[ Technological Events ] [ Ship Accidents ]

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

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

1865 April 27th. USA, Mississippi River, Memphis, steamboat "Sultana" exploded; 1,547 people died

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

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

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

1904 June 15th. USA, New York City, East River, steamboat "General Slocum" caught fire; 1,021 people died

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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 first 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.

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