List of maritime disasters

An advertisement for soap, using RMS Titanic (1912)

A maritime disaster is an event which usually involves a ship or ships and can involve military action. Because of the nature of maritime travel, there is often a large loss of life.

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Notable disasters

The sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912 with 1,523 fatalities, is probably the most famous shipwreck, but not the biggest in terms of life lost. The wartime sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff during World War II by a Soviet Navy submarine, with an estimated loss of about 9,500 people in January 1945 remains the greatest maritime disaster ever. In peacetime, the loss of the Doña Paz with an estimated 4,341 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 table listings are in descending order of the magnitude of casualties suffered.

MV Doña Paz at Tacloban

RMS Empress of Ireland in 1908

General Slocum embarking passengers (date and location unknown)

MS Estonia

SS Admiral Nakhimov when she was known as the Berlin III

SS Eastland before 1917

SS Alpena pre 1880

Year	Country	Bound for	Description	Lives lost
1987	Philippines	Manila	MV Doña Paz – On 20 December 1987, the passenger ferry Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait, near Marinduque. The resulting fire and sinking left an estimated 4,341 dead which included all but 24 of the Doña Paz's passengers, and all but two of the Vector's 13-man crew.	4,341
1948	China		SS Kiangya – The Kiangya was a passenger steamship that blew up and sank in the mouth of the Huangpu River 50 mi (80 km) south of Shanghai on 4 December 1948. The suspected cause of the explosion was the Kiangya hitting a mine left behind by the Imperial Japanese Navy 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.	2,750–3,920
1917	Canada		SS Mont-Blanc and the Halifax Explosion – On 6 December 1917, the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia 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 Harbour. The entire 40-man crew of the Mont-Blanc escaped from the ship minutes before the explosion. About 2,000 people along the shoreline and in Halifax were killed by the explosion, falling debris, fires or collapsing buildings, and 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.	2,000
2002	Senegal		Le Joola (Senegal) – On 26 September 2002, the overloaded ferry Le Joola capsized in rough seas with an estimated death toll of more than 1,800.	1,800
1865	USA		SS Sultana - The steamboat exploded and sank on 27 April 1865, in the greatest maritime disaster in U.S. history. Official count of death toll was 1,547. Three of the Sultana's boilers exploded when the overloaded ship was on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee. Many of the victims were Union soldiers who had been injured or imprisoned during the Civil War.	1,547
1822	China		Tek Sing - A junk struck a reef near Indonesia and sank on 6 February 1822, leaving an estimated 1,600 dead.	1,600
1912	UK	New York	RMS Titanic – A passenger liner and at the time the world's largest ship. On 14 April 1912, during her maiden voyage, the Titanic collided with an iceberg, buckling a part of the hull and causing her to sink in the early hours of 15 April. Only 706 of the ship's 2,228 passengers and crew survived. This disaster was the catalyst for major reforms in safety for the shipping industry and is unarguably the most famous maritime disaster of all time, being the subject of countless media portrayals.	1,532
1707	UK		The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 – On the night of 22 October 1707, a Royal Navy fleet on its way from Gibraltar to Portsmouth sailed through dangerous reefs west of the Isles of Scilly. Four ships (HMS Association, HMS Eagle, HMS Romney and HMS Firebrand) 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 navigators' inability to calculate their longitude accurately.	1,400-2,000
1954	Japan		Toya Maru - A Japanese passenger ferry that sank during Typhoon Marie in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu on 26 September 1954. It is said that 1,153 people aboard were killed in the accident but he 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.	1,153
1914	Canada		RMS Empress of Ireland - On 29 May 1914, the Empress of Ireland sank after colliding with SS Storstad on the Saint Lawrence River, claiming 1,012 lives. Around 465 survived.	1,012
2006	Egypt		Al Salam Boccaccio 98 – On 3 February 2006, the ro-ro passenger ferry Al Salam Boccaccio 98 sank in the Red Sea en route from Duba, Saudi Arabia, to Safaga in southern Egypt. The ship was carrying 1,312 passengers and 96 crew members at the time of the disaster. Only 388 people survived.	1,000
1904	USA		SS General Slocum – The General Slocum caught fire and sank in New York's East River 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.	1,000
1912	Japan		SS Kiche Maru – Sank during a typhoon in the Pacific Ocean 22 September 1912. It is estimated that more than 1,000 persons lost their lives.	1,000
1921	Singapore		SS Hong Moh – 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. Wusung steamship – On 16 September 1927, 900 Japanese workers died when the ship, bound to Kamchatka, sunk off Kurile islands.[6]	900
1994	Estonia		MS Estonia sank in heavy seas on 28 September 1994. An investigation concluded that the failure of the bow visor door allowed water from the Baltic Sea to enter the ship. The accident claimed 852 lives. Only 137 survived.	852
1915	USA		SS Eastland – 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.	845
1917	UK		HMS Vanguard – Just before midnight on 9 July 1917 at Scapa Flow, HMS Vanguard suffered an explosion, probably caused by an unnoticed stokehold fire heating cordite 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.	843
1996	Tanzania		MV Bukoba – The overloaded Bukoba sank on 21 May 1996 on Lake Victoria. While the ship's manifest showed 443 aboard, it is estimated that about 800 people died in the sinking.	800
1782	UK		HMS Royal George – sank while moored at Portsmouth 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.	800
1914	UK		HMS Bulwark – 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 Sheerness in the River Medway 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.	736
1902	UK		SS Camorta – The Camorta was caught in a cyclone and sank in the Irrawaddy Delta 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 Bengal.	737
2008	Philippines		MV Princess of the Stars – On 21 June 2008, the ferry Princess of the Stars capsized and sank in Typhoon Fengshen, off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon, in the Philippines. Of the estimated 747 people aboard, only 57 survived.	690
1904	Denmark		SS Norge – On 28 June 1904 the Norge ran aground close to Rockall 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.	635
1947	India		Ramdas – On 17 July 1947 the Ramdas capsized 10 miles from Mumbai, killing 625 people on board. The disaster only became known as survivors swam ashore.	625
1955	USSR		Novorossiysk – 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.	608
1986	Bangladesh		Shamia – On 27 May 1986, the ferry Shamia capsized and sank during a storm on the Meghna River in southern Barisa, Bangladesh. An estimated 600 people died.	600
1878	UK		SS Princess Alice – On 3 September 1878 the Princess Alice was making what was billed as a "Moonlight Trip" to Gravesend and back. The Bywell Castle collided with the Princess Alice off Tripcock Point. The Princess Alice broke in two and sank within four minutes with an estimated 600 deaths.	600
1947	USA		SS Grandcamp – On 16 April 1947, the French-registered ex-liberty ship caught fire and exploded dockside while being loaded with ammonium nitrate at Texas City, Texas. In what came to be called the Texas City Disaster an estimated 581 people, including all of the ship's crew and 28 firefighters, were killed and around 5,000 were injured.	581
1810	Netherlands		HMS Minotaur (1793) – HMS Minotaur wrecked at Texel with heavy loss of life in December 1810.	570
1898	France		SS La Bourgogne – The passenger steamer sank on 4 July 1898 after a collision in dense fog with the British ship Cromartyshire off Sable Island, Nova Scotia. At the time of the disaster, she was carrying 730 passengers and crew, of whom 565 were lost.	565
1891	UK		SS Utopia – Collided with HMS Anson while trying to enter the Bay of Gibraltar on 17 March 1891. Sank in minutes with the loss of 562 passengers and crew. Two rescuers from HMS Immortalité also drowned; 318 survivors were rescued.	564
1873	UK		RMS Atlantic – 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.	535
1890	Ottoman Empire		Ertugrul – Sank on 18 September 1890 after striking a reef during a typhoon off Kushimoto, Japan. 533 sailors died, including Admiral Ali Osman Pasha.	533
1993	Haiti		Ferry Neptune – Sank on 16 February 1993.	500-700
1694	Great Britain		HMS Sussex was lost in a severe storm on 1 March 1694 off Gibraltar. There were only two survivors out of a crew of 500.	498
1919	Spain		SS Valbanera – Sank in the Gulf of Mexico 45 mi (72 km) west of Key West, Florida during a hurricane in September 1919. All of the 488 crew and passengers were killed.	488
1870	UK		HMS Captain – On 7 September 1870, the Captain capsized and sank in high winds on the Atlantic Ocean. An estimated 480 sailors perished and 18 survived.	462
1874	UK		Cospatrick – The Cospatrick caught fire south of the Cape of Good Hope on 17 November 1874 while on a voyage from Gravesend, England, to Auckland, New Zealand. Only three of 472 persons on board at the time ultimately survived.	469
1991	Saudi Arabia		Salem Express - On 17 December 1991, while on a voyage from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt, with more than 600 passengers, Salem Express struck a reef about 0130 and sank within 10 minutes. Official toll is 470 lives lost, but local lore[citation needed] says many more and that the ship was overcrowded with unlisted passengers returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. The ship remains a popular scuba dive destination. Details	470
2002	Bangladesh		MV Salahuddin-2 – 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.	450
1916	Spain		Príncipe de Asturias – Sank near the island of Sao Sebastiao, Brazil on 5 March 1916. At least 445 out of 588 aboard lost their lives.	445
1857	USA		SS Central America – Sank off the Carolinas during a hurricane on 9 September 1857. An estimated 425 out of 578 aboard perished.	425
1986	USSR		SS Admiral Nakhimov – On 31 August 1986, Admiral Nakhimov collided with the large bulk carrier Pyotr Vasyov in Tsemes Bay, near the port of Novorossiysk, Russian SFSR. 423 of the 1,234 people on board died.	423
2003	Bangladesh		MV Nasrin-1 – At midnight on 8 July 2003, the passenger ferry Nasrin-1 capsized and sank in the Meghna River near Chandpur, Bangladesh, killing more than 400 people.	400
1895	Spain		Reina Regente – the cruiser sank in a storm on 9 March 1895, with the loss of all 420 crewmen.	420
1781	Netherlands		Prinses Sophia Albertina – Swedisch vessel Prinses Sophia Albertina sunk at Texel due to heavy weather. 419 people died.	419
1845	UK		Cataraqui – An emigrant ship bound for Australia, the Cataraqui struck a reef south-west of King Island, Tasmania, on 4 August 1845. The sinking is Australia's worst ever maritime civil disaster, claiming the lives of 400 people.	400
1860	USA		Lady Elgin – Sunk in a collision with the schooner Augusta of Oswego on Lake Michigan on 8 September 1860 with the loss of about 400 lives.	400
1801	UK		HMS Invincible – 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.	400
1854	UK		RMS Tayleur – In what would come to foreshadow the Titanic tragedy, the Charles Moore & Company clipper ship Tayleur grounded and sank during her maiden voyage. The accident happened off Lambay Island, Dublin Bay, on 21 January 1854. Out of the 652 people on board 380 lives were lost, many of them immigrants.	380
1878	UK		HMS Eurydice – On 24 March 1878, the training ship Eurydice was caught in a heavy snow storm off the Isle of Wight, capsized, and sank. Only two of the ship's 378 crew and trainees survived; most of those who were not carried down with the ship died of exposure in the freezing waters.	376
1815	UK		Arniston – On 30 May 1815, the East Indiaman was wrecked during a storm on the South African coast after a navigational error; 372 lives were lost, with only 6 survivors.	372
1893	UK		HMS Victoria – Accidentally rammed by the HMS Camperdown and sank on 22 June 1893 during annual summer fleet exercises off Tripoli 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.	358
2001	Australia		SIEV X – A boat carrying over 400 asylum seekers to Australia sank on 19 October 2001. 353 people died in the disaster. The Australian government was criticized for not doing anything to help the survivors for three days.	353
1806	UK		HMS Athenienne – On the evening of 20 October 1806, she struck a submerged reef on the Esquirques, in the Strait of Sicily and sank. In all, 347 people died, 141 men and two women were rescued.	347
1918	Canada		SS Princess Sophia – The Princess Sophia ran aground on 23 October 1918. After rescue ships were unable to assist due to the continuing storm, she sank on the night of 25 October. The only survivor found was a pet dog.	343
1875	Germany		SS Schiller – 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.	355
1895	Germany		SS Elbe – Sank on 30 January 1895 after a collision with the steamship Crathie in the North Sea. One lifeboat with 20 people in it was recovered out of 354 on the ship.	334
1904	Japan		Yoshino – On 14 May 1904, the cruiser sank with the loss of 319 lives after a collision. 19 survived.	319
2012	Papua New Guinea		MV Rabaul Queen capsized on the morning of 2 February 2012, due to rough conditions in the Solomon Sea. 321 people dead or missing.	321
1927	Italy		SS Principessa Mafalda – On 25 October 1927, the ocean liner sank off the coast of Brazil after its propeller shaft fractured and damaged the hull. The ship sank slowly in the presence of rescue vessels, but panic among passengers and crew resulted in the loss of 314 of the 1,265 aboard.	314
1911	France		Liberté – battleship that suffered an accidental ammunition explosion in 1911; about 300 people were killed.	300
1875	USA		SS Pacific – 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 and the captain of the Orpheus later testified he was unaware of the collision. Only two people survived out of 300 on board.	298
1873	UK		Northfleet – 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.	293
1854	USA		New Era – 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.	284
1866	USA		Evening Star – On 6 October 1866, the Evening Star sank after sailing into a hurricane 180 miles east of Tybee Island, GA. Of the approximately 300 aboard, 283 perished. The ship contained lifeboats for only 60 people and not enough life vests for all on board. One group of survivors were picked up by a passing vessel and taken to the port of Savannah, GA, while a second group drifted for days and came ashore on the north end of Amelia Island, FL.	283
1898	USA		USS Maine – On 15 February 1898, while at anchor in Havana (Cuba) harbor, an explosion of undetermined origin in the ship's magazine 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 War.	274
1958	Turkey		SS Üsküdar - A small passenger ferry sank due to heavy lodos weather in the Gulf of İzmit on 1 March 1958. 272 passengers including seven crew died; 39 people survived the incident.	272
1799	Netherlands		HMS Lutine (1779) – The Lutine sunk at Vlieland due to heavy weather, carrying a large cargo of gold, the majority of which remains unsalvaged. 269 people died.	269
1735	Netherlands		Vliegend Hert – VOC-ship Vliegend Hert sunk due to heavy weather. 256 people died.	256
1913	USA		Great Lakes Storm of 1913 – A cyclonic blizzard (sometimes referred to as an inland hurricane) on the Great Lakes 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.	255
1854	USA		Powhatan – 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.	250–311
1988	Philippines		MV Doña Marilyn - On 24 October 1988, Doña Marilyn sank in the afternoon while at sea due to the inclement sea and weather conditions brought about by Typhoon Unsang. 254 persons died in the accident.	258
1858	USA		Pennsylvania - On 13 June 1858, the Pennsylvania was steaming near Ship Island, just below Memphis, Tennessee when its boiler exploded. Estimates at the time put the passenger manifest at 450 with an initial loss of life of 250. The first vessel on site was the Imperial, which picked up several passengers and transported them to New Orleans. The Diana took many others to Memphis. Several of these were seriously injured and the death toll continued to climb. Among this group was Henry Clemens, younger brother of Mark Twain, whose skin and lungs were so badly scalded that he succumbed to his wounds on 21 June. Eyewitness testimony was given to the fact that the engineer was not at his post in the engine room just prior to the explosion, instead being in the company of some women.	250
1847	UK		HMS Avenger – Avenger sailed from Gibraltar on 17 December 1847 bound for Malta. On 20 December she ran onto the Sorelle Rocks near Malta. Only eight crew members out of 250 survived.	242
1781	Netherlands		Negotie – VOC-ship Negotie sunk at Texel due to heavy weather. 238 people died.	238
1863	UK		SS Anglo Saxon - On 27 April 1863 Anglo Saxon ran aground north of Cape Race, 237 people died.	237
1835	UK		Neva – Neva was a convict ship that left Cork, Ireland, bound for Sydney, Australia. On 13 May 1835, the ship was wrecked on a reef near King Island, Tasmania. 224 lives, mainly women and children, were lost.	224
1909	UK		SS Waratah – Around 27 July 1909, the 500 ft (150 m) steamer Waratah, en route from Australia to London, was lost without trace off Durban on the east-coast of South Africa. All 211 on board were lost. The disappearance of the ship remains unexplained.	211
1919	UK		Iolaire – (Scottish Gaelic for "Eagle") was an Admiralty yacht that hit rocks and sank on 1 January 1919 just off the island of Lewis, while carrying soldiers coming home from World War I. At least 205 men perished of the 280 aboard.	205
1921	Soviet Union		Sovnarkom – on 10 May 1921 crashed into Novosibirsk railway bridge and sank in the Ob river, resulting in the death of at least 225 (according to other estimates, 400).	225–400
1906	Brazil		Aquidabã 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.	212
2011	Tanzania		MV Spice Islander I, a passenger ferry carrying at least 800 people, sank off the coast of Zanzibar on 10 September 2011. At least 200 people have been confirmed dead.	200
1966	Greece		SS Heraklion – On 8 December 1966, while en route from the port of Souda to Piraeus in Athens, the RO-RO car ferry 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.	200
1852	USA		SS Atlantic – Collins Line(American). steamship sank after a collision with the steamer Ogdensburg off Long Point on Lake Erie on 20 August 1852. It is estimated that between 150 and 200 people lost their lives of the more than 500 persons on board.	150-200
1987	UK		MS Herald of Free Enterprise – 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.	193
1898	USA		SS Portland – On 26 November 1898, the steamship SS Portland left India Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts, for Portland, Maine, 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.	192
1881	Canada		Victoria - A double-decked sternwheeler capsized and sank in the Thames River, Ontario on 24 May 1881, 182 people drowned.	182
1914	Canada		SS Southern Cross (Newfoundland) – Lost in a storm between 31 March and 3 April 1914. Believed to be in the vicinity of Cape Pine. The entire crew of 173 were lost in the sinking.	173
1918	Canada		SS Florizel (Newfoundland) – Sank after striking a reef at Horn Head Point Cape Race near Cappahayden, Newfoundland on 23 February 1918. 173 people died.	173
1955	Japan		Shiun Maru -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.	166
1853	UK		Madagascar – The full rigged ship disappeared without a trace in 1853 after sailing from Melbourne for London, with the loss of about 110 passengers and about 50 crew.	160
1990	Denmark		MS Scandinavian Star – caught fire in 1990 on route between Norway and Denmark with the loss of 157 lives.	157
1998	Philippines		MV Princess of the Orient – On 18 September 1998, the Princess of the Orient, while traveling from Manila to Cebu, sailed into Typhoon Vicky. She capsized at 12:55 pm near Fortune Island in Batangas. 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.	150
1907	USA		SS Larchmont – 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.	150-200
2000	Greece		MS Express Samina – On 26 September 2000, the RO-RO ferry Express Samina hit a reef and sank at 23:02 near the island of Paros. 143 people died: 82 of the 473 passengers, plus 61 crew.	143
1994	Philippines		MV Cebu City– On 2 December 1994, the ferry sank in Manila Bay after colliding with a Singaporean freighter, the Kota Suria. The accident claimed 140 lives.	140
1991	Italy		Moby Prince – On 10 April 1991, the ferry Moby Prince collided with the oil tanker Agip Abruzzo in Livorno harbour and caught fire, killing 140 people.	140
1894	New Zealand		SS Wairarapa (New Zealand) – On 29 October 1894, the steamship Wairarapa, en route from Sydney to Auckland, ran into Great Barrier Island. She was traveling at nearly full speed through heavy fog. Approximately 140 out of 230 people on board lost their lives.	140
1949	Canada		SS Noronic (Canada) – Caught fire at the dockside in Toronto 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.	118-139
1912	Australia		SS Koombana – A coastal passenger and cargo steamship in Western Australia 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.	138
1934	USA		SS Morro Castle – 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 Jersey, and remained there for several months until she was eventually towed away and sold for scrap.	137
1929	Finland		SS Kuru– A steamship that sank after capsizing in high winds on 7 September 1929 in Lake Näsijärvi near Tampere, Finland. It is estimated that between 136 and 138 people lost their lives.	136-138
1906	USA		SS Valencia– Shortly before midnight on 22 January 1906, she struck a reef near Pachena Point on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island 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.	117-181
1983	Soviet Union		Aleksandr Suvorov (near Ulyanovsk) – 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.	177
1950	Soviet Union		Majakovskis (Riga– sank in the Daugava on 13 August 1950, 147 perished.	147
1890	UK		RMS Quetta – 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.	134
1953	UK		MV Princess Victoria– Sank on 31 January 1953 in the North Channel (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.	133
2012	Bangladesh		MV Shariatpur 1 was a double deck ferry that capsized on March 12, after colliding with a cargo ship on the Meghna River, Bangladesh. At least 116 people died.	116
2011	♭		Bulgaria (near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, Russia) – sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga river on 10 July 2011 in a storm while when sailing from the town of Bolgar to the Kazan. Of the 201 people aboard 112 perished.	112
1780	Great Britain		HMS Ontario – The Ontario sank in a storm on 31 October 1780 while under way from Fort Niagara to Oswego. 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 war. News of the Ontario's sinking was kept quiet for a number of years to hide the military loss.	130
1963	Greece		TSMS Lakonia – 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.	128
1883	UK		SS Daphne – capsized and sank moments after her naming and launching at a shipyard in Govan,Glasgow, Scotland, 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.	124-195
1901	USA		SS City of Rio de Janeiro– En route from Hong Kong, this passenger ship sank on 21 February 1901 after striking a submerged reef at the entry to San Francisco Bay, killing more than 135 passengers and crew.	135
1963	USA		USS Thresher– A nuclear-powered attack submarine that sank in an accident during deep-diving tests on 10 April 1963 about 220 miles east of Boston Massachusetts.	129
1892	UK		SS Bokhara– A steamship that sank in a typhoon on 10 October 1892, off the coast of Formosa, killing 125 people.	125
1905	UK		SS Hilda– A steamship on a cross-Channel run that sank in 1905 with the loss of 125 lives.	125
1857	Australia		Dunbar – She was wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour, Australia, in 1857 with the loss of 121 lives.	121
1911	Australia		SS Yongala – The Yongala sank off Cape Bowling Green, Australia, after steaming into a cyclone. There were no survivors of the 122 on board.	122
1797	UK		La Vipere – A British Frigate, previously captured from the French, capsized in the Shannon Estuary just off the coast of County Clare.	120
1898	UK		SS Mohegan – A steamer that sank off Cornwall after hitting a reef on 14 October 1898, with the loss of 106 lives; 40 were rescued by shore-based lifeboat.	106
1875	UK		SS Gothenburg – A steamship that was wrecked on the Barrier Reef off the north Queensland coast in 1875, in a cyclone-strength storm, killing between 98 and 112 persons; 22 survived.	98-112
1884	USA		SS City of Columbus – 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.	100
1939	UK		HMS Thetis– A T class submarine that sank in Liverpool Bay 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 on board 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.	99
1968	USA		USS Scorpion– A nuclear-powered submarine that sank (most likely due to an internal explosion) on 22 May 1968 460 miles (740 km) southwest of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean.	99
1933	Soviet Union		The Fourth disaster – a boat sank in the Volga near Yaroslavl,on 9 July 1933. At least 98 perished.	98
1850	Ireland		Edmond- A chartered passenger sailing vessel that was driven ashore by a storm and broke in two just off the coast of Kilkee, Co. Clare on the 19th November 1850. Approximately 98 people died in the disaster.	98
1877	USA		USS Huron– On 23 November 1877, the Huron departed for a scientific cruise on the coast of Cuba. The Huron encountered heavy weather soon after departure and was wrecked shortly after 1 am on 24 November near Nags Head, North Carolina. 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.	98
1959	Denmark		Hans Hedtoft – 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.	95
1989	[[|]]		DS Seacrest Unocal's Drillship "Seacrest" capsized in the Gulf of Thailand on 3 November 1989 during the passage of Typhoon "Gay". 91 of her crew complement of 97 went to the bottom.	91
1965	Panama		SS Yarmouth Castle – 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.	90
1837	USA		SS Home– On 7 October 1837, the Home struck a sandbar off the New Jersey coast. Unaware of the extent of the damage, her captain proceeded on schedule toward Charleston when she encountered the 1837 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 and 90 lives were lost.	90
1914			SS Rohilla – 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.	85
1878	USA		Metropolis – On 31 January 1878, the wooden steamer Metropolis sank off the North Carolina coast with 85 dying in the accident.	85
1982	Canada		Ocean Ranger (Canada) – On 15 February 1982 a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit sank on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, 267 kilometres (166 mi) east of St. John's, Newfoundland with the loss of all 84 crew members.	84
1964	Australia		HMAS Voyager – On the evening of 10 February 1964, while undergoing post-refit exercises, the destroyer HMAS Voyager was rammed and sunk off Jervis Bay, New South Wales, by the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, 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.	82
1813	Ireland		Currach Fishing Tragedy – On 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 drowned	80
1880	USA		Alpena– The Alpena was a sidewheel steamer 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.	80
1899	UK		Stella – 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.	78
1976	USA		MV George Prince (Louisiana- On 20 October 1976, a small automobile ferry crossing the Mississippi River capsized and sank when it collided with the tanker SS Frosta. Of the 96 passengers and crew aboard the ferry, 78 died.	78
1909	New Zealand		SS Penguin– On 12 February 1909, the inter-island ferry Penguin hit a rock near the entrance to Wellington Harbour, sinking then exploding when water entered her boiler room. Of the 105 people on board, 75 died.	75
1951	UK		HMS Affray– an Amphion class submarine 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.	75
1969	USA		USS Frank E. Evans– In the early morning of 3 June 1969, while operating as a plane guard for the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne during the SEATO training exercise Sea Spirit, the destroyer 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.	74
1893	UK		SS Naronic– The ship was lost at sea after leaving Liverpool on 11 February 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.	74
1972	UK		STV Royston Grange (United Kingdom) – The British cargo liner Royston Grange was destroyed by fire after a collision with the petroleum tanker Tien Chee in the Rio de la Plata on 11 May 1972. There were no survivors from the 72 aboard.	72
1925	UK		HMS M1 – 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.	69
1901	UK		HMS Cobra (1899) – 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.	67
1950	UK		HMS Truculent – 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.	64
1921	UK		HMS K5 (United Kingdom) – A British K class submarine, lost with all hands (57) on 20 January 1921 when she sank en route to a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay.	57
1844	USA		Lucy Walker – 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 Walker's engines too hard.	50-100
1903	Canada		Clallam – A steamboat which on 9 January 1903 sank in a storm with the loss of 56 lives.	56
1925	USA		SS Mackinac – late in the afternoon of 18 August 1925, the 162-foot excursion ship was passing the Naval Station 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]	55
1993	Poland		MS Jan Heweliusz – a Polish RORO ferry in the early hours of 14 January 1993, while sailing from Swinoujscie to Ystad, capsized and sank in 27 metres of water off Cape Arcona on the coast of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. The accident claimed the lives of 55 people on board: 20 crewmen and 35 passengers, 9 crewmen were rescued, 10 bodies were never found.	55
2012	Somalia		A boat carrying migrant workers from Somalia to Yemen sank on 18 December 2012, killing 55 of the 60 people on board.	55
1968	New Zealand		TEV Wahine – an inter island ferry that foundered in a cyclone on Barrett Reef at the mouth of Wellington Harbour and capsized near Steeple Rock. Of the 610 passengers and 123 crew on board, 53 were killed.	53
1956	Italy		SS Andrea Doria– On 25 July 1956, approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, 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.	46
1906	USA		Dix On 18 November 1906 Dix sank after a collision, with the loss of over 45 lives.	45
1902	Australia		SS Elingamite– 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.	45
1980	UK		MV Derbyshire– 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.	44
1901	Canada		SS Islander– On 15 August 1901, while sailing down the narrow Lynn Canal south of Juneau, the Islander struck what was reported to be an iceberg that stove a large hole in her forward port quarter. The Islander sank quickly, with 40 lives lost out of the 172 on board.	40
2012	Hong Kong		Lamma IV (Hong Kong) On 1 October 2012, the ferry collided with another passenger vessel off Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, Hong Kong. The day was the National Day of the People's Republic of China, and Lamma IV was headed for the commemorative firework display, scheduled to take place half an hour later. Many of the victims were the employees from Hongkong Electric Company and their relatives. The incident was the deadliest maritime disaster in Hong Kong since 1971.	39
1911	USA		Sechelt – Sank On Friday, 24 March, March 1911 under mysterious circumstances with the loss of 37 lives.	37
1958	USA		Carl D. Bradley – Sank on Lake Michigan in a 18 November 1958 storm with the loss of 33 crewmen.	33
2009	Dubai		MV Demas Victory – a Dubai-based supply steamer capsized 10 nmi (12 mi; 19 km) off the coast of the Qatari capital city of Doha in rough seas on Tuesday, 30 June 2009, at 6:30am local time. The disaster resulted in over 30 missing.	30
1963	UK		MV Tritonica – 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 20 July 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.	33
1998	UK	Belize City	S/V Fantome The S/V Fantome was a 679-ton windjammer owned by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises in Miami, Florida. Completed in 1927 by the Duke of Westminster, the ship was purchased by Windjammer in 1969, and became flagship of the fleet. During her twenty-nine years of service in this regard, Fantome offered cruises in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras. She was lost in October 1998, during Hurricane Mitch, taking 31 captain and crew with her.	31
2012	Italy		Costa Concordia (Italy) – Ran aground on January 2012 off the Isola del Giglio. At least 30 people are known to have died. The cause of the disaster is imputable to the captain's error of judgment with regard to course to follow.	30
1975	USA		SS Edmund Fitzgerald (United States) – The Edmund Fitzgerald sank without warning during a Lake Superior gale on 10 November 1975 in 530 ft (160 m) of water. There were no survivors from her crew of 29.	29
1920	USA		Superior City (United States) – Sank in 1920 in Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior after a collision with the Willis L. King with the loss of 29 lives. The boiler exploded as the vessel sank.	29
1966	USA		SS Daniel J. Morrell – A Great Lakes freighter that broke up during a strong storm 29 November 1966 on Lake Huron. Of the 29 crewmen aboard, 28 died.	28
1908	UK		HMS Gladiator – 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.	27
1885	UK		Inishtrahull - Between the 28th and the 29th of December 1894, the Inishtrahull went missing somewhere near Kilkee, Co. Clare. At the time the ship was transporting a consignment of coal from Glasgow to Limerick. The ship was only confirmed to have sunk on the 3rd of January 1985, however, when a section of a port bow from a ship with a brass plate marked "Glasgow" was picked up by the Kilkee coastguards.	26
1951	US		Morania - On October 29, the tug Dauntless #12 pushed the barge Morania #120, carrying 800,000 US gallons (3,000,000 l; 670,000 imp gal) of gasoline into the path of the oncoming steamer Penobscot. An explosion resulted. Fires burned for several days.	19
1886	UK		Fulmar - On the 30th of January 1886, a cargo ship bound for Limerick from Troon was blown into Farrihy Bay near Kilkee, Co. Clare. The ship was lost during the night along with her crew of 17.	17
1836	UK		Intrinsic - On the 30th of January 1836, a cargo ship bound for New Orleans from Liverpool was blown into a bay near Kilkee, Co. Clare. The ship was dashed repeatedly against the cliffs during a storm and sank along with her crew of 14, of which none survived.	14
1880	Singapore	Penang	SS Jeddah – British Singaporean vessel abandoned by captain and crew, with 11 casualties; may be inspiration for Joseph Conrad novel Lord Jim	11
1914			Charles K. Buckley – Lumber schooner destroyed by high speed winds on 5 April 1914. Only one man from the crew of eight survived.	7
1883	Canada		Princess Louise (Canada) - The double decked sidewheller was swept over Waterworks Dam in London, Ontario and capsized during the London Flood of 1883. 7 people died in the disaster.	7
1991	USA		Andrea Gail – Sank on October 1991 with a crew of six during "The Perfect Storm".	6
1910	Panama	Colón	Finance – Outbound to Panama sank off Sandy Hook on 26 November 1910 after being rammed by the White Star freighter Georgic. Four died.	4
1899	Canada		Thames (Canada) - The ferry was torched and scuttled by a mob in The Thames River, Ontario on 25 August 1899.
1856	UK	Australia	Eleanor Lancaster was wrecked in a gale on Oyster Bank, Newcastle, New South Wales, 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".

Wartime disasters

SS Sultana in April 1865

Imperator Aleksander III

Disasters with high losses of life can occur during times of armed conflict. Shown below are some of the known events with major losses.

Pre World War I

Year	Country	Description	Lives lost
256BC	Roman Empire	First Punic War- During the First Punic War, between Rome and Carthage, a Roman fleet which had just rescued a Roman army from Africa, was caught in a Mediterranean storm. Rome may have lost more than 90,000	90,000
1588	Spain	Spanish Armada – On 8 August 1588, Philip II of Spain sent the Armada to invade England. Spain lost 15,000–20,000 soldiers and sailors.	15,000-20,000
1741	UK	Battle of Cartagena de Indias – March May 1741, Blas de Lezo defended the city against the British attack commanded by Edward Vernon.	9,500-11,500
1905	Russia	During the Battle of Tsushima, the decisive naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War 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 Knyaz Suvorov, Imperator Aleksander III, Borodino and Oslyabya were sunk.	4,380
1865	USA	SS Sultana (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.	1,800
1805	France	Indomptable (France) – Sank in a storm on 22 October 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar. Of the 1,200 sailors aboard, 1,050 were killed.	1,050
1676	Sweden	Kronan (Sweden) – During the Battle of Öland in 1676, the Kronan capsized while turning. Gunpowder on board ignited which resulted in an explosion. Of the estimated 800 on board, 42 survived.	758
1904	Russia	Petropavlovsk (Russia) – During the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian battleship 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.	620
1904	Japan	Hatsuse (Japan) – A Japanese battleship that hit a mine on 15 May 1904 and sunk 496 men.	496
1852		HMS Birkenhead – 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.	450
1807	UK	Troopships Rochdale and Prince of Wales – Bound for the Napoleonic war were caught by a storm in Dublin Bay and lost on 19 November 1807. Over 400 lives were lost.	400
1904	Japan	Takasago (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.	273
1914	Japan	Takachiho – (Japan) A Naniwa class cruiser torpedoed and sunk on 17 October 1914 with the loss of 271 officers and men.	271
1591	UK	HMS Revenge (Great Britain) – After being captured in battle, the Revenge was lost in a storm near the Azores in 1591. An estimated 200 Spanish sailors who captured her lost their lives in the sinking.	200
1904	Japan	Yashima (Japan) – A Japanese battleship that hit a mine on 15 May 1904 and sunk under tow with nearly 200 of its crew.	200

World War I

HMS Queen Mary

Bouvet

Takachiho on a 1905 postcard

The 90th anniversary of the sinking of RMS Leinster commemorated in 2008 in Dún Laoghaire

Year	Country	Description	Lives lost	Use
1916	UK	HMS Queen Mary (United Kingdom) – a battlecruiser which exploded and sank during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, with the loss of 1,245 men.	1,245	Navy
1915	UK	RMS Lusitania (United Kingdom) – The Lusitania, designated an Armed Merchant Cruiser for the Royal Navy was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-20 on 7 May 1915. The ship sank in just 18 minutes 8 mi (13 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland killing 1,198 out of over 1,900 of the people aboard.	1,198	Civilian
1916	UK	HMS Invincible (United Kingdom) – 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.	1,026	Navy
1916	UK	HMS Indefatigable (United Kingdom) – Battlecruiser, she sank during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, with the loss of 1,015 men, there were only two survivors.	1,015	Navy
1916	France	SS La Provence (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 Matapan. Nearly a thousand French soldiers and sailors died in the sinking.	1,000 approx.	Navy
1915	UK	HMT Royal Edward (United Kingdom) – Royal Edward was a passenger ship used to transport troops. She was sunk 13 August 1915 by a submarine with the loss of 935 lives.	935	Navy
1916	UK	HMS Defence (United Kingdom) – Armoured Cruiser, exploded during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, 903 men were lost, there were no survivors	903	Navy
1914	UK	HMS Good Hope (United Kingdom) – She was sunk on 1 November 1914 off the Chilean coast along with HMS Monmouth in the Battle of Coronel by the German armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (Germany) – The entire complement of 900 hands were lost.	900	Navy
1916	UK	HMS Black Prince (United Kingdom) – Armoured Cruiser, was sunk during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, with the loss of 857 men, the entire crew.	857	Navy
1914	Germany	SMS Scharnhorst (Germany) – German armoured cruiser sunk during the Battle of the Falkland Islands by the British battlecruiser HMS Inflexible, taking all 860 occupants on board, including Admiral Maximilian von Spee.	860	Navy
1916	Germany	SMS Pommern (Germany) – Pre Dreadnought, she was torpedoed by HMS Onslaught, exploded and sank at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 with her entire crew of 839.	839	Navy
1914	UK	HMS Bulwark blown apart by an internal explosion at her moorings on the Medway off Kingsnorth, Kent, on 26 November 1914, killing all but nine of her 805 crew.	794	Navy
1914	UK	HMS Monmouth (United Kingdom) – Sunk on 1 November 1914 off the Chilean coast along with HMS Good Hope in the Battle of Coronel. There were no survivors of the ship's complement of 678.	678	Navy
1915	Germany	Prinz Adalbert (Germany) – On 2 July 1915, the British submarine HMS E9 torpedoed and badly damaged Prinz Adalbert near Gotland Island. On 23 October 1915, HMS E8 torpedoed Prinz Adalbert 20 mi (32 km) west of Libau. The magazine exploded and the ship sank with the loss of 672 crew. There were only three survivors.	672	Navy
1916	France	Suffren (France) – The Suffren was returning to Lorient for a refit when on 26 November 1916, off the Portuguese coast near Lisbon, she was torpedoed by U-52. The torpedo detonated a magazine and Suffren sank within seconds, taking the crew of 648 with her.	648	Navy
1917	UK	SS Mendi (United Kingdom) – 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 823 people aboard, 646 were killed.	646	Navy
1917	UK	HMT Aragon (United Kingdom) – On 30 December 1917 SM UC-34 torpedoed the troop ship Aragon off Alexandria, Egypt. Her escort, the destroyer HMS Attack, rescued 300 to 400 survivors but then UC-34 sank her was well. Of 2,700 personnel and crew who had been aboard Aragon, 610 were killed in the two attacks.	610	Navy
1915	France	Bouvet (France) – Sunk by a mine in the Dardanelles Campaign on 18 March 1915. The Bouvet capsized and sank within two minutes, taking over 600 crew with her.	600	Navy
1916	UK	HMS Hampshire (United Kingdom)	600	Navy
1914	Russia	Pallada (Russia) – On 11 October 1914, the Pallada was torpedoed by 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.	597	Navy
1914	Germany	SMS Gneisenau (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.	596	Navy
1915	UK	HMS Goliath (United Kingdom) – On the night of 12–13 May 1915, Goliath was anchored in Morto Bay off Cape Helles 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.	570	Navy
1915	UK	HMS Formidable (United Kingdom) – On 1 January 1915, the Formidable was torpedoed by 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.	547	Navy
1914	UK	HMS Aboukir (1900) seeAction of 22 September 1914	527	Navy
1914	UK	HMS Hawke torpedoed in the North Sea off Aberdeen by U-9 on 15 October 1914 with the loss of 524 officers and crew.	524	Navy
1918	UK	RMS Leinster (United Kingdom) – The Leinster was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat 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.	500	Navy
1914	Germany	SMS Yorck (Germany) – was a German cruiser which accidentally 4 November 1914 went into a German minefield and sank with the loss of several hundred lives.	400	Navy
1914	Germany	SMS Cöln (Germany) SMS Cöln was a light cruiser. It sunk during the Battle of Heligoland Bight, 28 August 1914 with the loss of 485 lives.	485	Navy
1914	UK	HMS Otranto (Great Britain), was a rebuilt ocean streamer which worked as a troopship. On 5 August 1914 it collided with another liner turned troopship, in poor visibility in the rough seas. The stricken ship then hit rocks and became grounded. With the heavy seas pounding her continually against the rocks the ship eventually broke up and sank with the loss of 431 lives	431	Navy
1917	UK	SS Transylvania (United Kingdom) – The Transylvania was torpedoed and sunk in the Gulf of Genoa 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.	412	Navy
1916	UK	HMS Natal (United Kingdom)	390 -421	Navy
1917	UK	SS Laurentic (United Kingdom) – The Laurentic struck two mines off Lough Swilly in the north of Ireland on 25 January 1917 and sank within an hour. 354 aboard were killed in the disaster, 121 survived.	354	Navy
1915	UK	SS Persia (United Kingdom) – The Persia was torpedoed and sunk without warning off Crete on 30 December 1915 by German World War I U-Boat ace Max Valentiner (commanding U-38). The Persia sank in five to ten minutes, killing 343 of the 519 aboard.	343	Navy
1918	USA	USS Cyclops (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.	306	Navy
1914	Japan	Takachiho (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. It sank with the loss of 271 men	268	Navy
1914	Germany	SMS Leipzig (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.	268	Navy
1915	Ottoman Empire	Heireddin Barbarossa (Ottoman Empire) – The Heireddin Barbarossa was sunk on 8 August 1915 in the Dardanelles by the British submarine HMS E11 with the loss of 253 men.	253	Navy
1918	Canada	HMHS Llandovery Castle (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.	234	Navy
1917	UK	SS Cameronia (United Kingdom) – The Cameronia was torpedoed on 15 April 1917 by U-33 while en route from Marseille in France to Alexandria in Egypt. She was serving as a troopship at the time and contained approximately 2,650 soldiers. The ship sank in 40 minutes, 150 mi (240 km) east of Malta, taking 210 lives.	210	Navy
1915	Italy	SS Ancona (Italy) – An Italian passenger steamer which was sunk on 8 November 1915 by U-38, causing a diplomatic crisis. About 200 persons perished.	200	Civilian
1914	UK	HMS Amphion (United Kingdom) – The first British loss in World War I, striking a mine while chasing a minelayer. 150 lives were lost.	150	Navy
1915	UK	HMS Irresistible (United Kingdom) – Sank after striking a mine while engaged in battle in the Dardanelles on 18 March 1915. The Irresistible lost 150 crew members in the sinking.	150	Navy
1918	UK	RMS Moldavia	56
1916	UK	HMHS Britannic (United Kingdom) – After conversion into a hospital ship, 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.	30	Navy

World War II

RMS Lancastria sunk on 17 June 1940

The Arandora Star, which was sunk in 1940

RMS Laconia was sunk on 12 September 1942

A propaganda poster calling for Australians to avenge the sinking of AHS Centaur

Wilhelm Gustloff in Danzig harbor

Cap Arcona burning shortly after the attack in May 1945

Year	Country	Description	Lives lost	Use
1945	Germany	Wilhelm Gustloff (Germany) – The German KdF flagship, constructed by the Blohm & Voss shipyard, sank after being hit by three torpedoes fired by the Soviet submarine S-13 on 30 January 1945 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 making it possibly the worst single-ship loss of life in history. Most of those killed were German civilians, military personnel, and Nazi officials being evacuated from East Prussia. 903 survivors were rescued.	9,400	Navy
1945	Germany	Goya (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.	7,000-8,000	Navy
1941	USSR	Armenia – (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.	7,000
1944	Japan	Junyō Maru (Japan) – She was a "Hell ship" sunk by the Royal Navy in September 1944. 5,620 Dutch POWs and Javanese slave labourers died.	5,620
1945	Germany	Cap Arcona (Germany) – On 3 May 1945 the prison ship Cap Arcona was attacked by the British Royal Air Force (RAF). The ship caught fire and capsized, leaving an estimated 5,000 dead.	5,000
1944	Germany	Oria (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 km) from her intended destination, Piraeus 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.	4,074	Navy
1940	UK	HMT (formerly RMS) Lancastria – sunk by German aircraft in June 1940, with at least 4,000 deaths, possibly thousands more (2,477 survived and 1,738 known dead; 6,000 people are known to have boarded, but many boarded later, and a total of up to 9,000 has been proposed).	4,000	Navy
1941	USSR	Iosif Stalin (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 (300 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.	3,849	Navy
1945	Germany	Thielbek – sunk by British planes on 3 May 1945 with the loss of 2,750 lives.	2,750	Navy
1945	Germany	General von Steuben (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.	3,400
1944	Germany	SS Petrella – torpedoed by the submarine HMS Sportsman, while transporting 3,173 Italian POW's from Crete to the mainland. 2,670 men drowned.	2,670	Navy
1944	Norway	Rigel (Norway) - In November 1944, the Rigel and Korsnes, escorted by two German naval vessels, were bombed by Fairey Barracuda bombers. The official number of casualties is 2,572, mostly Soviet (numbering 2,248), Polish and Serbian prisoners of war; seven Norwegians also perished.	2,572
1945	Japan	Awa Maru (Japan) – On 1 April 1945, the Awa Maru was intercepted and sunk in the Taiwan Strait by the American submarine USS Queenfish which mistook her for a destroyer. Only one person of the 2,003 aboard survived.	2,002	Navy
1943	Italy	Gaetano Donizetti (Italy) – sunk by the destroyer HMS Eclipse on 23 September 1943, carrying some 1,800 Italian POW's captured by the Germans in Rhodes. No survivors.	1,800
1942	UK	RMS Laconia (United Kingdom) – On 12 September 1942, 130 mi (210 km) north-northeast of Ascension Island, 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 Incident. This episode also led to Germany's 'Laconia Order' regarding assistance to the survivors of sinking ships. In all an estimated 1,649 persons died.	1,649
1944	Japan	Tsushima Maru (Japan) – The Tsushima Maru was torpedoed and sunk by the American submarine USS Bowfin on 22 August 1944. The sinking claimed the lives of 1,484 civilians including 767 schoolchildren.	1,484
1943	Italy	Mario Roselli (Italy) – sunk in Corfu Bay by an allied bomber on 10 October 1943, killing 1,302 Italian POW's.	1,302
1944	Egypt	Khedive Ismail, an Egyptian-owned troopship in a convoy from Mombasa to Colombo, was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-27 on 12 February 1944. Of the 1,507 people on board, 1,302 were lost, including 79 of the 87 women. Some survivors in the water were killed when the destroyer escorts dropped depth charges to bring the sumbarine to the surface.	1,302	Navy
1943	USA	HMT Rohna – 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.	1,138	Navy
1942	Japan	Montevideo Maru (Japan) – On 22 June 1942, after the fall of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea 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 US submarine USS Sturgeon attacked and sank the ship near the northern Philippine coast. Of the 1,140 people aboard, including 88 crew, reportedly only 18 crew members survived.	1,122
1942	Germany	Palatia was sunk on 21 October 1942 by a Royal New Zealand Air Force torpedo bomber, while carrying Soviet prisoners of war. In total, 986 people have later reported killed.	968
1942	UK	Shuntien was sunk on 23 December 1941 off the coast of Cyrenaica, Libya by U-559 while carrying Italian and German prisoners of war. HMS Salvia and HMS Heythrop rescued survivors, but most were aboard Salvia which was sunk a few hours later with the loss of all aboard.	800–1,000
1942	UK	RMS Nova Scotia was sunk on 28 November 1942 east of Natal Province, South Africa by U-177. Nova Scotia was carrying 1,052 people; there were only 192 survivors.	808
1942	Japan	Lisbon Maru (Japan) - Carrying 2,000 British POWs, she was torpedoed by USS Grouper on 1 October 1942. 800 prisoners were killed, many by shooting or otherwise by the ship's Japanese guards.	800
1940	UK	Arandora Star (United Kingdom) – 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 Prien. Of the 1,673 aboard, over 800 people were killed.	800	Navy
1944	Belgium	Leopoldville (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.	783
1942	Romania	Struma (Panama) – On 23 February 1942, the Struma, while carrying Jews attempting to escape the Holocaust and sail to Palestine, was towed from Istanbul through the Bosphorus and into the Black Sea by the Turkish authorities with its refugee passengers still aboard, where she was left adrift with her engine inoperable. Early on 24 February she was torpedoed and sunk by the Soviet submarine Shch-213. There was only one survivor; an estimated 791 men, women and children died.	768
1939	USSR	Indigirka (Soviet Union) – the ship was transporting scientists released from Soviet Gulag prison camps to help the war effort when she sank in a blizzard off the Japanese coast on 13 December 1939, with the loss of 741 lives.	741
1945	Japan	Ukishima Maru (Japan) – Exploded and sank on 22 August 1945, on entering the port of Maizuru, killing 549 people, mainly Koreans.	549
1944	Turkey	Mefküre (Turkey) – Mefkure was a motor schooner chartered to carry Jewish refugees from Romania to Palestine, sailing under the Turkish and Red Cross flags. On 5 August 1944, while she was crossing the Black Sea, the Soviet submarine Shch-215 torpedoed and sank her, killing an estimated 305 people. 11 people (five passengers and six crew) survived.	305
1943	Australia	AHS Centaur (Australia) – A hospital ship attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine on 16 May 1943 off Queensland, Australia. Of the 332 medical personnel and crew aboard, 268 died. It was not until 1979 that the attacking submarine, Japanese submarine I-177, was identified.	268
1940	UK	City of Benares (United Kingdom) – 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 Board (CORB) program. The loss of the ship caused the CORB program to be cancelled immediately.	260
1940	France	Patria (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 Haifa on 25 November 1940, while en route to Mauritius. 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 Haganah 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.	260	Civilian
1942	Canada	RMS Lady Hawkins(de) (Canada) – On 19 January 1942, the Lady Hawkins was torpedoed and sunk by U-66 130 mi (210 km) off the North Carolina coast. An estimated 251 people were killed in the sinking.	251
1939	UK	HMS Rawalpindi (United Kingdom) – 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.	238	Navy
1940	Canada	Nerissa (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.	207	Civilian
1941	Turkey	Refah (Turkey) – A cargo steamer carrying 171 Turkish military personnel (150 seamen and 21 airmen) and 28 crew from Mersin to Egypt was sunk on 23 June 1941 by a torpedo fired by a Vichy France submarine. The vessel belonging to neutral Turkey was mistook for a vessel of Free France. Only 32 people survived the disaster.	139
1942	Canada	Caribou (Newfoundland) – A passenger ferry, torpedoed by the U-69, sank in the Cabot Strait during the night of 14–15 October 1942. 138 perished out of 46 sailors and 206 civilian and military passengers.	138	Civilian
1939	UK	Athenia (United Kingdom) – On 3 September 1939, just hours after Britain declared war on Germany, U-boat U-30 sank Athenia mistaking her for an armed merchant cruiser. Of the 1,103 civilians the passenger liner was carrying, 118 passengers and crew were killed.	118	Civilian
1944	Sweden	Hansa (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.	84

During the Spanish Civil War

• Almrante Ferrándiz – sunk by Spanish cruiser Canarias on 29 September 1936; 130 killed.
• Baleares – sunk by the Lepanto on 6 March 1938. 765 seamen died.
• SS Castillo de Olite – sunk by costal artillery on 7 March 1939 near Cartagena Harbor; 1,476 killed.

During World War II

HMAS Sydney with her 645 crew

• Yamato (Japan) – The largest battleship ever constructed, Yamato was sunk on 7 April 1945 by torpedo planes from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and others. Only 280 of the Yamato's 2,778-man crew were rescued. This was the greatest loss of life in a single warship in World War II.
• Bismarck (Germany) – After being hunted by British forces following the sinking of HMS Hood, the Bismarck was herself sunk three days later on 27 May 1941. Of the 2,200 crewmen aboard, 1,977 sailors lost their lives, 115 survivors.
• Scharnhorst (Germany) – Lost in the Battle of North Cape on 26 December 1943, being outgunned by HMS Duke of York, and later finished off by British destroyers; 1,803 killed, 36 survived.
• HMS Glorious (United Kingdom) – The aircraft carrier, with escorting destroyers HMS Ardent and HMS Acasta were sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau off Norway, 8 June 1940; 1,515 men were lost, 46 survived.
• HMS Hood (United Kingdom) – The battlecruiser HMS Hood was attacked and sunk by the German battleship Bismarck on 24 May 1941. Of the 1,418 crewmen aboard, only three survived.
• Fuso (Japan) – On 25 October 1944 as a result of torpedoes launched by USS Melvin in the Battle of Surigao Strait, causing the loss of possibly all of her crew of 1,400.
• Yamashiro (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.
• Shinano (Japan) – Meant to be the third Yamato-class battleship, but completed as an aircraft carrier instead, she was sunk on 29 November 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.
• Roma (1940) (Italy) – Roma was hit by two German Fritz X guided bombs on 9 September 1943, while proceeding from La Spezia toward Malta, in accordance with the terms of the Allied-Italian armiestice. Of her crew of 1,849, 596 survived, 1,253 perished.
• Tirpitz (Germany) – Tirpitz was attacked by RAF Lancaster bombers from 9 and 617 Squadrons armed with 'Tallboy' bombs on 12 November 1944. The battleship sank west of Tromsø, Norway, with the loss of 1,204 of her crew.
• Kongō (Japan) – Sunk with torpedoes by the submarine USS Sealion II on 21 November 1944 in the Formosa Strait with the loss of 1,200 of her crew.
• USS Arizona (United States) – While docked in Pearl Harbor, the super-dreadnought battleship was attacked by Japanese torpedo and dive bombers 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.
• Musashi (Japan) – Sister ship of Yamato, sunk by US aircraft on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, with a loss of 1,023 of her crew of 2,399.
• Bretagne (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.
• USS Indianapolis (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" 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.
• HMS Barham (United Kingdom) – On 25 November 1941, in the eastern Mediterranean north of Sidi Barrani, 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.
• Zuikaku (Japan) – Aircraft carrier, sunk on 24 October 1944 during the Battle off Cape Engaño, with a loss of 842 lives out of 1,704.
• HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse (United Kingdom) – On 10 December 1941, three days after Pearl Harbor, the two capital ships were sent to intercept Japanese landings in Malaya, 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 said when he heard about the sinkings: "In all the war, I never received a more direct shock...".
• HMS Neptune (United Kingdom) – 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 HMS Kandahar mined while attempting to assist.
• HMS Royal Oak (United Kingdom) – 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.
• Blücher (Germany) – Sunk by Norwegian shore defences at the Battle of Drøbak Sound on 9 April 1940, killing 830 of 2,202 troops and crewmen on board.
• Kaga (Japan) – Aircraft carrier, sunk on 4 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, with the loss of 811 lives out of 1,708.
• Chiyoda (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).
• HMS Gloucester (United Kingdom) – On 22 May 1941, Gloucester was attacked by German Stuka dive bombers and sunk during the Battle of Crete with the loss of 722 men out of a crew of 807.
• Sōryū (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.
• USS Juneau (United States) – Sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. Juneau's 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.
• Mikuma (Japan) – Heavy cruiser, sunk on 5 June 1942 during the Battle of Midway, with the loss of 650 of her crew.
• HMAS Sydney (Australia) – The light cruiser was sunk by the German ship Kormoran 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.

The survivors of Z27, T25 and T26 interned in the Curragh Camp, Ireland, in 1944

• Z27, T25 and T26 (Germany) – In the Bay of Biscay, on 28 December 1943, Z27, a Kriegsmarine destroyer and two torpedo boats, T25 and T26 were waiting to escort Alsterufer, a blockade runner which had come from Japan. The Royal Navy knew the German positions and had already sunk the Alsterufer. The cruisers HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise 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 m) neutral Irish coaster MV Kerlogue rescued 168 survivors from the three ships' 700 crew.
• HMS Courageous (United Kingdom) – 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.
• Yahagi (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.
• HMS Dunedin (United Kingdom) – On 24 November 1941, HMS Dunedin was in the Central Atlantic northeast of Recife, 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.
• HMS Dasher (United Kingdom) – Royal Navy escort aircraft carrier which sank in 1943 after an internal explosion, killing 379 out of a crew of 528.
• HNLMS De Ruyter (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 Ilmarinen's paravane cable. 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.
• USS Pollux & USS Truxtun (DD-229) (United States) - On 18 February 1942 Pollux grounded during a storm at Lawn Point off Newfoundland and was wrecked with 93 fatalities; Truxtun was also wrecked, at Chambers Cove off St.Lawrence, with 110 fatalities.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

• INS Khukri (India) – On 9 December 1971 the Indian frigate INS Khukri was torpedoed and sunk 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 Belgrano

• ARA General Belgrano (Argentina) – On 2 May 1982 the Argentinian light cruiser ARA General Belgrano was torpedoed and sunk by British submarine HMS Conqueror with the loss of 323 lives. This was the first time a warship had been sunk by a nuclear submarine (albeit with conventional torpedoes).
• HMS Sheffield (United Kingdom) – On 4 May 1982 the British guided missile destroyer HMS Sheffield was struck by an Argentinian Exocet missile. The ship sank with a loss of 20 lives.

See also

• Shipwreck
• 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
• Notable peacetime passenger ship disasters