Vessel | Itinerary | Mortality | Details | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Location | Vessel | Type | Registry | Departing | Bound for | Lives lost | Survivors | Rate | Cause | Notes |
1987-12-20 | Tablas Strait near Marinduque |
‣ Doña Paz ‣ Vector |
‣ passenger ferry ‣ oil tanker |
![]() |
Manila | 4,386 | 28 | 99.4% | collision resulting in fire and sinking | ||
1948-12-04 | Huangpu River 50 mi (80 km) south of Shanghai |
SS Kiangya | passenger steamship | ![]() |
3,335 ±585 | 850 | 79.7% | struck a Japanese WW2 sea-mine | |||
1917-12-06 | Halifax Harbour} | ‣ SS Mont-Blanc ‣ Imo |
![]() |
n/a | n/a | 0 ~2000 (on land) |
40 | 0.0% | wartime explosives ignited by collosion | Largest accidental explosion of conventional weapons to date.[4] | |
2002-09-26 | Le Joola | ferry | ![]() |
≤1,800 | overladen; capsized in rough seas | ||||||
1865-04-27 | Mississippi River near Memphis, Georgia |
SS Sultana | steamboat | ![]() |
~1,800 | 600 | 75.0% | overladen; 3 boilers exploded | Geatest maritime disaster in U.S. history. Many victims were Union vetrens who had been injured or captured during the war. | ||
1822-02-06 | near Indonesia | Tek Sing | junk | ![]() |
~1,600 | struck a reef | |||||
1912-04-15 | North Atlantic | RMS Titanic | luxury steamliner | ![]() |
England | New York | 1,532 | 706 | 68.5% | struck an iceberg | World's largest ship at the time; sunk on maiden voyage. The most famous shipwreck in modern history. |
1707-10-22 | ‣ HMS Association ‣ HMS Eagle ‣ HMS Romney ‣ HMS Firebrand |
![]() |
Gibraltar | Portsmouth | 1,700 ±300 | struck a reef | |||||
1954-09-26 | Tsugaru Strait | Toya Maru | passenger ferry | ![]() |
~1,153 | Typhoon Marie | |||||
1914-05-29 | Saint Lawrence River | RMS Empress of Ireland | ![]() |
1,012 | 465 | 68.5% | collided with SS Storstad | ||||
2006-02-03 | Red Sea | Al Salam Boccaccio 98 | ro-ro passenger ferry | ![]() |
Duba | Safaga | 1,020 | 388 | 72.4% | ||
1904-06-15 | East River (New York) | SS General Slocum | ![]() |
1,000 | fire | New York City's deadliest event until the September 11 attacks.[13] | |||||
1912-09-22 | Pacific Ocean | SS Kiche Maru | ![]() |
>1,000 | typhoon | ||||||
1921-03-03 | Lamock Island near Swatow, China |
Hong Moh | ![]() |
~1,000 | 100 | 90.9% | struck the White Rocks of Lamock Island | ||||
1927-09-16 | near Kurile Islands | Wusung | steamship | Kamchatka | 900 | ||||||
1994-09-28 | Baltic Sea | MS Estonia | ![]() |
852 | 137 | 86.1% | rough seas; faulty bow visor door | ||||
1915-07-24 | moored on Chicago River | SS Eastland | ![]() |
845 | capsized when passenger load shifted | ||||||
1917-07-09 | Scapa Flow | HMS Vanguard | ![]() |
843 | 2 | 99.8% | explosion in gun-turret magazines | ||||
1996-05-21 | MV Bukoba | ![]() |
~800 | overladen | |||||||
1782-08-29 | moored at Portsmouth | HMS Royal George | ![]() |
>800 | capsized while undergoing repairs | Numerous visitors were onboard; 300 women and 60 children were among the dead. | |||||
1914-11-26 | moored at Kethole Reach, 4 mi west of Sheerness, on the River Medwayestuary | HMS Bulwark | ![]() |
738 | 12 | 98.4% | explosion | ||||
1902-05-06 | Irrawaddy Delta along the Bay of Bengal | SS Camorta | ![]() |
Madras | Rangoon | 737 | 0 | 100.0% | cyclone | ||
2008-06-21 | near San Fernando, Romblon | MV Princess of the Stars | ferry | ![]() |
690 | 57 | 92.4% | Typhoon Fengshen | |||
1904-06-28 | St. Helen's Reef near Rockall | SS Norge | ![]() |
635 | 160 | 79.9% | ran aground | Survivors spent up to 8 days in open lifeboats before rescue. | |||
1947-07-17 | 10 miles from Mumbai | Ramdas | ![]() |
625 | capsized | The disaster only became known as survivors swam ashore. | |||||
1955-10-29 | moored at Sevastopol Bay | Novorossiysk | ![]() |
608 | explosion | ||||||
1986-05-27 | Meghna River in southern Barisa, Bangladesh | Shamia | ferry | ![]() |
~600 | capsized during storm | |||||
1878-09-03 | off Tripcock Point | SS Princess Alice | ![]() |
Gravesend | ~600 | collided with the Bywell Castle | Broke in two and sank within 4 minutes. | ||||
1947-04-16 | Texas City, Texas | SS Grandcamp | ![]() |
581 +28 firefighters |
0 | 100.0% | explosion while loading ammunition | Around around 5,000 were injured in the "Texas City Disaster". | |||
1810-12-01 | Texel | HMS Minotaur | ![]() |
570 | |||||||
1898-07-04 | off Sable Island, Nova Scotia | SS La Bourgogne | passenter steamer | ![]() |
565 | 165 | 77.4% | collided with the Cromartyshire in heavy fog | |||
1891-03-17 | entry to Bay of Gibraltar | SS Utopia | ![]() |
564 +2 rescuers from HMS Immortalité |
318 | 63.9% | collided with HMS Anson trying to enter bay | ||||
1873-04-01 | off the coast of Nova Scotia | RMS Atlantic | ![]() |
535 | ran aground on rocks | During the ship's 19th voyage. | |||||
1890-09-18 | off Kushimoto, Japan | Ertugrul | ![]() |
533 | struck a reef during a typhoon | Admiral Ali Osman Pasha was among those killed. | |||||
1993-02-16 | Ferry Neptune | ![]() |
600 ±100 | [16][17][18] | |||||||
1694-03-01 | off Gibraltar | HMS Sussex | ![]() |
498 | 2 | 99.6% | severe storm | ||||
1919-09-01 | Gulf of Mexico, 45 mi (72 km) west of Key West | SS Valbanera | ![]() |
488 | 0 | 100.0% | hurricane | ||||
1870-09-07 | Atlantic Ocean | HMS Captain | ![]() |
~480 | 18 | 96.4% | capsized in high winds | ||||
1874-11-17 | south of the Cape of Good Hope | Cospatrick | ![]() |
Gravesend | Auckland | 469 | 3 | 99.4% | caught fire | ||
1991-12-17 | Salem Express | ![]() |
Jeddah | Safaga | ≥470 | 130 | 78.3% | struck a reef | Overcrowded with unlisted passengers returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. Wreckage is a popular scuba dive destination. | ||
2002-05-03 | Meghna River south of Dhaka, Bangladesh | MV Salahuddin-2 | ferry | ![]() |
>450 | ||||||
1916-03-05 | near isle of Sao Sebastiao, Brazil | Príncipe de Asturias | ![]() |
≥445 | 113 | 79.7% | |||||
1857-09-09 | off the Carolinas | SS Central America | ![]() |
~425 | 153 | 73.5% | hurricane | ||||
1986-08-31 | near the port of Novorossiysk | SS Admiral Nakhimov | ![]() |
423 | 811 | 34.3% | collided with cargoship Pyotr Vasyovin Tsemes Bay | ||||
2003-07-08 | Meghna River near Chandpur | MV Nasrin-1 | passenger ferry | ![]() |
>400 | capsized | |||||
1895-03-09 | Reina Regente | cruiser | ![]() |
420 | 0 | 100.0% | storm | ||||
1904-11-15 | Prinses Sophia Albertina | ![]() |
419 | heavy weather | |||||||
1845-08-04 | south-west of King Island,Tasmania | Cataraqui | emmigrant ship | ![]() |
Australia | 400 | struck a reef | Australia's worst maritime civil disaster. | |||
1860-09-08 | Lake Michigan | Lady Elgin | ![]() |
~400 | collided with schooner Augusta of Oswego | ||||||
1801-03-16 | off Norfolk | HMS Invincible | ![]() |
>400 | 196 | 67.1% | ran aground after storm damage | ||||
1854-01-21 | off Lambay Island in Dublin Bay | RMS Tayleur | clipper ship | ![]() |
380 | 272 | 58.3% | ran aground | Sank during maiden voyage. | ||
1878-03-24 | HMS Eurydice | training ship | ![]() |
376 | 2 | 99.5% | caught in heavy snow storm | A training ship. Many died of exposure in the freezing waters. | |||
1815-05-30 | coast of South Africa | Arniston | East Indiaman | ![]() |
372 | 6 | 98.4% | wrecked during storm | |||
1893-06-22 | off Tripoli | HMS Victoria | ![]() |
358 | 357 | 50.1% | collided with HMS Camperdown during fleet excersizes | Known as "Admiral Tryon's blunder" as he ordered two parallel lines of ships to turn toward each other. | |||
2001-10-19 | SIEV X | ![]() |
353 | 47 | 88.3% | Carryied assylum-seekers. Australia criticized for waiting 3 days to offer rescue. | |||||
1806-10-20 | the Esquirques in the Strait of Sicily | HMS Athenienne | ![]() |
347 | 143 | 70.8% | struck a reef | ||||
1918-10-25 | SS Princess Sophia | ![]() |
343 | 0 | 100.0% | ran aground and sank two days later | Rescue ships were unable to assist due to continuing foul weather. Only survivor was a pet dog. | ||||
1875-05-07 | Isles of Scilly | SS Schiller | ![]() |
355 | ran aground on n Retarrier Ledges | ||||||
1895-01-30 | North Sea | SS Elbe | ![]() |
334 | 20 | 94.4% | collided with steamship Crathie | Only 1 lifeboat of survivors was recovered. | |||
1904-05-14 | Yoshino | cruiser | ![]() |
319 | 19 | 94.4% | collision | ||||
2012-02-02 | Solomon Sea | MV Rabaul Queen | ![]() |
321 | capsized in rough seas | ||||||
1927-10-25 | off Brazil | SS Principessa Mafalda | oceanliner | ![]() |
314 | 951 | 24.8% | fractured propeller shaft damaged hull | Ship sank slowly in the presence of rescue vessels, but panic among crew and passengers proved disasterous | ||
1905-03-25 | Liberté | battleship | ![]() |
300 | explosion of ammunition stores | ||||||
1875-11-04 | off Cape Flattery, Washington | SS Pacific | ![]() |
298 | 2 | 99.3% | collided with SS Orpheus | Both ships continued underway after the collision, which the Orpheus' captain claimed not to have even noticed. | |||
1873-01-22 | 2–3 miles off Dungeness | Northfleet | ![]() |
293 | hit by steamship Murillo while moored | Murillo sped off into the darkness after the collision, and many died in the ensuing panic. | |||||
1854-11-13 | Deal Beach in New Jersey | New Era | ![]() |
284 | 143 | 66.5% | ran aground during storm | ||||
1866-10-06 | 180 miles east of Tybee Island, GA | Evening Star | ![]() |
283 | 17 | 94.3% | hurricane | Ship contained insufficient lifevests and only enough lifeboats for 60 people. One group of suvivors drifted for days until reaching Amelia Island, FL. | |||
1898-02-15 | Havana harbor | USS Maine | ![]() |
274 | 100 | 73.3% | explosion of magazine | This unexplained explosion precipitated the Spanish-American War. | |||
1958-03-01 | Gulf of İzmit | SS Üsküdar | passenger ferry | ![]() |
272 | 39 | 87.5% | heavy lodos weather | |||
1904-12-03 | Vlieland | HMS Lutine | ![]() |
269 | heavy weather | Was carrying a large cargo of gold, the majority of which remains unsalvaged. | |||||
1904-09-30 | Vliegend Hert | VOC ship | ![]() |
256 | heavy weather | ||||||
1913-11-7 to 11-10 |
(12 seperate ships) | ![]() |
255 | cyclonic blizzard | An additional 7 ships were irreperably damaged; 19 others that had been stranded were later salvaged. | ||||||
1854-04-16 | off New Jersey | Powhatan | ![]() |
281 ±30 | 0 | 100.0% | severe storm | ||||
1988-10-24 | MV Doña Marilyn | ![]() |
258 | Typhoon Unsang | |||||||
1858-06-13 | near Ship Island just below Memphis | Pennsylvania | ![]() |
>250 | 450 | 35.7% | boiler explosion | Some blamed the ship's engineer for leaving the boiler room for the company of some women. Mark Twain's younger brother Henry Clemens was among the victims. Diana and Imperial were among the rescue ships. | |||
1847-12-20 | Sorelle Rocks near Malta | HMS Avenger | ![]() |
Gibraltar | Malta | 242 | 8 | 96.8% | ran aground on Sorelle Rocks | ||
1904-11-15 | Texel | Negotie | VOC ship | ![]() |
238 | heavy weather | |||||
1863-04-27 | north of Cape Race | SS Anglo Saxon | ![]() |
237 | ran aground | ||||||
1835-05-13 | near King Island, Tasmania | Neva – | convict ship | ![]() |
Cork | Sydney | 224 | struck a reef | Most of the dead were women and children. | ||
1909-07-27 | off Durban | SS Waratah | 500 ft (150 m) steamer | ![]() |
Australia | London | 211 | 0 | 100.0% | unknown | Disappearance of the ship remains unexplained. |
1919-01-01 | just off the island of Lewis | Iolaire | Admiralty yacht | ![]() |
≥205 | 75 | 73.2% | ran aground on rocks | Carrying soldiers coming home from World War I. | ||
1921-05-10 | Ob River | Sovnarkom | ![]() |
313 ±87 | collided with Novosibirsk railway bridge | ||||||
1906-01-21 | Aquidabã | ironclad warship | ![]() |
212 | explosion of power magazines | Sank within 3 minutes. | |||||
2011-09-10 | off Zanzibar | MV Spice Islander I | passenger ferry | ![]() |
≥200 | 600 | 25.0% | ||||
1966-12-08 | Aegean Sea | SS Heraklion | RO-RO car ferry | ![]() |
Souda | Piraeus | >200 | 47 | 81.0% | unsecured vehicle broke through loading door, flooding ship | |
1852-08-20 | off Long Point on Lake Erie | SS Atlantic | ![]() |
175 ±25 | 325 | 35.0% | collided with steamer Ogdensburg | ||||
1987-03-06 | just outside Zeebrugge harbor | MS Herald of Free Enterprise | car ferry | ![]() |
193 | 346 | 35.8% | car-deck doors accidentally left open, flooding ship | |||
1898-11-26 | SS Portland | steamship | ![]() |
Boston | Portland | 192 | massive storm ("The Portland Gale") | ||||
1881-05-24 | Thames River in Ontario | Victoria | double-decked sternwheeler | ![]() |
182 | capsized | |||||
1914-03-31 | vicinity of Cape Pine (?) | SS Southern Cross | ![]() |
173 | 0 | 100.0% | storm | ||||
1918-02-23 | at Horn Head Point near Cappahayden | SS Florizel | ![]() |
173 | struck a reef | ||||||
1955-05-11 | Seto Inland Sea | Shiun Maru | ![]() |
168 | collided with sister ship Uko Maru in dense fog | ||||||
1905-01-26 | Madagascar | full-rigged ship | ![]() |
Melbourne | London | ~160 | unknown | ||||
1905-06-12 | MS Scandinavian Star | ![]() |
Norway | Denmark | 157 | caught fire | |||||
1998-09-18 | Fortune Island in Batangas | MV Princess of the Orient | ![]() |
Manila | Cebu | ~150 | 238 | 38.7% | Typhoon Vicky | Suvivors floated for 12 hours before rescue | |
1907-02-12 | off Block Island, Rhode Island | SS Larchmont | paddlewheel steamship | ![]() |
175 ±25 | 50 | 77.8% | collided with schooner Harry Knowlton | |||
2000-09-26 | near isle of Paros | MS Express Samina | RO-RO ferry | ![]() |
143 | ||||||
1994-12-02 | Manilla Bay | MV Cebu City | ferry | ![]() |
140 | collided with freighter Kota Suria | |||||
1991-04-10 | Livorno harbor | Moby Prince | ferry | ![]() |
140 | collided with oil-tanker Agip Abruzzo and caught fire | |||||
1894-10-29 | Great Barrier Island | SS Wairarapa | steamship | ![]() |
~140 | 90 | 60.9% | ran into island in heavy fog | Traveling at nearly full speed in the thick fog. | ||
1949-09-16 | SS Noronic | ![]() |
129 ±10 | caught in fire while dockside | Most died from burns or suffocation; some from being trampled or leaping from upper decks onto pier; only 1 drowned | ||||||
1912-03-20 | off Western Australia | SS Koombana | coastal steamship | ![]() |
~138 | 0 | 100.0% | cyclone | No trace was ever found except some floating wreckage. | ||
1934-09-08 | SS Morro Castle | ![]() |
Havana | New York | 137 | 412 | 25.0% | fire | Subsequently beached near Asbury Park and remained there for months until eventually towed away for scrap. | ||
1929-09-07 | Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere | SS Kuru | steamship | ![]() |
137 ±1 | capsized in high winds | |||||
1906-01-22 | near Pachena Point | SS Valencia | ![]() |
149 ±32 | 37 | 80.1% | struck a reef | Official death toll was 136 persons but others estimate higher or lower. Every woman and child onboard was killed. | |||
1983-06-05 | Aleksandr Suvorov | ![]() |
177 | struck a girder of the Ulyanovsk bridge | The ship remained afloat and was supsequently restored. It remains in use today. | ||||||
1950-08-13 | Daugava | Majakovskis | ![]() |
147 | |||||||
1890-02-28 | coast of Far North Queensland | RMS Quetta | India Line merchant ship | ![]() |
Great Brittain | the Far East | 134 | 158 | 45.9% | wrecked on coast | |
1953-01-31 | the North Channel | MV Princess Victoria | ![]() |
133 | severe storm | Deadliest maritime disaster in UK waters since World War II. | |||||
1905-07-04 | Meghna River in Bangladesh | MV Shariatpur 1 | double deck ferry | ![]() |
≥116 | collided with cargoship | |||||
2011-07-10 | Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River near Syukeyevo | Bulgaria | River cruise ship | ![]() |
Bolgar | Kazan | 112 | 89 | 55.7% | storm | Deadliest Russian maritime disaster since 1986. |
1780-10-31 | HMS Ontario | ![]() |
Fort Niagra | Oswego | ~130 | storm | Included up to 30 American POWs. News of the sinking kept quiet for a number of years to hide the military loss. | ||||
1963-12-22 | Atlantic Ocean | TSMS Lakonia | ![]() |
128 | fire | Most died from exposure, drowning, and injuries sustained while diving overboard. | |||||
1883-07-03 | shipyard of Govan, Scotland | SS Daphne | ![]() |
160 ±35 | 70 | 69.6% | capsized | Capsized and sank moments after naming and launching. Had work crew aboard to continue fitting out the ship. Many casualties were young boys. | |||
1901-02-21 | entrance to San Francisco Bay | SS City of Rio de Janeiro | passenger ship | ![]() |
Hong Kong | >135 | struck a reef | ||||
1963-04-10 | 220 miles east of Boston | USS Thresher | nuclear submarine | ![]() |
129 | accident during deep-diving tests | |||||
1892-10-10 | off [Formosa]] | SS Bokhara | steamship | ![]() |
125 | typhoon | |||||
1905-03-19 | SS Hilda | steamship | ![]() |
125 | |||||||
1905-01-30 | entrance to Sydney Harbour | Dunbar | ![]() |
121 | |||||||
1905-03-25 | off Cape Bowling Green | SS Yongala | steamship | ![]() |
122 | 0 | 100.0% | cyclone | |||
1904-12-01 | Shannon Estuary just off County Clare | La Vipere | frigate | ![]() |
120 | capsized | Previously captured from the French. | ||||
1898-10-14 | off Cornwall | SS Mohegan | steamship | ![]() |
106 | 40 | 72.6% | struck a reef | Survivors rescued by shore-based lifeboats. | ||
1905-02-17 | off north Queensland | SS Gothenburg | steamship | ![]() |
105 ±7 | 22 | 82.7% | struck the Barrier Reef during a cyclone | |||
January 1884 | off Massachusettes | SS City of Columbus | passenger steamship | ![]() |
100 | 29 | 77.5% | ran aground | Survivors rescued by land-based rowboats and a revenue cutter. | ||
1939-06-01 | HMS Thetis | T-class submarine | ![]() |
99 | accidentally opened both doors of torpedo tube simultaniously while submerged | Casualties including shipyard workers onboard for sea trials. Raised and refitted as HMS Thunderbolt; later sunk by Italian A/S forces. | |||||
1968-05-22 | 460 miles SW of the Azores | USS Scorpion | nuclear submarine | ![]() |
99 | internal explosion | |||||
1933-07-09 | near Yaroslavl | The Fourth disaster | ![]() |
≥98 | |||||||
1850-11-19 | off Kilkee | Edmond | passenger sail | ![]() |
98 | driven ashore by storm and broke apart | |||||
1877-11-23 | near Nags Head | USS Huron | ![]() |
Cuba | 98 | wrecked in heavy weather | On scientific cruise. After wrecking, crew worked to free the ship for a time before it capsized. | ||||
1959-01-30 | Hans Hedtoft | liner | ![]() |
Greenland | 95 | 0 | 100.0% | struck an iceberg | On its maiden voyage; was said to be "unsinkable" due to its strong design. | ||
1989-11-03 | Gulf of Thailand | DS Seacrest | drill ship | ![]() |
91 | 6 | 93.8% | Typhoon Gay | |||
1905-05-18 | SS Yarmouth Castle | steamship | ![]() |
90 | fire | Prompted new laws regarding safety at sea. | |||||
1837-10-07 | near Cape Hatteras | SS Home | ![]() |
Charleston | 90 | hit a storm after sustaining hull damage | Captain was unaware of extent of hull damage after striking sanbar, and proceeded onward into the 1837 Racer's Storm; ripped to pieces after pulling aground to weather storm. | ||||
1914-10-30 | Saltwick, south of Whitby | SS Rohilla | 85 | 144 | 37.1% | struck a reef (Whitby Rock) | |||||
1878-01-31 | off North Carolina | Metropolis | wooden steamship | ![]() |
85 | ||||||
1982-02-15 | 267 kilometres (166 mi) east of St. John's, Newfoundland | Ocean Ranger | semisubmersible drilling unit | ![]() |
84 | 0 | 100.0% | ||||
1964-02-10 | off Jervis Bay, New South Wales | HMAS Voyager | ![]() |
82 | 232 | 26.1% | rammed by carrier HMAS Melbourne during excersizes | Deadliest peacetime incident in Australian military history. | |||
1813-02-11 | off Bruckless Bay, Donegal | 200 separate vessels | currachs | ![]() |
>80 | capsized during sudden storm | The fragile boats were following a shoal of herring out to sea. | ||||
1880-10-15 | Lake Michigan | Alpena | sidewheel steamer | ![]() |
~80 | the Big Blow storm | |||||
1899-03-30 | Stella | passenger ferry | ![]() |
78 | 112 | 41.1% | struck a reef | ||||
1976-10-20 | Mississippi River | MV George Prince | car ferry | ![]() |
78 | 18 | 81.3% | collided with tanker SS Frosta | |||
1909-02-12 | entry to Wellington Harbour | SS Penguin | interisland ferry | ![]() |
75 | 30 | 71.4% | struck a rock, and exploded when water entered boiler room | |||
1951-04-16 | English Channel | HMS Affray– | Amphibian-class submarine | ![]() |
75 | unknown | Disappeared on during a training exercise. The last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea. | ||||
1969-06-03 | USS Frank E. Evans | ![]() |
74 | 199 | 27.1% | collided with carrier HMAS Melbourne during excersizes | Occured during join US-Australian Sea Spirit excersize. Handling of the subsequent inquiry hurt relations between the two countries. | ||||
1893-02-11 | SS Naronic | ![]() |
Liverpool | New York | 74 | 0 | 100.0% | unknown | The ship's fate is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. | ||
1972-05-11 | Rio de la Plata | STV Royston Grange | cargo liner | ![]() |
72 | 0 | 100.0% | collided with tanker Tien Chee and caught fire | |||
1925-11-12 | English Channel | HMS M1 | submarine | ![]() |
69 | 0 | 100.0% | collided with SS Vidar while submerged | |||
1901-09-18 | near Cromer | HMS Cobra | turbine-powered destroyer | ![]() |
67 | 12 | 84.8% | broke her bank and sank | |||
1950-01-12 | Thames Estuary | HMS Truculent | T-class submarine | ![]() |
64 | collided with tanker Divina | Most died of exposure in the icey waters. | ||||
1921-01-20 | HMS K5 | K-class submarine | ![]() |
Bay of Biscay | 57 | 0 | 100.0% | Was en route to a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay. | |||
1844-10-23 | Ohio River, ~4 miles below New Albany | Lucy Walker | sidewheel steamer | ![]() |
Louisville | New Orleans | 75 ±25 | 50 | 60.0% | three boilers exploded | May have been racing another vehicle, overworking her engines. |
1903-01-09 | Clallam | steamboat | ![]() |
56 | 0 | 100.0% | storm | ||||
1925-08-18 | off Newport, Rhode Island | SS Mackinac | ![]() |
55 | 600 | 8.4% | boiler explosion | Most deaths from burns and smoke/steam inhalation; no deaths from drowning. Many boats came to the rescue and ship remained afloat. Skipper was Captain George W. McVey, who had also been captain of the SS Larchmont 17 years earlier at the time of her disaster less than 20 miles. [www3.gendisasters.com] | |||
1993-01-14 | Baltic Sea off Cape Arcona | MS Jan Heweliusz | RORO ferry | ![]() |
Swinoujscie | Ystad | 55 | 64 | 46.2% | capsized and sank | |
2012-12-18 | (unnamed vessel) | ![]() |
Somalia | Yemen | 55 | 5 | 91.7% | Carrying migrant workers. | |||
1905-05-21 | mouth of Wellington Harbour | TEV Wahine | interisland ferry | ![]() |
53 | 680 | 7.2% | capsized during cyclone | |||
1956-07-25 | off Nantucket | SS Andrea Doria | ![]() |
46 | 1660 | 2.7% | collided with MS Stockholm | Among the most famous maritime disasters; generated great interest in the media, and numerous lawsuits. | |||
1906-11-18 | Dix | ![]() |
45 | collision | |||||||
1905-03-16 | north of New Zealand | SS Elingamite | ![]() |
45 | Carrying large amount of gold; now a favorite site for adventerous divers. | ||||||
1980-09-09 | south of Japan | MV Derbyshire | ![]() |
44 | 0 | 100.0% | Typhoon Orchid | The largest UK ship ever lost at sea (91,655 gross tons). | |||
1901-08-15 | Lynn Canal south of Juneau | SS Islander | ![]() |
40 | struck an iceberg in narrow canal | ||||||
2012-10-01 | off Yung Shue Wan | Lamma IV | passenger ferry | ![]() |
39 | collided with passenger ship | En route for firework display of National Day. Many of the victims were employees of Hongkong Electric Company and their relatives. Deadliest maritime disaster in Hong Kong since 1971. | ||||
1911-03-24 | Sechelt | ![]() |
37 | unknown | Sank under mysterious circumstances. | ||||||
1958-11-18 | Lake Michigan | Carl D. Bradley | ![]() |
33 | storm | ||||||
2009-06-30 | 10 nmi off Doha | MV Demas Victory | supply steamer | ![]() |
30 | capsized in rough seas | |||||
1963-07-20 | St Lawrence River | MV Tritonica | ore carrier | ![]() |
Havre St-Pierre | Sorel | 33 | collided with cargoship Roonagh Head in thick fog | Carrying some 18,000 tons of ilmenite; sinking was so sudden that all navigation crew remained stuck in wheelhouse. A third vessel (Conde de Fontamar) collided with the wreckage but managed to rescue 7 survivors. | ||
1905-06-20 | S/V Fantome | windjammer | ![]() |
Belize City | 31 | Hurricane Mitch | |||||
2012-01-01 | off Isola del Giglio | Costa Concordia | ![]() |
≥30 | ran aground | ||||||
1975-11-10 | Lake Superior | SS Edmund Fitzgerald | ![]() |
29 | 0 | 100.0% | sank without warning during gale | ||||
1905-04-03 | Whitefish Bay | Superior City | ![]() |
29 | collided with Willis L. King | Boiler exploded during sinking. | |||||
1966-11-29 | Lake Huron | SS Daniel J. Morrell | lake freighter | ![]() |
28 | 1 | 96.6% | broke apart during storm | |||
1908-04-25 | off Isle of Wight | HMS Gladiator | ![]() |
27 | collided with SS Saint Paul | ||||||
1951-10-28 to 10-29 |
vicinity of Kilkee, Co. Clare | Inishtrahull | ![]() |
Glasgow | Limerick | 26 | unknown | Transporting a consignment of coal. Only confirmed to have sunk when brass plate marked "Glasgow" was recovered by coastguards. | |||
1951-10-29 | Morania | ![]() |
19 | collided with steamer Penobscott during tug | Carrying 800,000 US gallons of gasoline; collision caused explosion, and fires burned for days. | ||||||
1886-01-30 | Farrihy Bay | Fulmar | cargo ship | ![]() |
Troon | Limerick | 17 | 0 | 100.0% | wrecked during storm | |
1836-01-30 | near Kilkee, Co. Clare | Intrinsic | cargo ship | ![]() |
Liverpool | New Orleans | 17 | 0 | 100.0% | wrecked against cliffs during storm | |
1905-02-22 | SS Jeddah | ![]() |
MalaysiaPenang | 11 | abandoned by crew | May have inspired Joseph Conrad's novel Lord Jim. | |||||
1914-04-05 | Charles K. Buckley | lumber schooner | 7 | 1 | 87.5% | destroyed by high winds | |||||
1905-02-25 | London, Ontario | Princess Louise | double decked sidewheller | ![]() |
7 | swept over Waterworks Dam during London Flood | |||||
1991-10-01 | Andrea Gail | ![]() |
6 | 0 | 100.0% | sank during the "Perfect Storm"" | Inspiration for 'The Perfect Storm | ||||
1910-11-26 | Finance | off Sandy Hook | ![]() |
Colón | 4 | rammed by White Star freighter Georgic | |||||
1899-08-25 | Thames River in Ontario | Thames | ![]() |
torched and scuttled by mob | |||||||
1856-11-07 | "Oyster Bank" in Newcastle | Eleanor Lancaster | ![]() |
Newcastle | Melbourne | 0 | 15 | 0.0% | wrecked during gale | Carrying 640 tons of coal; under the command of Captain James McLean. All crew rescued by "Mr. Skelton" who rowed out to 3 times from the shore. Described in the anonymous 19th century poem The Perilous Gate. |