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1588 August-October North Sea, English Channel: The English fleet under Sir Francis Drake and hurricane winds sank the 65 of the 130 ships of the Spanish Armada (i.e., the flagship "Gran Grifon" crashed into the rocks of Fair Isle with at least 1,000 soldiers; the galley "Girona" and its 1,300 people aboard were sunk by a Hurricane on October 26 after leaving Killybegs in Ireland the previous day) in; all in all between 4,000 and 10,000 sailors died

1622 September 4th. off the Florida keys: the flagship "Atocha" and eight other ships loaded with treasures went down, together with the crews of 550; a well documented salvage operation started to retrieve the cargo of gold, silver and jewelry.

1656 January 4th. off the Bahamas: en route from Havana to Span the "Maravillas" with 650 people on board ran into a sand bank and sank; 45 survivors.

1715 July 31st. off the coast of Florida:

1831 May 14th. USA, Long Island Sound: paddle steamer "Washington" collided with the "Chancellor Livingstone"; 2 people died

1842 Great Britain, North Cornwall, Rocks at Sharp's Nose: the 200 ton vessel "Caledonia" en route from Odessa on the Black Sea to Scotland with a cargo of wheat sank in stormy weather; 9 crewmembers died, 1 survived

1851 September 8th. USA, Illinois, Waukegan: the 1,000 ton paddle steamer "Lady Elgin" collided with the schooner "Augusta"; more than 280 people died

1852 South Africa, The Cape: the "Birkenhead" en-route from Cork in Ireland to South Africa with up to 650 soldiers and their families Ran Aground during a storm; only 184 people survived.

1853 February 13th. Ireland, off the Bailey Lighthouse near Dublin: the "Queen Victoria" en route from Liverpool to Ireland wrecked in a storm; 67 people died.

1854 September 27th. North Atlantic, Newfoundland, off Cape Race: collision between one of the fastest and most luxurious steamships at that time, the Collins line "Artic" and the much smaller French steamship "Vesta"; 87 men were rescued (65 crew and 22 passengers), more than 310 died (90 crew and 210 passengers).
The Artic had only six lifeboats capable of carrying a maximum of 180 people

1854 March North Atlantic: British steamer "City of Glasgow" disappeared; 480 people died

1856 January 23rd. North Atlantic: US steamer "Pacific", owned by Collins Line disappeared; between 190 and 280 people died

1858 September 23rd. North Atlantic: German steamer "Austria" destroyed by fire; 471 people died


1858 Mississippi River, Memphis, Ship Island: steamboat "Pennsylvania" exploded; 150 people died

1859 November 15th. off the coast of Anglesea, near Point Lynas Lighthouse: "Royal Charter" crashed into rocks during a storm

1862 December 29th. USA, near Cape Hatteras lighthouse: the 170 feet long USS "Monitor" towed by the USS "Rhode Island" sank; no casualties

1863 April 27th. Cape Race: British steamer "Anglo Saxon" sank; 238 people died

1865 April 27th. USA, Mississippi River, near Memphis: steamboat "Sultana" loaded with about 1,800 people (registered to carry 376 including crew) exploded; 1,547 people died

1865 Pacific Ocean, off St. George Reef: steamship "Brother Jonathan" sank; 200 people died

1869 October 27th. USA, Illinois, Mississippi River below Cairo: steamboat "Stonewall" caught fire; 200 people died

1870 January 25th. North Atlantic between New York and Liverpool: British steamer "City of Boston" disappeared; 177 people died

1870 October 19th. off the coast of Northern Ireland: British steamer "Cambria" wrecked; 196 people died

1872 November 7th. between New York and Genoa: US half-brig "Mary Celeste" was found abandoned; loss of life unknown

1873 January 22nd. England, off Dungeness: British steamer "Northfleet" wrecked; 300 people died

1873 April 1st. North Atlantic, off Nova Scotia, near Halifax: liner "Atlantic" crashed into a reef and sank; 560 people died, 415 survived.

1873 November 23rd. French steamer "Ville du Havre" sank after colliding with British sailing ship "Loch Earn"; 226 people died

1874 November 17th. New Zealand, off the coast of Auckland: a fire broke out on the immigrant ship "Cospatrick". The blaze was nearly extinguished by the crew when the vessel was steered into the wind, feeding the fire; 468 people died; only 5 survivors were found in a life boat 9 days later.

1875 May 7th. off Scilly Isles: German steamer "Schiller" wrecked; 312 people died

1875 November 4th. off Cape Flattery: US steamer "Pacific" sank after collision; 236 people died

1878 September Great Britain, London, Thames River nears Woolwich Arsenal: paddle steamer "Princess Alice" was rammed by the large vessel "Bywell Castle" and ripped into two; the pleasure boat sank within minutes; 650 people died, 50 survived.

1878 December 18th. Dardanelles: French steamer "Byzantin" sank after collision; 210 people died

1881 May 24th. Canada, Thames River: steamer "Victoria" capsized; 200 people died

1882 June 19th. Spain, off the coast of Finisterre: vessel "Sunrise" crashed against rocks; 35 people were rescued

1883 Pacific Ocean: steamship "Grappler" caught fire; 88 people died

1883 January 19th. North Sea: German steamer "Cimbria" sank after colliding with British steamer "Sultan"; 389 people died

1886 November 17th. Lake Superior: the schooner "Lucerne" sank in gale force winds;

1887 November 15th. British steamer "Wah Yeung" burned at sea; 400 people died

1890 February 17th. China Sea: British steamer "Duburg" wrecked; 400 people died

1890 September 19th. off the coast of Japan: Turkish frigate "Ertogrul" wrecked; 540 people died

1890 November 10th. Spain, off the coast of Finisterre: Royal Navy school ship HMS Serpent crashed into the rocks during a stormy night; 172 sailors died, 3 survived

1891 March 17th. Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Gibraltar: the America bound steamer "Utopia" slammed in heavy weather into the iron-plated British battleship "Amson" and sank; 576 people died

1893 June 22nd. Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Tripoli, Africa: the British Navy steamship HMS "Victoria" collided with the HMS "Camperdown", another ship of the Mediterranean fleet and sank; the collision course was ordered by commanding a Vice-Admiral; at least 400 sailors died

1895 January 30th. North Sea: German steamer "Elbe" sank after colliding with British steamer "Craithie"; 332 people died

1895 March 11th. off Gibraltar: Spanish cruiser "Reina Regenta" wrecked; 400 people died

1897 June 9th. India, off Sokrota: the P&O steamship "Aden" crashed into rocks; the 47 people that took the lifeboats perished in the stormy conditions, the 85 remaining aboard (34 passengers, 51 crew) were rescued 17 days later

1898 February 15th. Cuba, Port of Havana: battleship USS Maine was destroyed by an explosion and sank; 261 people died, 94 survived, many with injuries; after the alleged mine explosion within 70 days the US declared and fought its first overseas war against Spain.

1898 July 4th. North Atlantic, NovaScotia, off Sable Island: the British steel bark "Cromartyshire" collided in heavy fog with the French liner "La Bourgogne"; 560 people died, 165 survived.

1898 October 13th. Great Britain, Cornwall, The Manacles: the Atlantic Transport Line steamer "Mohegan", en route from London to New York, crashed into the rocks and sank within minutes in dark and stormy seas after taking a wrong turn at the Eddystone lighthouse; more than 170 people died.

1898 November 26th. off Cape Cod: US steamer "Portland" wrecked; 157 people died

1899 March 30th. Great Britain, Channel Islands, The Casquets: the 1,000ton steamer "Stella", owned by London and South Western Railway company crashed into the rocks in heavy fog; 112 people (24 crew, 88 passengers) died

1900 June 30th. USA, New Jersey, Hudson River at Hoboken: the 5,000 ton steamship "Saale" and four other ships were impacted by a fire that started on pier three; and advanced to cargo at the dockside; the vessel finally sank; 99 people died.

1902 February 22nd. USA, Golden Gate off San Francisco: the steamer "City of Rio de Janeiro", owned by the Pacific Mail Company Line, struck rocks in dense fog while returning from the Far east and sank within an hour; 104 people died.

1902 April India, between Madras and Rangoon: the mail and passenger ship "Camorta", owned by the British India Steam Navigation Company" with 739 people aboard (650 passengers, 89 crew) vanished en route from Madras to Rangoon without a trace

1904 June 15th. USA, New York City, East River: steamboat "General Slocum" with 1,800 parishioners of a Lutheran Church in New York, mostly women and children, on board caught fire; 1,021 people died

1904 June 28th. Scotland, off the coast of Rockall: the "Norge" en route from Copenhagen to North America with 780 people (700 passengers, 80 crew) aboard ran aground; when the unharmed ship tried to refloat its underside was damaged and the vessel sank; 550 people died.

1906 August 4th. Spain, off Cape Palos: Italian steamer "Sirio" wrecked; 350 people died

1906 September 12th. Pacific Ocean, Island of Oahu, off Waimando: transpacific liner "Manchuria" ran aground; after passengers and cargo were successfully offloaded a concerted salvage effort freed the vessel

1907 March 3rd. Pacific Ocean, Japan, 40 miles south of Yokohama: in good weather the large liner "Dakota" ran onto Shira Hami Reef; all occupants were safely evacuated and a third of the cargo load was salvaged before the vessel broke apart

1908 March 23rd. Japan, near Hakodate: Japanese steamer "Matsu Maru" sank after collision; 300 people died

1908 April 25th. off the Isle of Wight: the HMA "Gladiator" collided with the US liner "St. Paul" and turned sideways; 127 people died

1908 November Atlantic Ocean: the 2,900 ton ship "Neustria", owned by the French Fabre Line, with room for more than 1,100 passengers left New York harbor on October 27 and vanished without a trace.

1909 July South Atlantic, between port of Durban and Cape Town: the 9,300tons and 140 meter long passenger ship "Waratah" with 92 passengers aboard, owned by the London-based Blue Anchor Line, vanished without a trace after leaving Durban on July 26.

1909 August 14th. Great Britain, Port of Liverpool: the luxury liner "Lucania", owned by the Cunard Line was destroyed by fire in the Huskisson Dock in Liverpool.

1910 February 9th. Spain, off Minorca: French steamer "General Chanzy" wrecked; 200 people died

1911 September 25th. France, Toulon: French battleship "Liberte" exploded; 285 people died

1912 March 12th. off Spain: Spanish steamer "Principe des Asturias" wrecked; 500 people died

1912 April 15th. North Atlantic: the ocean liner "Titanic" (900 feet long, 90 feet broad, 100 feet high) sank on its maiden voyage from Queenstown to New York after colliding with an iceberg; the vessel carried 20 lifeboats with a total capacity of 1,178 for its 2,206 people aboard (898 crew, 1,308 passengers); subsequently 1,513 people died in the icy waters.

1912 September 28th. off the coast of Japan: Japanese steamer "Kichemaru" sank; 1,000 people died

1913 October North Atlantic: the 3,500 ton ship "Volturno" with 660 people aboard (560 passengers, 100 crew) en route from Rotterdam to New York caught fire; the blaze was fueled by strong winds and a cargo of chemicals and straw goods; numerous vessels attended and rescued more than 500 people; 136 died

1914 May 29th. Atlantic Ocean: in dense fog and darkness the 3,500ton Norwegian collier "Storstad", loaded with 10,000 tons of coal, rammed the 14,000 ton passenger ship "Empress of Ireland" portside and gouged a 25ft. hole into the vessel which sank within less than 30 minutes; at least 1,012 people died (840 passengers, 172 crew)

1915 May 1st. North Atlantic, off the coast of Ireland: a German U-boat torpedoed the Cunard liner "Lusitania" which sank within less than 20 minutes; 1,198 people died, 663 people survived (374 passengers and 289 crew)

1915 July 24th. Chicago River: excursion steamer "Eastland" filled with more than 3,500 picnickers (license was limited to a maximum of 2,500 passengers) capsized at its dock; 852 people died

1915 August Gulf of Mexico: the vessel "Marowijne", owned by the United Fruit Company of New York, with 40 passengers, crew, and a load of bananas vanished without a trace en route from Belize, British Honduras

1916 February 26th. Mediterranean Sea: French cruiser "Provence" sank; 3,100 people died

1916 March 3rd. Brazil, near Santos: Spanish steamer "Principe de Asturias" wrecked; 558 people died

1916 August 29th. off the coast of China: Chinese steamer "Hsin Yu" sank; 1,000 people died

1917 December 30th. Canada, Nova Scotia, Port of Halifax: the French freighter "Mont Blanc" loaded with high explosives destined for Europe was rammed by the Belgian freighter "Imo" while entering the harbor to meet other ships for a joint Atlantic crossing, including the cruiser HMS. "High Flyer" Approximately 15 minutes after the collision the cargo exploded destroying about 50% of the city of Halifax; estimated 3,000 people died and more than 7,500 were injured.

1918 April 25th. off Hankow: Chinese steamer "Kiang-Kwan" sank after collision; 500 people died

1918 May 1st. USA, New Jersey, off the coast of Atlantic City: the 3,600 ton steamship "City of Athens" collided with the French cruiser "La Glorie" and sank; 66 people died

1918 July 12th. Japan, Tokayama Bay: Japanese battleship "Kawachi" exploded; 500 people died

1918 October 24th. Pacific Ocean, Alaska, Vanderbilt Reef: the Canadian passenger steamship "Princess Sophia" crashed onto rocks and sank; all 343 people aboard died

1922 May 20th. off France, 25 miles southwest of Ushant: the "Egypt" with 338 people aboard (294 crew and 44 passengers) was rammed port side by the French cargo steamer "Seine" and sank within 20 minutes; 87 people died

1922 October 12th. Pacific Ocean between California and the Hawaiian Islands: the 10,500 ton passenger liner "City of Honolulu" caught fire

1927 October 25th. near an island off the Brazilian coast: the Italian-owned "Principessa Mafalda" with 1,259 people aboard took water after a propeller shaft broke and capsized a few hours later; 303 people died, 956 survived.

1934 September 8th. Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Asbury Park, New Jersey: a fire onboard the "Morro Castle"; the Captain refused to send out an SOS, afraid that the ship owner would have to pay for salvage fees; 137 passengers died.

1939 France, Port of Le Havre: the passenger ship "Paris" caught fire and flipped on its side in the shallow harbor waters

1945 September Pacific Ocean, Alaska, off Ketchikan: Canadian National steamship "Prince George" caught fire after a fuel tank explosion in the engine room and burned out; all passengers were safely evacuated; 1 crewmember died

1946 February 6th. Pacific Ocean, Alaska, off Johnston Bay 40 miles southeast of Seward: the 6,000 ton passenger liner "Yukon" owned by the Alaska Steamship Corporation en route to Seattle with 495 people aboard (371 passengers and 124 crew) crashed into rocks and broke apart in icy waters; 11 people died, 484 were rescued by a Coast Guard cutter and other vessels

1947 November 24th. Pacific Ocean, British Columbia, off Hippa Island near Graham Island: the 7,600 ton US Army transport "Clarksdall Victory" crashed in heavy seas onto rocks and broke apart; 49 people died, 4 survived

1956 July 25th. North Atlantic, Nantucket Island: Italian liner "Andrea Doria" (11 decks high, 700 feet long) collided on its 51st transatlantic trip with the Swedish "Stockholm" and sank; 52 people died, more than 1,600 people were rescued

1961 April 8th. Persian Gulf: British Oceanliner "Dora" exploded; 236 people died

1961 July 8th. Mozambique, off the coast: Portuguese ship "Save" ran aground; 259 people died

1963 April 10th. North Atlantic: US Navy atomic submarine "Thresher" sank; 129 people died

1964 February 10th. Australia, New South Wales, off the coast: Australian destroyer "Voyager" sank after colliding with Australian aircraft carrier "Melbourne"; 82 people died

1964 October 6th. Japan, near Hakdate: a train ferry capsized in a typhoon; hundreds of people died

1965 November 13th. Bermudas, Nassau, off the coast: Panamanian registered cruise ship "Yarmouth Castle" caught fire and sank; 89 people died

1966 June 16th - US Atlantic Coast, Junction of Bergen Point and Newark Bay near New York City: collision of the American Tankship SS "Texaco Massachusetts" and the British Tankship MV "Alva Cape". Subsequent explosions and fires engulfed both ships and the attending tugs MV "Latin America" and MV "Esso Vermont"; 33 people died (19 from the Alva Cape, 8 from the tug Esso Vermont, 3 from the Texaco Massacusetts, and 3 from the tug Latin America), and more than 20 were injured. All four vessels sustained extensive fire damage.

1966 December 8th. Mediterranean Sea, near Falconare island in the Cyclades: on its way from Canea in Crete to Piraeus on mainland Greece a truck on the parking deck crashed during gale winds into the bow door of passenger and vehicle ferry "Heraklion" leaving it open and causing the ship to sink within minutes; 288 people died, 47 were able to swim to nearby rocks.

1967 March 18th. Great Britain, Scilly Isles: the 1,000 feet long supertanker "Torrey Canyon", owned by the Barracuda Tanker Company of Bermuda, with a load of 120,000 tons of crude oil from Kuwait ran into Pollard Rocks and broke apart.

1967 July 29th. North Vietnam, off the coast: US aircraft carrier "Forrestal" caught fire; 134 people died

1968 April 11th. New Zealand, outside Wellington harbor: the 9,000 ton inter-island passenger and vehicle ferry "Wahine" with more than 700 people aboard struck a reef in heavy weather; nearly 50 people died

1972 January 9th. Hong Kong Harbor: the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth caught fire and the blaze swept to the entire vessel, forcing the ship to role over in 43 feet of water

1976 December 25th. Red Sea: Egyptian liner "Patria" caught fire and sank; 100 people died

1977 March 16th. North Sea, France, Brittany: 230 ton supertanker "Amoco Cadiz" en-route from Iran to Rotterdam in the Netherlands loaded with 250,000 tons of crude oil lost its steering capability and was slammed into the rocky coast. The ship broke in two and 223,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the sea.

1980 January 22nd. Great Britain, off the beach at Brighton: Greek cargo vessel "Athina" ran aground yards from the sandy beach

1980 April 27th. United Kingdom, London, Thames River: the 1934 built paddle steamer "Old Caledonia" used as a floating public house caught fire

1980 September 9th. Pacific Ocean, Japan, near Okinawa: 1,000 feet long British bulk carrier "Derbyshire" sank in typhoon, 44 people died

1981 January 27th. Java Sea: Indonesian passenger ship "Tamponas II" caught fire and sank; 580 people died

1983 February 12th. USA, Virginia, off Chincoteague: coal freighter "Marine Electric" sank during storm; 33 people died

1983 May 25th. Egypt, Lake Nasser: Nile steamer "10th of Ramadan" caught fire and sank; 357 people died

1987 March 6th. North Sea, Belgium, off the coast of Zeebrugge: the car ferry "Herald of Free Enterprise" with 436 passengers on board left the dockside -as usual- with the bow door still open; outside the harbor the vessel took water and sank on its side within 2 minutes; 193 people died.

North Sea, Belgium, off the coast of Zeebrugge

1987 December 5th. Spain, Rostro beach near Cape Finisterre: freight ship "Carson" ran aground, releasing fumes from its toxic cargo; 23 sailors died and the towns of Fisterra, Corcubion, and Cee had to be evacuated.

1987 December 20th. Philippines, Tablas Strait, off Mindoro Island: the ferry "Dona Paz" (designed to carry 1,400 passengers and a crew of 50) crowded with approximately 3,000 passengers collided head-on with the tanker "Victor" loaded with 8,300 barrels of oil; in the subsequent explosion and fire at least 3,000 people died; only 24 passengers survived.

1989 March 17th. England, North Cornwall: cargo vessel "Secil Japan" ran into rocks and split apart

1989 March 23rd. Alaska, Prince William Sound: 210,000 ton oil tanker "Exxon Valdez" ran onto a reef

1989 August 20th. U.K., London, Thames River: the pleasure boat "Marchiones" with 130 passenger aboard collided on a nightly cruise with the dredger "Browbelle"; 51 people died

1990 April 7th. Europe East Sea, between Norway and Denmark: arson fire aboard the "Scandinavian Star"; 159 people died. An international panel concluded in 1991 that the ship, which had just been sold by the Miami-based SeaEscape cruise line to VR DaNo Lines of Denmark for use in a ferry service, had rotted life boats and missing or insufficient fire alarms. The ship had been certified safe by the U.S. Coast Guard and the London-based Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

1991 March 23rd. Atlantic Ocean, off Spain's Canary Islands: a fire started on board of the Finnish cruise ship "Eurosun", owned by Europe Cruise Line; the crew put out an SOS call but was able to bring the ship on its own power to the port of Las Palmas; none of the 300 people aboard were injured.

1991 July 14th. off the coast of Freeport Bahamas: a fire began in the engine room of the Walt Disney World owned "Majestic"; About 1,120 passengers and crew were called to their lifeboats and were prepared to abandon the ship while the crews fought the fire. The vessel was finally towed to Florida.

1993 February 17th. 70 miles off Haiti, Port-au-Prince: the 160 feet ferry "Neptune" overcrowded with more than 1,500 passengers capsized in a small storm; more than 900 people died

1994 September 29th. Sweden, Baltic Sea: Ferry "Estonia" sank in heavy weather under mysterious circumstances; 141 people survived, 912 died

1994 November 30th. Indian Ocean, off Somalia: a fire broke out in an engine room of the "Achille Lauro" owned by Italy's Starlauro. Nearly 1,000 people were on board; 4 people died (2 elderly passengers during the evacuation, 1 aboard a rescue vessel, and the fourth was never found).

1995 June 18th. after a fire in the control room knocked out power the 2,560 passengers and crew aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines' "Celebration" drifted for two days with overflowing toilets and no running water. No one was injured, and passengers were transferred to the sister ship Ecstasy and brought back to Miami.

1996 February 15th. Great Britain, Milford Haven: the 150,000ton Liberian-registered tanker Sea Empress" ran onto rocks and spilled up to 72,000 tons of crude oil from the ruptured tanks into the sea.

1995 July 22nd. Alaska, Prince William Sound: a fire that began in the engine room disabled the "Regent Star" owned by Regency Cruises and forced the evacuation of 1,280 passengers and crew. Two people sustained minor injuries.

1996 July 6th. Pacific Ocean, northwest coast of British Columbia: a fire broke out in the engine room of the "Golden Princess" during a cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver. About 1,200 passengers and crew were aboard vessel which was towed 60 miles to Victoria. None were injured.

1996 May 8th. off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas: a fire broke out in the engine room of the Discovery Cruise Lines' "Discovery 1"; none of the evacuated 800 passengers and 400 crew was injured.

1996 July 27th. Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Alaska: a fire on the San Francisco-based World Explorer Cruises' "Universe Explorer" with 732 people aboard was believed to have started in the laundry room; 5 crewmembers died of smoke inhalation and 70 people were injured.

NTSB Report

1997 April 6th. Atlantic: a fire on the Cunard Line Ldt.'s "Vistafjord" en route from Florida to Portugal was caused by a short circuit in the laundry equipment. The vessel with 991 passengers and crew aboard was diverted to Freeport in the Bahamas. 1 crew member died of smoke inhalation. A similar fire broke out in the same area of the ship the previous February.

1997 October 4th. Mediterranean Sea, about 65 miles off Cyprus: fire aboard the Cypriot "MS Romantica", owned by Paradise Tours that was on a three-day trip to Egypt and Israel. Estimated 650 passengers and crews were evacuated into lifeboats and helicopters. No one was injured.

1998 July offshore southern Florida: Carnival Cruise liner "Ecstasy", fire started in a laundry room; 3,475 people aboard, 54 had to be treated for smoke inhalation.

1998 September 2nd. Congo, Lake Kivu, near Bukavu: 2 passenger boats capsized; more than 200 people died

1998 September 18th. Philippines, South of Manila: ferry sank; more than 97 people died

1999 February 4th. Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Oregon, Coos Bay: the Japanese-owned freighter M/V "New Clarissa" went aground in a storm about 150 yards offshore; it was loaded with 400,000 gallons of tar-like bunker oil; about 70,000 gallons of the fuel spilled into the ocean when the vessel broke apart in pounding waves.

1999 February 6th. Indonesia, off the coast: cargo ship "Harta Rimba" sank; more than 280 people died

1999 March 26th. Sierra Leone, off the coast: passenger boat capsized; more than 150 people died

1999 April 2nd. Nigeria, off the coast: passenger ferry sank; more than 200 people died

1999 May 1st. USA, Arkansas, Lake Hamilton: amphibious excursion boat sank; 13 people died

1999 May 8th. Bangladesh, off the coast: passenger ferry capsized; more than 200 people died

1999 November 24th. China, near Yantai: passenger ferry "Dashun" capsized; 280 people died

2000 January 11th. Jamaica, 100 miles off Montego Bay: Carnival Cruise liner "Celebration": fire started at the auxiliary generator system, extinguished by the automated Halon system. 1,586 passengers and 667 crew were on board, no injuries reported. The ship was without electrical and propulsion power for several hours.

2000 May 3rd. Bangladesh, Meghna River: 2 ferries capsized in storm; at least 72 people died

2000 June 6th. Alaska, Chatham Strait, about 30 miles southwest of Juneau: a fire broke out in the main switchboard in the engine control room of the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ferry "Columbia" with 434 passengers, 1 stowaway, and 63 crewmembers on board on a regularly scheduled voyage from Juneau to Sitka, Alaska. As a result of the fire, the vessel lost main propulsion and electrical power and began to drift. The crewmembers on board the Columbia responded to the fire assisted by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. The fire was extinguished with no resulting injuries or deaths and the damage was estimated at about US $2 million. Three passengers were evacuated by Coast Guard helicopter because of medical conditions and the remaining passengers were transferred to another AMHS ferry and transported to Juneau.

2000 June 29th. Indonesia, off Sulawesi Island: overloaded ferry capsized in stormy weather, more than 500 people died

2000 August 12th. Barents Sea: Russian submarine Kursk sank; all 118 people aboard died

2000 September 26th. Greece, Mediterranean Sea, off Paros Island: Greek ferry "Express Samina" sank; more than 81 people died; rescue efforts only by local boats; search and rescue efforts by Greece authorities proved to be insufficient

2001 February 9th. USA, Pacific Ocean near Hawaii: Japanese trawler "Ehime Maru" was sunk by surfacing US submarine "Greeneville"; 9 people died

2002 May 4th. Bangladesh, Meghna River: ferry sank in storm; more than 370 people died

2002 May 26th. USA, Oklahoma, Arkansas River: barge struck Interstate highway bridge; at least 13 people died

2002 September 26th. Off Gambia: overloaded Senegalese ferry capsized; more than 950 people died

2003 June 14th. USA, Oregon, Garibaldi, Tillamook Bay: a 15-foot wave capsized the 32-foot fishing charter boat "Taki-Tooo"; 11 people died, 8 were rescued from the 50-degree waters

2003 October 15th. - USA, New York State, New York City, Staten Island: the 300 feet long ferry "Andrew J. Barberi" with a capacity of 6,000 passengers collided with a concrete pier directly adjacent to the St. George Ferry Terminal. The impact ripped open the port side bulkhead along the main deck and caused a portion of the upper deck to collapse; the New York City Fire Department responded with 70 units and 225 personnel; 10 people died and 43 were injured.

2004 February 27th - Philippines, Manila Bay near Bataan Island: during an overnight journey from Manila to Bacolod an explosion ripped through the a luxury Superferry 14 owned by the WG&A consortium of three shipping lines. The 510-foot long vessel entered service in 2000 and carried nearly 744 passengers and a crew of 155 when the fire broke out. More than 750 people have been rescued, some with severe burn injuries. At least 100 people are reported missing

2004 February 28th - USA, Atlantic Ocean, off the Virginia coast: the Bow Mariner, a 570-foot tanker built in 1982 and owned by the Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises Ltd., en-route from New York to Houston carrying a crew of 27 and 3.5 million gallons of industrial ethanol exploded and sank about 50 miles east of Chincoteague; 21 people died and 6 injured survivors were rescued by US Coast Guard helicopters

2004 June 7th. - Eastern India, near the village of Dubaghat about 70 miles north of Patna: a boat crowded with around 60 women and children capsized in the Bhagmati River; at least 40 people died