The Shipwrecks
Map of Wreck sites & Gallery of Shipwrecks of Famous Ocean Liners
List of Shipwrecks of Famous Ocean Liners
RMS Titanic
On the evening of April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship sank in nearly freezing waters without enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. Nearly 1,500 people died during this sinking.
HMHS Brittanic
On the morning of November 21, 1916, the hospital ship Brittanic collided with a German mine in the Aegean Sea near the southern tip Greece. The ship was the largest lost in World War One, and is currently the largest ocean liner shipwreck on the sea floor.
RMS Lusitania
On the morning of May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was steaming along the coast of southern Ireland and was targeted by a German U-Boat blockade. The damage so severe, the ship sank in under twenty minutes claiming 1,198 lives. Although a British ship targeted by the Germans, the sinking and death of over 200 Americans helped sway public opinion and America to join the war.
SS Morro Castle
SS Normandie
On September 8, 1934, during a routine return trip to New York, tragedy struck the SS Morro Castle. After retiring to his quarters, Captain Robert Willmott suffered a heart attack. Assuming his roles, the first officer continued the journey. While encountering a nor'easter, fire broke out. Consuming the entire ship in a short amount of time due to certain ship design flaws, plus the trauma of losing a captain, the evacuation lacked effectiveness. Unfortunately, the disaster claimed 137 lives. After the fire became contained, the smoldering hulk drifted until beaching itself on the shoreline of Asbury Park, NJ. An inconclusive investigation followed and the ship was towed away for scrapping shortly after.
On February 9, 1942 during a wartime refit from passenger liner to troop transport, sparks from the work started a catastrophic fire. During the effort to extinguish the blaze, the ship capsized in the Hudson River in NYC.
SS Andrea Doria
On the evening of July 26, 1956 the Andrea Doria cruising off the coast of Nantucket, collided with the vessel MS Stockholm in dense fog. Although the ships were equipped with radar, the advance warning was not enough to avoid a collision. Taking almost 12 hours to capsize, the loss of life during this disaster was minimal.
List of Shipwreck Museums and Shipwreck Scuba Diving Experiences