Top 10 Biggest Maritime Disasters of Peacetime

The 10 Biggest Maritime Disasters: 10. Al Salam Boccaccio 98 On 3rd February, Al Salam Boccaccio 98, an Egyptian passenger ferry was sank in the Red Sea en route from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, to Safaga in southern Egypt. This is one of the biggest maritime disasters of the 21st century. 9. HMS Victory. HMS Victory, which was wrecked in the English Channel in 1744. Artwork by John Batchelor. 8. Toya Maru. Japanese passenger ferry Toa Maru was caught between a typhoon in the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Hokkaidō and Honshūon on September 26, 1954, which ultimately resulted in its sinking. 7. Salem Express Passenger ship Salem Express sank after colliding with Hyndman Reef on 17th December, 1991 which resulted in the death of 1,400 people. Many of the passengers were returning were returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. 6. RMS Titanic. Perhaps, the most well-known ship in the world is the British passenger liner RMS Titanic. Known as the largest ship afloat at the time it entered service and declared ‘unsinkable’ by its makers, Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, USA. 5. Tek Sing. Three-masted Chinese ocean-going junk, Tek Sing met its terrible fate on February 6, 1822, when it sank in an area of the South China Sea known as the Belvidere Shoals. It sank when tries a shortcut through the Gaspar Strait between Belitung and Bangka Islands and grounded on a reef. It resulted in the death of 1600 people. 4. Le Joola One of the biggest maritime disasters in recent times took place on 26th September, 2002 when Senegalese government-owned ferry Le Joola capsized off the coast of the Gambia. 3. Mont-Blanc (Halifax Explosion). On 6th December, 1917, when cargo ship Mont-Blanc was going through Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada, which was full cargo of highly volatile explosives, it collided with the Norwegian ship, SS Imo. The incident came to be known as Halifax Explosion. It resulted in the death of almost 2000 people. At the time of the accident, Mont-Blanc had a 40 person crew. 2. Kiangya. Chinese passenger steamship Kiangya sank in the mouth of the Huangpu River 50 miles (80 km) south of Shanghai on 4 December 1948. It led to the death of 2,750–3,920 people. There were only 700–1,000 survivors, who were picked up by other vessels. 1. Doña Paz. On 20th December, 1987, the world witnessed the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters, when Philippine-registered passenger ferry Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker MT Vector. Both the ships caught fire and ultimately sank in the shark infested waters of Tablas Strait, killing 4,386 people. Source: http://www.wonderslist.com/10-biggest-maritime-disasters-peacetime/