2. MS Estonia
Built in 1980 at the West German shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg, this cruiseferry went through a few owners and names before becoming the MS Estonia for only one year before tragedy would strike. Sold to Nordström & Thulin for use on Estline’s Tallinn–Stockholm route, on 28 September 1994, in the Baltic Sea between Sweden, Åland, Finland and Estonia, she would sink and claim the lives of 852 people.
Sadly the cause of the sinking was due to a number of factors, the first being that in rough seas bow door had separated from the vessel, pulling the ramp ajar. What exacerbated the problem was that the cargo had been poorly distributed which aided the listing of the ship, causing the decks and cabins to rapidly flood. The final nail in the coffin was the failure of the crew to notice that water was entering the vehicle deck which tragically delayed the raising of the alarm.
4 thoughts on “Top 6 Maritime Disasters That Weren’t The Titanic”
You left out the Wilhelm Gostloff which was sunk in 1945 by a Soviet Submarine during the closing months of World War Two. The German Passenger Liner was overloaded with German civilians and wounded Soldiers fleeing the oncoming Red Army. The death toll has been estimated between 6000 and 10,000 making it the greatest Maritime disaster.
Excellent point !!
This is not a trajedy but sad. There are many others that really are tragic.
Who came up with this listing of the greatest shipwrecks ?They certainly do not know their history. There was the SS Central America, that sank off the coast of South Carolina in 1857. Not the biggest loss of life but the biggest economic loss ever. It even started a recession shortly there after. It is refereed to as the ship of gold. It sank in a hurricane with300,000,000 in gold and silver at todays prices. Most of the coins,gold and artifacts have been recovered.. Want to know more google SS Central America.