SEAFARING DISASTERS

SCILLY NAVAL DISASTER OF 1707

On an October night in 1707 a Royal Navy fleet made several fatal

miscalculations as they attempted to sail through dangerous reefs

west of the Isles of Scilly. Overall four ships sank leaving

nearly 2,000 sailors dead.

RMS TITANIC

Possibly the most well-known maritime accident in history, the RMS Titanic

was supposedly unsinkable but after striking an iceberg en route to

New York City it left 1,523 people dead.

TEK SING

Referred to as the “Titanic of the East” this Chinese junk struck a reef

near Indonesia and sank on 6 February 1822, leaving an

estimated 1,600 dead.

SS SULTANA

The SS Sultana was a steamboat paddle wheeler that exploded on April 27,

1865 and has been called the greatest American maritime disaster in

history with over 1,600 lives lost.

MV LE JOOLA

This Senegalese government-owned ferry capsized off the coast of

Gambia on September 26, 2002 and led to a death toll of nearly 4,000.

SS MONT-BLANC

Responsible for the infamous Halifax Explosion of 1917 this French

ammunition freighter exploded in Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia after

colliding with another ship. The blast killed over 2,000 people and

injured 9,000 more.

SS KIANGYA

This Chinese steamship exploded upon striking a mine (probably

left by the Japanese navy) on the Huangpu River in 1948. It was packed

with refugees from the Chinese Civil War so the exact death toll is not

known but some estimates put it near 4,000.

MV DOÑA PAZ

Called the greatest peace time maritime disaster in history, in 1987

the sinking of the MV Doña Paz led to 4,341 deaths with only 24

survivors. The ferry was en route to the capital of the Philippines when

it collided with an oil tanker leaving both ships and the surrounding

ocean to light up in flames.