7 Biggest Maritime Disasters: Tragedies at Sea

On January 30, 1945, the German ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff was attacked by a Soviet submarine, resulting in approximately 9400 deaths in the icy waters of the Baltic Sea.

Known as ‘Asia’s Titanic,’ the Dona Paz collided with an oil tanker on December 20, 1987. The resulting fire and panic led to the death of 4386 people.

The story of the Titanic is well-known. On April 15, 1912, it struck an iceberg and sank, resulting in the death of over 1500 passengers, making it one of the most infamous maritime disasters.

The Japanese ferry Toya Maru sank on September 26, 1954, during a typhoon, killing around 1170 people. The ferry was overwhelmed by the storm's force and sank near Hakodate.

On May 29, 1914, the RMS Empress of Ireland collided with a cargo ship in thick fog, sinking within minutes and killing 1012 of the 1477 people onboard.

The MV Bukoba sank on May 21, 1996, in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, killing around 1000 people. The ferry was found to be overloaded and lacked proper safety measures.