All items are drawn from the public media
source. When information is provided by an onboard source, it is
clearly indicated.
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| YEAR |
SHIP |
EVENT |
| 2013 | MV St. Thomas Aquinas | CNN reports Two days after the ferry they were on sank after colliding with a cargo ship, 85 people remained unaccounted for Sunday in waters between southern Philippine islands, a Coast Guard official said. Authorities have found the bodies of 34 people and rescued another 751. The incident occurred around 9 p.m. Friday in the Mactan Channel about 2 miles northwest of Cebu City, the capital of Cebu province. The passenger ship was coming from nearby Butuan City and the cargo ship -- the Sulpicio, which had about 20 people aboard -- was leaving Cebu for the province of Davao in Mindanao. The passenger ferry sank, but not before sending out a distress call heard by Coast Guard officials. The cargo vessel involved in the crash -- along with Navy, Coast Guard and commercial vessels -- was helping in the rescue efforts. |
2012 N=7 |
HMS Bounty | The Washington Post reports the Coast Guard is searching for two people off the coast of North Carolina who had been passengers aboard the tall ship HMS Bounty, which lost power in Hurricane Sandy and sank after 14 other passengers were rescued. The Coast Guard added that the two missing people were attempting to flee the ship and board the lifeboats when a huge wave hurled them into the water. A third person, a man, was also thrown into the sea, but other survivors in the lifeboats were able to pull him in. The HMS Bounty, a three-masted sailing ship that has appeared in two Hollywood movies, was reportedly sailing from Connecticut to St. Petersburg, Fla., when it began taking on too much water and lost propulsion Sunday night. The ship sent an emergency distress signal to the Coast Guard at about 9 p.m. Sunday. About two hours later, the HMS Bounty Organization, which owns the ship, called the Coast Guard, confirming that it had lost radio contact with the vessel, according to the Coast Guard. By 2 a.m. Monday, the Coast Guard had dispatched a C-130 aircraft to the scene to communicate directly with the ship’s passengers. At 6:30 a.m Monday, the first Jayhawk helicopter arrived, and found that the passengers had abandoned the ship and boarded 25-foot lifeboats. The Coast Guard said the passengers wore cold-water survival suits and life jackets and that the lifeboats had canopies. |
| Paradise | Thanh Nien News reports five Taiwanese tourists were killed when their tender capsized after a collision with a tourist boat in Ha Long Bay Wednesday. Quang Ninh province authorities said the small vessel was carrying 18 tourists, all Taiwanese and mainland Chinese, back to their ship after a visit to Sung Sot Cave when it collided with the Dong Phong 02 at around 4:15 p.m. It sank killing a 69-year-old man, thee women, and a nine-year-old girl. The remaining 13 were rescued and safely brought to shore. The tender had been ferrying the tourists back to a larger ship named Paradise, which was carrying 36 Taiwanese and Chinese tourists. The 36, all employees from a company in Kaohsiung and their families, came to Vietnam on October 2 with Taiwan-based Life Tour. They were scheduled to return home October 5, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. Vietnamese authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. | |
| Skagit Tanzania Ferry |
Reuters reports rescue workers fought rough seas on Thursday to search for survivors after an overcrowded ferry sank near the Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar, but hopes of finding people alive were slim. At least 68 people were confirmed dead and 145 were rescued after the ship capsized around midday on Wednesday near Chumbe island, west of Zanzibar. The vessel had set sail from mainland Tanzania to the semi-autonomous archipelago, a popular tourist beach destination. The ferry, with a maximum carrying capacity of 250 people according to Zanzibar marine authorities, was carrying 290 people, officials said. | |
| Unknown | CNN reports rescuers pulled more than 130 people from the waters between Australia and Indonesia on Wednesday after a ship capsized. Merchant and naval vessels carried out the rescue effort about 107 nautical miles north of Australia's Christmas Island, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. By 3:50 p.m. (1:50 a.m. ET), 136 people had been rescued from about 150 believed to have been on board the ship when it turned over; one person was reported dead. The ship is the second to capsize in the area in the past week. | |
| Unknown | CNN reports rescuers have saved 110 people from a ship that capsized in the waters between Australia and Indonesia and are searching for the many missing, an Australian official said Friday. The ship, that was carrying about 200 people, flipped over Thursday, authorities said, triggering the massive rescue effort. Authorities believe all the passengers in the ship were male. The survivors were being transported to Christmas Island. "Over the course of 36 hours from the time the boat capsized, my advice is that people can survive out there if they've got either life jackets or they are able to hold onto debris, as a lot of people did through the course of yesterday," an official said. "So the window is still there where we hold out the prospect of finding more people alive." On Thursday, authorities said the vessel was 110 nautical miles northwest of Christmas Island. Indonesia has sent two warships to assist Australian rescue efforts. Four more ships will be in the area Friday to help the ships and aircraft that are already searching. | |
| Rabaul Queen (ferry) |
The New York Times reports rescuers pulled more than 200 survivors from the ocean on Thursday asships and aircraft searched for more after a ferry sank off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The fate of scores of others aboard the ferry was unknown as evening approached. Media reports estimated that 300 to 350 people were aboard the ferry when it sank early on Thursday about 10 miles off the north coast of Papua New Guinea. Nearby commercial ships rescued 238 people from the sea. The ferry sank between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time, Captain Rahman said, as it was traveling from Kimbe on the island of New Britain to the town of Lae on the main island. The ferry sent a distress signal that was received in Australia and relayed to the maritime authority in Papua New Guinea. The ship has a capacity of 300 passengers, but Captain Rahman said he did not know how many were aboard. The cause of the accident was not known, he said. | |
| Costa Concordia Costa Cruises |
There are many media reports, details still emerging that the ship struck a rock, took on water, listed 20 degrees, and subsequently went on its side and partially submerged off the Italian Tuscan coast in the Mediterranean. As of January 15th, six people (5 pax, 1 crew) were confirmed dead from among the 4200 passengers and crew. The ship had embarked on a seven day cruise, leaving from Civitavecchia several hours before the accident occured. Evacuation of the ship was disorganized; the Captain has been charged with manslaughter, in part because he had left the ship before all passengers and crew had been cleared from the vessel. As of January 16th, 15 persons remain missing and details continue to be released. Links to accurate information will be posted in due time.UPDATE January 17: The death toll is now 11 and 28 people remain missing (24 pax, 4 crew). | |
2011 N=5 |
Sergei Abramov Russian riverboat |
RiaNovosti reports a fire on a passenger vessel moored at a Moscow river port was finally extinguished after a thirteen hour struggle by firefighters on Monday evening. Four people on board were injured and one crewmember is still missing. “The fire was extinguished at 5.27 p.m Moscow time [13.27 GMT],” the source said, adding the boat is underwater at the stern but the burnt-out bow remains afloat. The three-deck river boat Sergei Abramov caught fire early on Monday. The fire quickly engulfed the vessel and caused it to list. Emergency crews will attempt to settle the vessel on the riverbed to prevent engine oil spilling into the river, the source said. According to a preliminary investigation, the fire might have been caused by defective electric wiring or fire-safety violations. |
| Jiugang | Shanghai Daily reports a 17 million yuan (US$2.68 million) luxury cruise sank in the Yellow River immediately after it was launched in Lanzhou in northwest China. The ship went down due to a mishandling error on September 29 and was salvaged three days later. No one was hurt in the accident, the Nanfang Daily reported yesterday. A picture posted on the Internet showed the stern of the ship submerged, with the bow tilted up at an angle of about 30 degrees. The ship was commissioned by the local Jiugang Group. The Lanzhou Transportation Bureau was in charge of its construction. The cruise ship is 32.4 meters long with a top speed of 22 kilometers per hour and can carry 80 passengers. A bureau official, surnamed Qiao, said the ship was built by a Sichuan Province company, but media reports said it was constructed in the city's Gaolan County. Qiao said the shipyard wrongly calculated the water level on the launch day. | |
| Swallow (riverboat) | The Moscow Times reports aAn overloaded boat, apparently carrying a group of partyers, rammed into a moored barge near Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium early Sunday, sinking on the spot and killing nine people. The Moscow River accident is the second of its kind in less than a month after the Bulgaria riverboat sank in the Volga River, killing 122. An investigation was ongoing Sunday, but investigators said they were inclined to blame the motorboat’s owner, with a reputation for giving rides to celebrities and ignoring navigation rules. He died in the accident. The boat, identified in some news reports as the Swallow, collided with the Oka-5 barge around 1 a.m. It was carrying 16 people despite a maximum capacity of 12. | |
Bulgaria |
RIA Novosti reports the twin-deck river boat sank on Sunday at 01:58 PM Moscow time (09:58 GMT) near the village of Syukeyevo in the Kansko-Ustinovsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan on the Volga River. The ship was carrying 196 people instead of the maximum 120 allowed by safety rules. A total of 79 people were rescued, while around 100 are still missing and nine, including a child, have been found dead, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said on Monday. Witnesses said the vessel rolled on its right side and sank in eight minutes. Rescuers say that the vessel could have been sunk by a large wave. | |
| Truong Hai | Voice of Viet Nam News reports 12 bodies have been found and all the passengers, including both the saved and the dead (except for one) have been identified. A cruise boat named Truong Hai, coded QN 5198, carrying 21 visitors and six sailors sank at 5:am (local time) on the morning of February 17 off the Ti Top island in Ha Long Bay. Among the total of 21 tourists on board, there were two Vietnamese people and 19 foreigners coming from Russia (2), the UK (1), Denmark (2), Germany (1), Italy (2), the US (3), Japan (1), Australia (1), France (2), Sweden (2) and Switzerland (2). Initial findings point to a leak in the engine room as the cause of the accident. By noon of the same day, search and rescue workers saved nine foreigners, one captain and four sailors. At 11:45 am, 12 bodies were salvaged. | |
2010 N=2 |
Alta |
The Monreal Gazette reports sixteen Canadian tourists had to be rescued after the yacht they were travelling on struck a reef in the Galapagos Islands Wednesday evening. "The boat was coming into harbour at 8:30 p.m. in Puerto Ayora and it struck a reef and couldn't free itself," said Fernando Diez of Quasar Expeditions in Quito. The passengers were brought to shore and "no injuries were reported, and they were set up in a waterfront hotel," he added. "We're aware of the sinking of the ALTA cruise ship off the shore of Santa Cruz Island and all affected Canadians are safe and accounted for," said Dana Cryderman of the Foreign Affairs Department. |
| Concordia Class Afloat |
The Vancouver Sun reports 64 passengers and crew were rescued in lifeboats in the Atlantic Ocean after the sailing ship sank Thursday in rough waters about 550 kilometres from Rio de Janeiro. The crew and passengers (high school students) spent 16 to 18 hours huddled in life rafts until rescuers found them in the dark. | |
2009 N=5 |
Catalyn B Phillipine ferry |
BBC reports at least 27 people are missing after a passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat and sank in the Philippines. The wooden-hulled ferry and the fishing boat were carrying at least 73 people between them, when they collided in Manila Bay in the early hours. Forty-six people had been rescued from the waters. There were no reports of bad weather conditions in the area and the cause of the collision is not yet clear. The passenger ferry was on its way to Lubang island southeast of Manila. |
| Princess Ashika (Shipping Corporation of Polynesia) |
eTurboNews reports two bodies have been recovered and 46 people remain missing after a ferry sank last night in waters off Tonga. The ferry sank in waters north of the main island of Tongatapu last night. A passenger said the sea was rough and the waves went into the lower deck of the ferry where the crew were. The ferry rocked and he believed this caused the cargo to move to one side. The ferry then began to overturn and some passengers jumped off. The ferry was heading from Nuku'alofa to Ha'afeva, in the Nomuka Islands group, when it issued a mayday call just before 11pm. The first rescue boats to reach the scene pulled 42 people from liferafts - 17 passengers and 25 crew, including the captain. Another 11 were subsequently found safe and well this morning. Safety at Sea International reports hopes are fading today that up to 33 passengers will be found alive from the sinking of an inter-island ferry last night off Tonga in the South Pacific. Local authorities now believe the 1972-built Princess Ashika had up to 100 people aboard when it foundered 85km northeast of the Tongan capital of Nuku-alofa at about 2300 local time last night. Women and children were said to be sleeping when waves struck the ferry. A survivor told reporters in Tonga that seven of eight life rafts were filled with men, while a ninth drifted away empty. Many of the missing were believed to be women and children. Rescuers saved 53 people, and two bodies have been recovered. The ship, built as Olive Maru No 1, began its temporary Tongan deployment on 4 July, replacing Polynesia Shipping’s Olovaha (955gt and built in 1981). The accident is the second South Pacific ferry disaster in just a few weeks; a vessel sank near Kiribati last month with the loss of 33 lives. | |
| Choke Somboon 19 (Dive Asia) |
Travel
Blackboard reports seven people are missing after the Thai boat
bound for Phuket capsized and sank after heavy rain and winds on Sunday
night. The boat was traveling at speeds of eight to nine knots on its
return journey when it sank from the Similan Islands to Phuket with 30
passengers and crew on board. 23 people were able to get into the life
rafts and have safely returned to Phuket, but seven people are still
missing and a search in the area was conducted [Monday] and continues
on Tuesday. It is believed that the six-month old ship hit a vortex
which had formed quickly, causing it to capsize. Local fisherman, who
were nearby, raced to the scene and found the survivors adrift in an
inflatable lifeboat. |
|
| Teratai Prima Indonesian ferry |
BBC reports that a search operation is under way after the ferry, carrying about
250 passengers and 17 crew, sank in a storm ( a tropical cyclone caused
wasve of 5 - 6 metres) in central Indonesia. A transport agency
spokesman earlier said 18 people were known to have survived -- it was
not immediately clear if the authorities expected to find more
survivors. The ferry was travelling from Pare Pare in South Sulawesi to
Samarinda in East Kalimantan when it went down. UPDATE: As of January
12, 245 people are still missing. |
|
2008 N=3 |
Maejan Philippine Ferry |
At least 23 people drowned when the overcrowded ferry
capsized just short of its destination (in Aparri town in north-eastern
Cagayan province) in rough seas in the north-eastern Philippines.
Terrified passengers leaped into the sea, and a further 33 are still
missing after the wooden-hulled Maejan, traveling from Calayan islands
in the Luzon Strait, encountered strong waves and currents on Sunday
evening. Nearly 100 passengers jumped into the chilly water after waves
broke the ferry's bamboo outrigger, causing it to bob wildly. |
| Princess of Stars Sulpico Lines |
The ship stalled in rough seas
near Sibuyan island in the central Philippines while in the midst of a
typhoon. "It’s dead
on the water, but we can’t get to it because of big waves,” said a
coast guard spokesman. The ship left Manila on Saturday morning for the
central province of Cebu. The ship capsized later in the day. As of
June 23, more than 700 people remain missing and are feared dead.
Twenty-eight passengers and crew did survive and miraculously made
their way to the coast in a lifeboat. |
|
| MV Saurav Bangladesh Ferry |
The ferry, carrying more than 100 passengers, capsized Thursday after hitting a cargo vessel on the Buriganga River. Most of the 39 dead were women and children who were traveling on the lower deck of the boat; about 20 people remain missing. The ferry had been traveling from Dhaka to the nearby town of Taltala.It sank near shore in the calm river after colliding with a small cargo vessel and many people were able to swim to safety. The cargo vessel was slightly damaged. | |
2007 N=5 |
Explorer (GAP Adventures) |
More than 150 passengers and crew (91 passengers, 9 expedition staff, 54 crew) on an Antarctica cruise abandoned ship near the South Shetland Islands, 120 km north of the Antarctica peninsula, after the ship hit an unidentified object (likely ice) which put a 5 - 6 hole through both hulls, took on water and listed 25 - 30 degrees and started sinking. A distress call was issued at about 5AM GMT and passengers boarded lifeboats 90 minutes later in the dark. After 4 or 5 hours in open lifeboats in active seas, passengers were transferred from life boats to Hurtigruten's Nordnorge which was in the area (it rescued passsengers 10 months earlier when another ship went grounded in Anarctica January 30, 2007) . Air temperatures are around minus 5C; sea temperatures are minus 1C. Last word from the cruise ship's operator are that the ship has been stabilized and is not likely to sink, but this is disputed by news photos and reports. The ship left Ushuaia on November 11 for a 19 day cruise to the Drake Passage. UPDATE 19:30GMT: The Chilean Navy has dispatched an icebreaker, Contraalmirante Oscar Viel Toro, to evaluate the condition of Explorer and to see if she can be righted/toed to King George Island (presently listing 45 - 50 degrees). The passengers and crew will be spending the night at the island Chilean Navy base before flying to Punta Arenas in the morning. Chances are she could sink overnight as bad weather is forecast, but the Chilean Navy will be checking her over and maintaining a watch overnight. Ship sank overnight. PICTURES HERE. NOTE: Think about the environmental impact -- fuel oils, hydraulics, chemicals and substances in air conditioning and other systems, and aresenic and other harmful chemicals from televisions, computer screens, etc. |
| Don Pedro (Iscomar) |
This Spanish RO-RO
multi-purpose ferry sank this morning after striking a tiny barren
island a mile from Ibiza. All 20 aboard the vessel were rescued.
Seven
had to be treated at hospital for minor injuries and hypothermia.
She
sank at around 05:30 hrs on her way from Ibiza to Valencia and had 150
tons of diesel fuel in her tanks which are reported to be leaking. The
ship sank half an hour after striking the islet. Marine rescue
services are seeking to contain the contamination from the leaking
fuel. The 8762 gross tons DON PEDRO was built in 1984. |
|
| Blue Water
Princess Blue Magic Ferries |
This passenger
ferry has sunk before dawn in central Philippines (off the town of San
Francisco, about 220km (140 miles) south-east of Manila), leaving at
least eleven people dead and an unknown number missing, officials
say. At least 106 passengers were rescued, officials say. It is
believed the ferry had as many as 256 people on board. The cause of the
sinking is not clear. The vessel was heading to the island of Masbate,
after leaving the port of Lucena. It grounded and rested half
submerged around 500 meters from shore. |
|
| Sea Diamond (Louis Cruises) | The ship hit a reef in a lagoon a half mile from shore near the main port of Santorini. It was reported to be taking on water and listed 12 degrees but was stabilized when watertight doors were stabilized. All 1153 passengers and all but 20 of 391 were evacuated from the shi, without injury. Sister ship Perla is en route to Santorini to collect Sea Diamond’s passengers. UPDATE APRIL 6: It is reported that the ship sunk in the early morning hours and that two French passengers — a 45 year-old man and his 16-year-old daughter are missing. | |
| Levina 1 (Indonesia) |
The ferry involved in a deadly mid-voyage fire on Thursday has sunk with several safety investigators, police and journalists on board. A TV cameraman has died and three others are missing, local media says. There were 16 people on the Levina I ferry off the coast of Jakarta when it suddenly leaned to the right and sank, said a reporter who was on board. Earlier, the death toll from Thursday's fire rose to 41 after rescuers found 21 bodies drifting at sea, officials said. | |
2006 N=3 |
Arabic al-Dana |
The Bahrain ferry capsized at about 9:45 PM, shortly after leaving the dock and carrying Britons, South Africans, Egyptians and Filipinos. The ferry was apparently beyond its capacity of 100 passengers -- reportedly there was as many as 150 onboard. 57 died in the accident. |
| Al Salam Boccaccio 98 |
The Egyptian RO-RO ferry sank off Egypt in the Red Sea with almost 1000 persons losing their life. Approximately 440 passengers/crew were rescued following the disaster which is being investigated by Egyptian authorities and the International Maritime Organization. Most of the passengers were Egyptian citizens on the way home from work in Saudi Arabia. | |
| Queen of the North (BC Ferries) |
The 125-metre long ferry hit a rock and sank about 135 kilometers from Prince Rupert. Approximately 100 passengers and crew were evacuated and rescued safely; 2 passengers remain missing and are presumed dead. In the peak season, the vessel could carry 700 passengers and crew and 115 cars. | |
2004 N=1 |
Wilderness Adventurer (Glacier
Bay Cruiseline) |
The ship was evacuated after striking ice and taking on water in Tracy Arm in southeastern Alaska. The ice punctured a 3 inch hole into the hull. There were no injuries and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated to another ship. The ship didn’t fully sink. |
2003 N=1 |
Safari Spirit (American Safari
Cruises) |
Ship hit some rocks about 80 miles north of the northern tip of Vancouver Island while sailing from Seattle to Alaska. All aboard were safely evacuated to lifeboats. The ship sank in about 30 feet of water. |
2002 N=1
|
Terra Australis (Crusceros
Australis) |
Ship sank off southwest coast of Chile following a fire that began in the engine room and spread throughout the ship. No pax aboard, but 1 crew member died of smoke inhalation. Environmental impact assessed for pollution risk from fuel and oil leakage. |
2000 N=4 |
Zeus III (Sun Cruises) | BBC reports a tourist boat carrying 38 people has sunk off the Aegean island of Naxos, killing an elderly American man. The other passengers, 27 Americans, one German, three Greeks and the crew of seven were rescued. The vessel ran aground five minutes after leaving Naxos for Santorini and was immediately evacuated. |
| Express Samina (Hellas Ferries) | At 22.20 on Tuesday 26 September 2000, the Express Samina hit a rocky islet and sank with the loss of 82 of the 550 passengers, 2 km off the coast of Paros. Her captain and mate have been arrested and charged with manslaughter amid allegations that at the time of the collision the crew had left the bridge to watch the replay on one of the ship's TVs of a goal in an important local soccer match. After the collision the ship lurched violently to port and the power supply failed. All on board were then left in the dark, scrambling for life jackets and life-rafts, as the ship began sinking by the bow. The Express Samina took 45 minutes to sink. During this period most of the crew seem to have left the passengers to their own devices; survivor accounts suggest that they provided little in the way of help in either finding life-jackets or launching the boats. Several of the boats were reported by survivors as being defective, and many were reduced to clinging to nearby rocky islets until they could be picked up by local fishing boats that - braving the rough seas - rushed from Parikia, or helicopters from several British Royal Navy ships that were on exercises in the area. See here for more details. |
|
| World Discoverer | In April 2000, 11 days before its scheduled annual maintenance, the German World Discoverer cruise ship hit an uncharted reef, forcing the captain to steer it into a beach to prevent it from sinking. The 99 passengers on board were unharmed, but the ship proved unsalvageable. It remains tilted on its side at Roderick Bay, its wooden deck rotting and its hull browned with rust. Several salvage companies have attempted to retrieve the ship, but arrived too late—locals ransacked the World Discoverer for equipment during the Solomon Islands’ civil war. Tidal activity has caused further damage to the structure and surface rusting. It is likely that this ship will remain in place for a long time to come, slowly crumbling into the ocean. To see the World Discoverer from above, look at the Google Maps satellite view. |
|
| Seabreeze (Premier) |
Sunk in 30 foot seas - no passengers aboard; no casualties | |
1999 N=3 |
M/S Sleipner | On 26 November 1999, only three months after being commissioned, during bad weather, Sleipner collided with a rock in the notorious part of the North Sea called "Sletta", just north of the town of Haugesund. The ship sank and 16 of the people on board died. An investigation found tthat the initial cause of the accident was a navigational error as the boat was approximately 400 meters off course; at the time of the accident, the waves were higher than the boat was certified for; Austal Ships had deviated from the original blueprints - Instead of installing one communication device in each of the two hulls, both the main and back-up system were installed on one side... as it was this side that hit the rock, most of the electrical circuits went off-line shortly after the accident. Only one of the life rafts was deployed, and this one floated away before passengers could board; and the life vests as approved by the Norwegian authorities turned out to be flawed. |
| S.V. Sir Francis Drake (Tall ship Adventures) | Sunk in hurricane while moored | |
| Sun Vista (Sun) |
Fire in engine room – Sinks off Malaysia. Large oil spill/ | |
1998 N=1 |
Fantome (Windjammer) |
Sunk trying to outrun Hurricane Mitch - more than 30 crew perish |
1995 N=1 |
Club Royale |
Gambling cruise ship sinks while riding out storm (Hurrican Erin) – 5 Lives were lost when that ship sank, including the Captain who went down with the ship. |
1994 N=3 |
Estonia (Estline) |
The ship sunk in the Baltic sea in the worst disaster at sea in recent years -- approximately 852 passengers and crew perished when the ship sunk September 28, 1994. The ship was on a scheduled crossing to Stockholm. The ship was fully loaded, and was listing slightly to port because of poor cargo distribution. According to the final disaster report the weather was rough, with a wind of 15 to 20 metres per second (29 to 39 kn; 34 to 45 mph), force 7–8 on the Beaufort scale and a significant wave height of 4 to 6 metres (13 to 20 ft) compared with the highest measured significant wave height in the Baltic Sea of 7.7 metres (25.3 ft). The first sign of trouble onboard the Estonia was a metallic bang caused by a heavy wave hitting the bow doors around 01:00, when the ship was on the outskirts of the Turku archipelago, but an inspection—limited to checking the indicator lights for the ramp and visor—showed no problems. Over the next 10 minutes, similar noises were reported by passengers and other crew.[10] At about 01:15, the visor separated and the ship took on a heavy starboard list (initial 30 to 40 degrees, but by 01:30, the ship had rolled 90 degrees) as water flooded into the vehicle deck. Estonia was turned to port and slowed before her four engines cut out completely. |
| Achille Lauro (Starlauro) |
Fire and sunk in Indian Ocean (near Seychelles) – 4 die, 8 injured | |
| Sally Albatross |
Grounded in Gulf of Finland – Half-sunk | |
1992 N=1 |
Royal Pacific |
Sinks in a collision with fishing vessel – 2 dead and 30 - 100 missing |
1991 N=1 |
Oceanos |
Sinks off coast of South Africa when the engine room floods |
1988 N=1 |
Jupiter (Epirotiki) |
Collision at entrance to Piraeus – Sunk |
1987 N=2 |
Dona Paz (Sulpico Line) | On December 20, 1987, at 0630H, Philippine Standard Time, the Doña Paz disembarked from Tacloban City, for the Philippine capital of Manila. The vessel was due in Manila at 0400 the following day, and it was reported that it last made radio contact at around 2000. While most of the passengers slept, the Doña Paz collided with MT Vector, an oil tanker en route from Bataan to Masbate. The Vector was carrying 8,800 barrels of gasoline and other petroleum products.The Doña Paz sank within two hours of the collision, while the Vector sank within four hours. Both ships sank in about 545 meters of water in the shark-infested Tablas Strait. Only 26 survivors were retrieved from the water. Twenty-four of them were passengers from the Doña Paz while the other two were crewmen from the Vector's 13-man crew. The eventual official death toll was later recorded at 1,749, however the 2008 edition of the World Almanac records the estimated lives lost at 4,341. |
| Herald of Free Enterprise |
On March 6, the ro-ro ferry capsized and sunk near Bruges (Belgium) shortly after leaving the port of Zeebrugge, claiming 193 lives; an estimated 350 passengers were saved. The tragedy unfolded in just 90 seconds. A subsequent inquiry revealed the ferry set sail with its bow doors open. There were calls for a change in the law after the Appeal Court ruled no one could be held responsible and an attempt to prosecute failed because no "controlling officer" could be identified. | |
1986 N=2 |
Admiral Nakimov |
Collides with a cargo vessel and sinks in the Black Sea eight miles from Novorossysk. Seventy-nine people are killed, 836 rescued, 319 never found |
| Mikhail Lermontov |
Sinks in 100
feet of water of New
Zealand’s South
Island after
hitting a reef. One crew member dies. |
|
1984 N=1 |
Sundancer Sundance Cruises |
On her third cruise on the US/Canadian west coast, the ship was declared a total constructive loss after hitting rocks off Maud Island, just north of Vancouver Island and being driven ashore in Duncan Bay by the captain. The ship sank (partially submerged) and was evacuated with no loss of life, though lifeboats were useless and there was considerable confusion and terror. Human error is blamed for the accident. According to Canadian investigators, following the grounding the ship anchored in Menzies Bay (16 km north of Campbell River) to assess damage. With uncontrollable flooding below decks, it headed back to open sea, limping an hour later -- at 1 AM -- into Duncan Bay (8 km south) where passengers were evacuated. Crew were disorganized and evacuation was largely coordinated by passengers themselves. |
1980 N=1 |
Prinsendam (Holland America Line) |
Engine fire 140 m from Alaska – Evacuated to life boats at 1AM. Ship sunk. |
1979 N=1 |
Angelina Lauro (Starlauro) |
Fire in galley – Burns and sinks while at St. Thomas |