) - On 25 October 1944 as a result of torpedoes launched by in the Battle of Surigao Strait, causing the loss of possibly all of her crew of 1,400. (Japan) - A sister ship of the Fuso, she was also sunk in the Battle of Surigao Strait, with only around 10 survivors out of 1,400. (Japan) - Meant to be the third Yamato-class battleship, but completed as an aircraft carrier instead, she was sunk on November 29, 1944 by the U.S. Navy submarine USS Archer-Fish with the loss of 1,400 of her crew and shipbuilding workers, as she had not yet been completely outfitted for duty, and had only been commissioned ten days before her sinking. The Shinano is the largest-ever warship ever sunk solely by a submarine in naval warfare history. (Japan) - Sunk with torpedoes by the submarine on the 21 Nov 1944 in the Formosa Strait with the loss of 1,200 of her crew. (United States) - The heavy cruiser Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine on 30 June 1945 while sailing to the Philippines from Guam, after delivering components for the "Little Boy
Little Boy
"Little Boy" was the codename of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, of the United States Army Air Forces. It was the first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon...
" Hiroshima atomic bomb. Of the 1,196 sailors, 300 died on board and 317 were rescued. The others died from exposure and shark attacks, (reported to be the largest number in history). The survivors were floating, some just in life jackets, for four days before being rescued. (United States) - While docked in Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, the battleship was attacked by Japanese torpedo and dive bombers
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
on 7 December 1941. 1,177 crewmen were lost out of a complement of 1,400. The wreck continues to lie on the bottom of the harbor as a memorial to all those who perished on that day. (Japan) - Sister ship of Yamato, sunk by US aircraft on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
, with a loss of 1,023 of her crew of 2,399. (Germany) - Tirpitz was attacked by RAF Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
bombers from 9 and 617 Squadrons armed with 'Tallboy
Tallboy bomb
The Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb, was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and deployed by the RAF in 1944...
' bombs on 12 November 1944. The battleship sank west of Tromsø, Norway, with the loss of 1,000 of her crew of 1,700. (France) - The super-dreadnought battleship and pride of the French navy, exploded and sank on 3 July 1940 in the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir as a result of gunfire from the British warships Hood, Valiant, and Resolution; 977 men were killed. (Great Britain) - On 25 November 1941, in the eastern Mediterranean north of Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani
Sidi Barrani is a town in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, about east of the border with Libya, and around from Tobruk, Libya.Probably named after Sidi Mohammed el Barrani, a Senussi fighter in the early 1900s, the village is mainly a Bedouin community...
, Barham capsized, exploded and sank two and a half minutes after being hit by three torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-331. 861 lost their lives. There were 450 survivors. The sinking was filmed. (Japan) - Aircraft carrier, sunk on 24 October 1944 during the Battle off Cape Engaño, with a loss of 842 lives out of 1,704. Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse
Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse
The sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse was a Second World War naval engagement that took place north of Singapore, off the east coast of Malaya, near Kuantan, Pahang where the British Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse were sunk by land-based bombers and...
(Great Britain) - On 10 December 1941, three days after Pearl Harbor, the two capital ships were sent to intercept Japanese landings in Malaya
British Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
, but were sunk by Japanese aircraft based in Saigon. 840 sailors were lost, 513 on the battlecruiser Repulse and 327 on the battleship Prince of Wales. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
said when he heard about the sinkings: "In all the war, I never received a more direct shock...". (Great Britain) - light cruiser mined and sunk off Tripoli on the night of 19–20 December 1941, with the loss of all but one of her crew of 767 men; an additional 73 men died in the sinking of mined while attempting to assist. (Great Britain) - During one of the earliest successes enjoyed by the German Navy in World War II, the veteran battleship HMS Royal Oak was torpedoed and sunk while anchored at the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, on the morning of 14 October 1939, with the loss of 833 lives, by U-47 commanded by Lieutenant Commander Günther Prien. (Germany) - Sunk by Norwegian shore defences at the Battle of Drøbak Sound
Battle of Drøbak sound
The Battle of Drøbak Sound took place in the northernmost part of the Oslofjord on 9 April 1940, on the first day of the German invasion of Norway...
on 9 April 1940, killing 830 of 2,202 troops and crewmen on board. (Japan) - Aircraft carrier, sunk on 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, with the loss of 811 lives out of 1,708. (Japan) - sunk with her entire crew of around 800 in 1944, possibly the largest vessel to be lost with all hands in World War II, since there is uncertainty about whether there were survivors from Fuso (see above). (Great Britain) - On 22 May 1941, Gloucester was attacked by German Stuka
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s and sunk during the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
with the loss of 722 men out of a crew of 807. (Japan) - Aircraft carrier, sunk on 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, with a loss of 711 lives from a complement of 1,103. (United States) - Sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, The Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, as the , took place from 12–15 November 1942, and was the decisive engagement in a series of naval battles...
in November 1942. Juneaus 100+ survivors (out of a total complement of 697) were left on their own in the open ocean for eight days, before rescue aircraft belatedly arrived and found only 10 survivors. (Japan) - Heavy cruiser, sunk on 5 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, with the loss of 650 of her crew. (Australia) - The light cruiser was sunk by the German ship Kormoran
German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
The German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was a Kriegsmarine merchant raider of World War II. Originally the merchant vessel Steiermark, the ship was acquired by the Kriegsmarine following the outbreak of war for conversion into a raider...
on 19 November 1941 with the loss of all 645 sailors on board, making it the largest allied vessel to be lost with all hands during World War II.
- Z27, T25 and T26 (Germany) - In the Bay of Biscay, on 28 December 1943, Z27, a KriegsmarineKriegsmarineThe Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
destroyerNarvik class destroyerThe Zerstörer 1936A-class destroyers, or Narvik-class destroyers as they were known to the Allies, were a class of German destroyers of the Second World War...
and two torpedo boatsElbing class torpedo boatThe Elbing class torpedo boats were a class of 15 small warships that served in the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Although classed as Flottentorpedoboot by the Germans, in most respects—displacement, weaponry, usage—they were comparable to contemporary medium-size destroyers...
, T25 and T26 were waiting to escort Alsterufer, a blockade runnerBlockade runnerA blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
which had come from Japan. The Royal Navy knew the German positions and had already sunk the Alsterufer. The cruisers and shelled and sank Z27, T25, and T26 from over the horizon. In one of the most extraordinary rescues of the war, the 142 ft (43.3 m) neutral Irish coaster rescued 168 survivors from the three ships' 700 crew. (Great Britain) - The aircraft carrier Courageous was torpedoed on 17 September 1939. She capsized and sank in 15 minutes, with the loss of 518 of her crew. (Japan) - On 7 April 1945, the cruiser Yahagi was badly damaged, capzised and sank after being attacked by aircraft from United States Task Force 58. Of her crew of 736 on board, 445 were killed. (Great Britain) - On 24 November 1941, HMS Dunedin was in the Central Atlantic northeast of RecifeRecifeRecife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, Brazil when she was sunk by two torpedoes from the German submarine U-124. Only four officers and 63 men survived out of a crew of 486. (Great Britain) - Royal Navy escort aircraft carrier which sank in 1943 after an internal explosion, killing 379 out of a crew of 528. (Netherlands) - On 27 February 1942, HNLMS De Ruyter along with HNLMS Java and other allied cruisers and destroyers led a sortie against Japanese warships in an attempt to stop the Japanese invasion fleet in the battle of Java Sea. 345 of their crews lost their lives. - Ilmarinen (Finland) - On 13 September 1941, mines became entangled in the Ilmarinens paravane cableParavane (water kite)]The paravane is a towed winged underwater object—water kite. Paravanes have been used in sport or commercial fishing, marine exploration and industry, sports and military. The wings of paravanes are sometimes in a fixed position, else positioned remotely or by actions of a human pilot...
. When the vessel turned, the mines hit the ship and detonated, sinking her in seven minutes. Only 132 of the crewmen survived, 271 were lost.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
- INS Khukri (India) - On 9 December 1971 the Indian frigate INS Khukri was torpedoed and sank by the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor with the loss of 194 lives. This was the first submarine kill since World War II.
During the Falklands War
- ARA General BelgranoARA General BelgranoThe ARA General Belgrano was an Argentine Navy light cruiser in service from 1951 until 1982. Formerly the , she saw action in the Pacific theater of World War II before being sold to Argentina. After almost 31 years of service, she was sunk during the Falklands War by the Royal Navy submarine ...
(Argentina) - On 2 May 1982 the Argentinian light cruiser ARA General Belgrano was torpedoed and sank by British submarine with the loss of 323 lives. This was the first time a warship had been sunk by a nuclear submarine. - On 4 May 1982 the British guided missile destroyer HMS Sheffield was struck by an Argentinian ExocetExocetThe Exocet is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Hundreds were fired in combat during the 1980s.-Etymology:...
missile. The ship sank with a loss of 20 lives.
See also
- ShipwreckShipwreckA shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
- List of shipwrecks
- List of disasters
- List of accidents and disasters by death toll
- List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines
External links
- WRECKSITE Worldwide free database of + 65.000 ships wrecked with history, maritime charts and GPS positions
- Titanic Facts The life and loss of the RMS Titanic, in numbers
- G. Duncan. Maritime disasters of World War 2
- World sea disasters timeline, 21st century