10 Biggest Disasters at Sea Of All Time (2024)

The world of shipping is replete with stories of shipwrecks, fatal accidents, oil spills, ship explosions and other disasters at sea, which have taken the lives of millions of people.

Some maritime disasters are caused by natural factors, while others are due to human carelessness. Others resulted from naval stand-offs, especially during the two World Wars.

In this article, we will discuss the 10 Biggest Disasters at Sea.

1. The RMS Titanic

The story of the Titanic is known to all. This luxury ship, considered unsinkable, met the depths of the North Atlantic on her first voyage from Southampton to New York.

She sank just 2 hours and 40 minutes on April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg, taking the lives of over 1500 of the 2224 passengers onboard.

Titanic got several warnings about sea ice on her way a day before she struck the iceberg. However, she continued to sail at 22 knots when a lookout saw the giant iceberg and alerted everyone, but the Titanic could not make a quick turn, given her size.

The collision flooded her compartments, and though she could stay afloat with four flooded compartments, six of them were exposed to the sea.

The crew members did everything from sending distress messages to firing flares to ask for help since the Titanic did not have enough lifeboats for everyone. Also, the lifeboats were meant to carry passengers to rescue ships in case of an emergency and not to hold everyone at once.

Panic and rush led to many lifeboats being launched into the waters before they were completely occupied.

When the Titanic sank, most people died in minutes due to the freezing waters. Carpathia arrived after 90 minutes and saved the 700 people who were still alive.

This incident shocked the world, and many questioned the discrimination suffered by the third-class passengers in the evacuation. Investigation into the Titanic sinking led to the establishment of SOLAS in 1914.

2. The Dona Paz

Though the Titanic is considered to be the worst maritime disaster by many, its death toll was not even half of the Dona Paz, which took the lives of 4386 people.

National Geographic called it ‘Asia’s Titanic’, and Time Magazine called it the most deadly maritime accident.

It happened on December 20, 1987, when the passenger ferry Dona Paz left Leyte Island for Manila. At 22:30, when most passengers were asleep, it collided with an oil tanker loaded with flammable cargo of gasoline and petroleum products.

A fire broke out on the ferry, causing panic and a blackout on the vessel. There was no proper communication, and people had to either jump off the ferry or stay onboard.

Only 24 people from the Dona Paz and two crew of the tanker M.T Vector could be saved. The Dona Paz sank in 120 minutes, and the oil tanker in 4 hours.

An investigation ruled that the collision was caused by carelessness on the part of the crew members of the oil tanker and the ferry, with the former also found to be unseaworthy.

Since it was around Christmas time, the ferry was also overloaded, carrying about 4000 people when its capacity was around 1500.

3. The Wilhelm Gustloff

Approximately 9400 people perished when the German Ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff was attacked by a Soviet Submarine on January 30, 1945, in the Baltic Sea.

The Soviet submarine fired three torpedoes, which struck Gustloff on the port side, the first hitting the bow, the second striking the accommodation for women, and the third hitting the engine room.

Most deaths were a result of the torpedoes, followed by the stampede. People jumped into the icy cold waters of the Baltic and died due to hypothermia.

Just nine lifeboats could be lowered, and after 20 minutes, Gustloff tilted dangerously, and many people were thrown overboard. It sank in less than 40 minutes in 144 ft of water.

When this happened, Gustloff was on a mission to rescue civilians and military personnel from the Baltic States controlled by Germany, East Prussia and Gydnia as the Red Army was approaching.

It was originally a cruise ship but was called for naval service in 1939. She also functioned as a hospital ship and was later equipped with guns.

It was named after the head of one of the Nazi Party’s branches, who was killed by a Jewish student.

4. PS General Slocum

This tragic incident occurred on June 15, 1904, when it was carrying German Americans from the Lower East Side to a church picnic.

PS Slocum was a paddle boat constructed in New York in 1891 that carried 1358 people, mostly women and children.

Excitement turned to horror as the vessel went up the East River. A terrible fire started and spread within 30 minutes, burning people onboard while others drowned. Only 321 people survived, and 1021 perished in the fire.

Investigations revealed that lifevests were old and torn, lifeboats were unusable, and no fire drills were carried out. The crew members were also not adequately trained to handle such emergencies.

The captain was charged with criminal negligence and sentenced to a decade of hard labour. However, he was released early.

PS Slocum is said to be the deadliest disaster in the history of New York City and the U.S Waterways.

5. HMS Bulwark

This Royal Navy battleship was stationed at Sheerness, a port town in England, in 1914 since there was a possibility of an invasion by Germany.

On November 26, 1914, an internal explosion tore the ship apart. Around 788 men lost their lives in the blast, and just 14 made it out, of which most died due to severe injuries.

Rescue became difficult due to the flying debris, the fire, floating furniture, boxes and other stuff.

The blast happened when a band was playing on board, and some officers were doing their usual duties.

Later, an investigation revealed that shells and ammunition were kept near the magazines, and a fault with a shell or overheating of the cordite close to a boiler room bulkhead might have started a chain reaction which blew the ship.

Not much could be salvaged from the ship, and the site is not open to diving.

6. RMS Empress of Ireland

This ocean liner sank in thick fog after colliding with a steam cargo ship, Storstad. The incident happened in the Saint Lawrence River, Canada, on May 29, 1914.

RMS Empress of Ireland had watertight compartments and sufficient lifeboats but sank within minutes. There were 1477 people, of which 1012 went down with the ship.

Her wreckage is located at a water depth of 130 ft and is frequented by advanced scuba divers only.

After the collision, the Storstad was afloat, but the Empress of Ireland suffered severe damage. A massive hole on her side flooded the lower decks. Captain Kendall ordered the crew to keep the engines at full power, but the ship was destabilised.

It tilted to the starboard side, and water entered through portholes, drowning most people on lower decks.

Those on the upper deck rushed to the lifeboats, but the list was quite severe, preventing them from launching. Some crashed, and the people fell into the cold waters. Just five lifeboats could be launched successfully.

7. MV Salem Express

This RORO passenger ferry was caught in a storm while crossing the Red Sea. The incident occurred on December 14, 1991, when the ferry struck a coral reef and sank. It was going from Saudi Arabia to Egypt’s Safa*ga, a voyage which in those days took 36 hours.

Salem Express could accommodate 1256 guests, 63 crew members and 145 vehicles. It was commanded by Captain Hassan Moro, who was well-acquainted with the Red Sea routes.

When the ferry arrived on the coast of Egypt, weather conditions were bad, so the captain ordered to take another route to Safa*ga Port. However, strong winds and massive waves made the ferry go off course and strike the Hyndman reef, leaving a hole in its bow through which water started entering where the vehicles were kept.

Just one lifeboat could be lowered, and the vessel sank quickly. The rescue operation started the next day as the weather deteriorated.

Most of the passengers were from Egypt and were returning from Mecca. The exact number of people onboard is unknown as reports vary. Some claim there were 644, of which 179 lived and 485 died.

8. Toya Maru

The Toya Maru was a Japanese ferry that sank into the waters of the Tsugaru Strait. Her sinking was compared to the Titanic at that time due to the enormous loss of life. Around 1170 people died when the ferry sank due to the typhoon on September 26, 1954.

Typhoon Marie was on its way via the Sea of Japan at 65 kilometres per hour.

Toya Maru cancelled its journey to Aomori on Honshu due to the severe storm. However, its captain decided to leave that evening as the weather seemed to get better.

As the ferry left, the typhoon became stronger, and Toya Maru dropped its anchor.

The anchor could not withstand the powerful winds, and soon, the vessel was moving out of the harbour near the rocks, pushed by the winds and massive waves.

The ferry drifted and listed to one side, letting water inside the lower deck and the engine room.

The railway cars broke loose and crushed many people onboard while water gushed inside the ferry. With its engines not operating, it sank swiftly near Hakodate.

9. MV Bukoba

This ferry carried people and goods along Lake Victoria in Tanzania between Bukoba Port and Mwanza. Bukoba, constructed in 1979, could accommodate 850 tonnes of cargo and 430 people.

The ferry sank on May 21, 1996, off the coast of Mwanza, killing around 1000 people.

The investigation revealed negligence, and nine railway officials, the ferry’s captain, and the Manager of Tanzania Railway Corporation’s Marine Division were charged.

Several causes of the accident were suggested, including insufficient lifeboats and lifejackets, no firefighting equipment, and no regular maintenance and repairs of the ferry. The biggest reason was that these ferries often operated overloaded.

Salvage was slow due to the non-availability of equipment, and rescue forces flew to the site from South Africa.

10. MS Estonia

MS Estonia sinking on September 28, 1994, killed around 852 people.

The ferry sailed on September 27 from Estonia’s Tallinn Port to Stockholm, Sweden. It left with 989 people and vehicles and was to reach its destination the next morning.

Though the weather was rough, she set out on her journey like the other ferries. At night, a screeching sound was heard but nothing out of the ordinary could be found. In the next 15 minutes, she started to list dangerously towards the starboard side.

People rushed to the deck, and in the panic, the crew tried to contact other ships in the vicinity for help.

Mariella reached after an hour, and a helicopter came after 2 hours. 138 people were saved, and others died of hypothermia.

An investigation revealed that the locks on the bow visor failed, flooding the car deck. The report also highlighted the crew members’ lack of swift response, such as delays in sounding the alarms, lighting distress flares, etc. Another claim suggested that a tractor broke free and damaged the door.

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About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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