Ship Name	Registry	Date of Event	Facts	Est. # of Dead	Est. # of Survivors	Other Info
MV Doña Paz	Philippines	20 December 1987	Collided with the oil tanker Vector	est. 4,341
SS Kiangya	China	4 December 1948	Thought to have hit a mine, it blew up and sank in the mouth of the Huangpu River fifty miles south of Shanghai	between 2,750 and 3,920	700 to 1,000
SS Mont-Blanc	Canada	6 December 1917	Filled with wartime explosives, it collided with the Norwegian ship Imo in Halifax, Nova Scotia	c. 2000	9,000 injured
Le Joola	Senegal	26 September 2002	overloaded with passengers, it capsized in rough seas	est. 1863
Tek Sing	China	6 February 1822	Filled with Chinese immigrants, it struck a reef near Indonesia	est. 1600	208
Toya Maru	Japan	26 September 1954	sank during Typhoon Marie in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu	est. 1153
Al Salam Boccaccio 98	Egypt	3 February 2006	sank in the Red Sea en route from Duba, Saudi Arabia to Safaga in southern Egypt	1,020	388
RMS Empress of Ireland	Canada	29 May 1914	sank after colliding with SS Storstad on the Saint Lawrence River	1,012
SS General Slocum	United States	15 June 1904	aught fire and burned to the water line in New York's East River	1,000+
SS Kiche Maru	Japan	22 September 1912	Sank during a typhoon in the Pacific Ocean	1,000+
SS Hong Moh	Singapore	3 March 1921	struck the White Rocks near Shantou on the southern coast of China	about 1,000	100
MS Estonia	Estonia	28 September 1994	sank in rough water on the Baltic Sea	852		aka MS Viking Sally (1980–1990) MS Silja Star (–1991) MS Wasa King (–1993)
SS Eastland	U.S.	24 July 1915	rolled over while moored to the dock in the Chicago River	845		Read more on our Cook county site
HMS Vanguard	U.K.	9 July 1917	Explosion	843	2
MV Bukoba	Tanzania	21 May 1996	Lake Victoria	est 800		manifest showed 443 1st & 2nd class... 3rd class had no manifest
MV Princess of the Stars	Philippines	21 June 2008	capsized and sank in Typhoon Fengshen off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon in the Philippines	814	48
HMS Bulwark Predreadnought	Great Britain	26 November 1914	explosion while moored in Kethole Reach	738	12
SS Camorta	Great Britain	6 May 1902	Sank in a Cyclone in the Irrwaddy Delta	737
SS Mendi	Great Britain	21 February 1917	Struck by SS Darro while transporting the 5th Battalion, South African Native labour Corps to France	646	177
SS Norge	Denmark	28 June 1904	ran aground near Rockall on St. Helen's Reef	635	160
Novorossiysk	Soviet Union	29 October 1955	Exploded while moored in Sevastopol Bay	608
Shamia	Bangladesh	27 May 1986	capsized and sank during a storm on the Meghna River in southern Barisa, Bangladesh	est. 600
SS Princess Alice	Great Britain	3 September 1878	The Bywell Castle collided with the Princess Alice off Tripcock Point. The Princess Alice broke in two and sank within four minutes	est. 600	69-170
SS Grandcamp	U.S.	16 April 1947	caught fire and exploded dockside while being loaded with ammonium nitrate at Texas City, Texas	est. 581 including 28 firefighters		5,000 injured
SS La Bourgogne	France	7 March 1898	Collided in dense fog with the British ship Cromartyshire off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia	549	177
Ertugrul	Ottoman Empire	18 September 1890	struck a reef and sank during a typhoon off Kushimoto, Japan	533
HMS Sussex	Great Britain	1 March 1694	Lost in a storm off of Gibraltar	498	2
SS Valbanera	Spain	September 1919	Sank in the Gulf of Mexico 45 miles west of Key West, Florida during a hurricane	488	0
HMS Captain	Great Britain	7 September 1870	capsized and sank in high winds on the Atlantic Ocean	480	18
Cospatrick	Great Britai	17 November 1874	caught fire south of the Cape of Good Hope	469	3
MV Salahuddin-2	Bangladesh	3 May 2002	sunk in the Meghna River south of Dhaka, Bangladesh	450
SS Central America	U.S.	9 September 1857.	Sank off the Carolinas during a hurricane	425	153
SS Admiral Nakhimov	Soviet Union	31 August 1986	collided with the large bulk carrier Pyotr Vasyov in the Tsemes Bay, near the port of Novorossiysk, Russian SFSR	423	811
Cataraqui Barque	Great Britain	4 August 1845	struck a reef south-west of King Island,Tasmania	400	9
MV Nasrin-1	Bangladesh	8 July 2003	capsized and sank in the Meghna River near Chandpur, Bangladesh	400+
Lady Elgin	U.S.	8 September, 1860	Sunk in a collision with schooner Augusta of Oswego 10 miles from shore off of Chicago on Lake Michigan	about 400
HMS Invincible	Great Britain	16 March 1801	Damaged in a storm off the Norfolk Coast	over 400	196
RMS Tayleur	Great Britain	21 January 1854	grounded and sank during its maiden voyage off Lambay Island, Dublin Bay.	380	272
HMS Eurydice	Great Britain	24 March 1878	caught in a heavy snow storm off the Isle of Wight, capsized and sank	376	2
HMS Victoria	Great Britain	22 June 1893	rammed by the HMS Camperdown and sunk off Tripoli in Syria	358	357
SS Elbe	Germany	30 January 1895	Sank after a collision with the steamship Crathie in the North Sea	334	20
HMS Athenienne	Great Britain	20 October 1806	ran aground on a submerged reef in the Strait of Sicily and sank	347	141
SS Princess Sophia	Canada	23 October 1918	ran aground during a storm	343		the only survivor was a pet dog
SS Schiller	Germany	7 May 1875	sank after hitting the Retarrier Ledges in the Isles of Scilly	335	37
Yoshino	Japan	15 May 1904	Sunk after colliding with the Japanese armored cruiser Kasuga in dense fog	319	19
SS Pacific	United States	4 November 1875	collision with the SS Orpheus off the coast of Cape Flattery, Washington	298	2
Northfleet	Great Britain	22 January 1873	While at anchor off of Dungeness, it was run down by the steamer Murillo	293
New Era	United States	13 November 1854	grounding in a storm at Deal Beach in New Jersey	284	143
USS Maine	United States	15 February 1898	Sank after an explosion in the ships magazine while at anchor in the harbor at Havana, Cuba	274	100	preceded Spanish-American War
12 ships sunk in Great lakes Storm of 1913	United States	1913	a cyclonic blizzard occurred between 7 and 10 November 1913	255		Seven more ships were damaged beyond repair and an additional 19 ships that had been stranded were later salvaged
Powhatan	United States	16 April 1854	sank off the coast of New Jersey in a severe storm with no survivors	between 250 and 311
HMS Avenger	Great Britain	20 December 1847	Ran agound on the Sorelle rocks near Malta	242	8
Neva	Great Britain	13 May 1835	wrecked on a reef near King Island, Tasmania	224 (mainly women and children)		a convict ship that left Cork, bound for Sydney, Australia
SS Waratah	Great Britain	27 July 1909	en route from Australia to London was lost without trace off Durban on the east-coast of South Africa.	211
Iolaire	United Kingdom	1 January 1919	hit submerged rocks in the Minch strait and sank	at least 205	c. 75
SS Heraklion	Greece	8 December 1966	an unsecured vehicle broke through the loading door which allowed seawater to enter the ship, capsizing and sinking it in the Aegean Sea	over 200	47	en route from the port of Souda to Piraeus in Athens
Liberté	France	25 September 1911	An accidental explosion at the bow at starboard started a fire in the magazines while moored in Toulon harbour	200
Atlantic	United States	20 August 1852	Sank after a collision with the steamer Ogdensburg off Long Point on Lake Erie	bet. 150-200	300-350
MS Herald of Free Enterprise	Great Britain	6 March 1987	The doors to the car decks were left open by the Assistant Bosun causing the ferry to take on water and quickly capsize. It sank just minutes after leaving the harbour at the Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge	539	346
SS Portland	United States	26 November 1898	lost on a run from Boston to Portland in "The Portland Gale"	192	0
SS Southern Cross	Canada	March 31, 1914	Lost in a storm between 31 March and 3 April 1914 believed to be in the vicinity of Cape Pine	173	0
SS Florizel	Canada	23 February 1918	Sunk after striking a reef at Horn Head Point Cape Race near Cappahayden, Newfoundland Canada	173
Shiun Maru	Japan	11 May 1955	Collided in dense fog with sister ship Uko Maru in the Seto Inland Sea	168
MS Scandinavian Star	Denmark	April 7, 1990	caught fire in 1990 on route between Norway and Denmark	157
MV Princess of the Orient	Philippines	18 September 1998	Capsized in typhoon "Vicky" near Fortune Island in Batangas	150	238	Survivors were floating at sea for more than 12 hours before rescuers were able to reach them
SS Larchmont	United States	12 February 1907	Collided with schooner Harry knowlton and sunk off Block Island, Rhode Island	est. 150	50
MS Express Samina	Greece	26 September 2000	hit a reef and sunk near the island of Paros	143		82 of the 473 passengers died 61 crew members
MV Cebu City	Philippines	2 December 1994	sunk in Manila Bay after colliding with Singaporean freighter Kota Suria	140
Moby Prince	Italy	10 April 1991	collided with the oil tanker Agip Abruzzo in Livorno harbour and caught fire	140
SS Wairarapa	New Zealand	29 October 1894	In heavy fog, while en route from Sydney to Auckland, ran into Great Barrier Island	140	90
SS Noronic	Canada	16 September 1949	Caught fire dockside at Toronto Harbour	est. 118 to 139		Most of the deaths were from suffocation or burns, from being trampled or from leaping off the upper decks onto the pier. Only one person drowned
SS Koombana		20 March 1912	sank at an unknown location north of Port Hedland, Western Australia during a cyclone	est. 138	0	Other than some floating wreckage, no trace was ever found of the ship
SS Morro Castle	United States	8 September 1934	en route from Havana to New York, the Morro Castle caught fire and burned	137	412
SS Daphne	Great Britain	3 July 1883	capsized and sank moments after her naming and launching at a shipyard in Govan, Glasgow, Scotland	est. 124 to 195	70
MV Princess Victoria	United Kingdom	31 January 1953	Sank in the North Channel during a severe storm	133
SS Valencia	United States	22 January 1906	struck a reef near Pachena Point on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island and sunk	136	37 men	no women or children survived
SS Kuru	Finland	7 September 1929	sank after capsizing in high winds in Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere, Finland	136-138
HMS Ontario	Great Britain	31 October 1780	sank in a storm while underway from Fort Niagara to Oswego	est. 130		Casualties included 60 British soldiers of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot, a crew of about 40 Canadians and possibly up to 30 American prisoners of war
SS Mohegan		14 October 1898.	Sank off the coast of the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall after hitting The Manacles	106
SS City of Rio De Janeiro		21 February 1901	Sank after striking a submerged reef at the entry to San Francisco Bay while inward bound from Hong Kong.	135	85	wreck lies in 320 feet of water just off the Golden Gate and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places
TSMS Lakonia	Greece	22 December 1963	Caught fire and burned in the Atlantic Ocean	128		Only 53 of the people were killed in the actual fire. The rest died from exposure, drowning and injuries sustained while diving overboard
HMS Gladiator		25 April 1908	During a late snowstorm off the Isle of Wight Gladiator was heading into port when she struck the outbound American steamer SS Saint Paul.	128
SS Bokhara		10 October 1892	sank in a typhoon off the coast of Sand Island in the Pescadores, Formosa.	125		11 members of the Hong Kong cricket team perished (2 survived)
SS Hilda		19 Nov 1905	struck ground at the entrance to Saint-Malo harbour and sank	125	6
SS Yongala	Australia	23 March 1911	sank off Cape Bowling Green, Australia in a cyclone	122	0	sank without a trace
SS Stella		30 March 1899	Struck rocks and sank in 8 minutes off the Casquets, Channel Islands	105	112	Most of the deaths were due to exposure and hypothermia in the cold sea water.
USS Huron	United States	24 November 1877	wrecked in a heavy storm near Nags Head, North Carolina.	98
Hans Hedtoft	Denmark	30 January 1959	On its maiden voyage, struck an iceberg while sailing from Greenland	95	0
SS Yarmouth Castle	Panama	1965	fire while at sea	90
SS Home	United States	7 October 1837	struck a sandbar off the New Jersey coast.	90		Unaware of the extent of the damage, her captain proceeded to Charleston where she encountered the Racer's Storm. The Home started taking on water as she rounded Cape Hatteras 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
Metropolis	United States	31 January 1878	sank off the North Carolina coast	85
Eleanor Lancaster		7 November 1856	wrecked in a gale on Oyster Bank, Newcastle, NSW			All 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.
SS Penguin	New Zealand	12 February 1909	hit a rock near the entrance to Wellington harbour, sinking, then exploding when water entered her boiler room.	75	30
HMAS Voyager	Australia	10 February 1964	rammed by the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, it sunk off Jervis Bay, New South Wales	82	232
Currach Fishing tragedy		11 February 1813	200 Currachs were fishing off Bruckless Bay, Donegal. The shoal of herring moved out to sea, followed by the fragile boats. A sudden storm capsized most of them.	over 80 fishermen
Alpena Sidewheel steamer	United States		capsized and sank on Lake Michigan in the "Big Blow" storm of 15 October 1880	est. 80
HMS Affray		16 April 1951	sank (unknown cause)	75		was the last Royal Navy submarine to be lost at sea
USS Frank E. Evans	United States	3 June 1969	hile operating as a plane guard for the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne during the SEATO training exercise Sea Spirit, the destroyer USS Frank E. Evans crossed the bows of the carrier and was rammed and sunk	74	199
STV Royston Grange	United Kingdom	11 May 1972	destroyed by fire after a collision with the petroleum tanker Tien Chee in the Rio de la Plata	72	0
HMS K5 Submarine	British	20 January 1921	sank en route to a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay.	57
HMS M1 Submarine	British	1925	A Swedish ship, SS Vidar, struck the submerged M1 and sank her in 70 m of water.	69
HMS Truculent Submarine	British	12 January 1950	Collided with the Swedish oil tanker Divina	64
SS Andrea Doria	Italy	25 July 1956	approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts bound for New York City, the Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound MS Stockholm	46	1,614
MV Derbyshire	United Kingdom	9 September 1980	lost south of Japan, during Typhoon Orchid	44	0	largest UK ship ever to have been lost at sea
SS Islander	Canada	15 August 1901	sank while sailing down the narrow Lynn Canal south of Juneau, after striking an iceberg that stove a large hole in her forward port quarter	40	132
SS Edmund Fitzgerald	United States	10 November 1975	sank during a Lake Superior gale	29	0
SS Daniel J. Morrell		29 November 1966	broke up during a strong storm on Lake Huron	29	1
Carl D. Bradley		18 November 1958	sank in Lake Michigan in a storm	33
Superior City		1920	sank in Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior after a collision with the Willis L. King	29
SS Dakota	United States	March 3 1907	Sank outside Yokohama harbor	0		all of her passengers and crew survived by evacuating the ship in her lifeboats

The source of these facts is wikipedia.org

BACK -- HOME


©Genealogy Trails