The most famous shipwreck in history, the Titanic, which was proclaimed as ‘unsinkable,’ sank on its maiden voyage. However, many other shipwrecks caused colossal damage, even if movies have not been made about them. From Mary Rose to the Spanish Armada, these ships wrecked all over the globe. Grab your scuba gear and get ready to explore five of the greatest shipwrecks in history.
The Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria, an Italian ocean liner, collided with the Swedish ship MS Stockholm in July 1956. With 1,134 passengers and 572 crew members on board, the ship was headed to New York when it sank.
Courtesy: Ranker
Fortunately, despite the severity of the collision, the ship authorities’ prompt communication ensured that not more than 46 people died. Divers Joseph Fox and Peter Gimbel located the shipwreck. The wreck is now a famous site for scuba divers, and it’s called the Mount Everest of scuba diving.
MV Doña Paz
MV Doña Paz was a Philippine-registered passenger ship. It sank en route to Manila after a collision with the oil tanker MT Vector on December 20, 1987. The incident is one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
Courtesy: safety4sea
The collision killed at least 4,386 people; it was later revealed that the ship was overcrowded and didn’t have a radio. Most of the ship was destroyed by fire, so there wasn’t much left to salvage. MZ Doña Paz is commonly called ‘Asia’s Titanic’.
The Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was a navy warship during the time of King Henry VIII. It was leading an action against a French ship in Solent on the Isle of Wight when it got destroyed on July 19, 1545.
Courtesy: The Telegraph
The ship sank in a passage of the English Channel, leading to the death of hundreds of men. In 1982, the Mary Rose Trust salvaged the shipwreck. The artifacts discovered are now displayed in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, showing the naval warfare equipment of that era.
The Sultana
The Sultana was used to transport the POWs from the Union army back home at the end of the American Civil War. On 27 April 1865, the vessel had an accident which became one of the worst maritime disasters in the US history.
Courtesy: Wikipedia
After its boilers exploded, The Sultana sank on the Mississippi River close to Memphis, killing 1,800 people. In 1982, the shipwreck was discovered in a soybean field in Arkansas, about 6km from Memphis.
RMS Titanic
No list of maritime disasters would be complete without mentioning the Titanic. Built in Ireland, it was the largest cruise ship of its time. The ship was headed to New York City on the 14th of April, 1912. The ship never made it to its destination on its debut voyage.
Courtesy: Difundir
At least 1510 people died when the ship sank after hitting an iceberg. The wreck was found by a joint French-American mission in 1985; different recovered artifacts from the ship are displayed in the National Maritime Museum in England. However, the fragile condition of the ship has made it impossible to raise it.
