The largest shipwrecks. The largest shipwrecks in history

I stumbled across this sad thread. We all hear about the tragedy of the Titanic, but in fact this is far from the largest shipwreck.

As a rule, shipwrecks are not classified as man-made disasters, but it is this record-breaking case in terms of the number of victims that deserves a place among the most terrible man-made tragedies of mankind. The largest disasters at sea, accompanied by many thousands of victims, occurred during the Second World War (we will talk about the largest shipwreck in general in terms of the number of victims), and in peacetime there was only one shipwreck comparable in consequences, which became the largest in history - a collision Philippine ferry "Dona Paz" with a tanker. This tragedy claimed more lives than much more famous crash"Titanic".

Let's take a closer look at this...

An object: passenger ferry "Dona Paz" (MV Doña Paz). Displacement - 2062 tons, length - 93.1 m, maximum width - 13.6 m, designed to carry 1518 passengers. Built in Japan, launched on April 25, 1963, from 1975 (until 1981 - under the name MV Don Sulpicio, from 1981 - under the name MV Doña Paz) was operated by the Philippine operator Sulpicio Lines.

Crash Location: Tablas Strait, near Marinduque Island, Philippines.

Victims: in disaster 4386 people died, of which 4,317 were passengers of the Doña Paz ferry and 58 crew members, as well as 11 crew members of the Vector tanker. Only 24 ferry passengers and 2 tanker crew members were saved. This number of casualties makes this the largest peacetime crash in history.

Chronicle of events

Due to the lack of communication, the chronology of events is built from the words of rare eyewitnesses and the time of the onset of key events is determined approximately.

It is authentically known that the Dona Paz left the port of Tacloban at 6.30 in the morning and headed for Manila, and at about 22.00 — 22.30 the ship was passing through the Tablas Strait near the island of Marinduque. At this time, the weather was clear, there was little roughness at sea, so there were no threats to navigation in the area. But the ferry never arrived in Manila, having crashed somewhere in the strait.

At about 10:30 p.m., the ferry collided with the Vector tanker, which was transporting about a thousand cubic meters of gasoline and other oil products. During the collision, one or two explosions thundered, the tanker immediately began to leak, a large number of gasoline, which immediately flared up. Soon the Doña Paz was also on fire.

Panic broke out on board the ferry, the crew did not take any action to save the passengers. Many people jumped overboard, but most of them soon died from the flames. Some of the passengers did not dare to leave the burning ship, but help never came.

Approximately at midnight The Doña Paz sank, taking with her passengers and any hope of salvation. Near 2.00 the wreck of the tanker sank.

The crash became known only by six o'clock in the morning, the authorities sent rescuers to the crash site, but search and rescue operations lasted no more than one day - a total of 26 people were saved.

Within a few days after the disaster, the remains of 108 people washed ashore. All of them had burn marks, and almost all of them were eaten by sharks, which are very numerous in these seas. Thousands more people were never found, which subsequently made it difficult to accurately calculate the number of victims and find out the causes of the disaster.

The question of the number of victims and the investigation of the crash

Immediately after the shipwreck, confusion arose over the determination of the number of dead. Initially, the investigation relied on the number of officially registered passengers on the Doña Paz ferry - based on this, there were 1,525 passengers and 58 crew members on board the ship.

However, as it turned out later, the ferry was always overloaded, many tickets were sold without registration at a reduced price, and almost no one ever registered children. Therefore, experts soon began to call ever larger numbers - 2000, 3000 and even 4000 passengers. According to the stories of survivors and eyewitnesses, the last figure is most true - many passengers lived in overcrowded cabins, someone took a seat in the corridors, and many were completely located on the deck.

Only later - in 1999 - it was found that the ferry on that tragic day took on board 4341 passengers, and most of them died in the crash.

It should be noted that the relatives of the victims are still continuing litigation against the operator of Sulpicio Lines and the owner of the tanker "Vector" Cal-Tex Philippines, Inc., accusing them of criminal negligence. However, even almost thirty years after the catastrophe, no success was achieved in this matter, and no one was held responsible for the tragedy.

Causes of the disaster

Here we should talk about two groups of reasons: about the reasons for the shipwreck, and about the reasons that led to so many victims. After all, even with the crash of the more famous Titanic, there were three times fewer victims!

For a long time, the causes of the collision of ships in the Tablas Strait remained unknown and numerous discussions were held on this issue. And to this day, it is not entirely clear how the ferry and the tanker could collide in a wide strait in clear weather. But if the exact causes of the disaster are unknown, then indirect causes have long been established.

In October 1988, the board assembled to investigate the disaster issued an official statement blaming the collision on the crew of the Vector tanker. During the investigation, it was found that the ship did not have a license and was actually unseaworthy. Also, the tanker did not have experienced forward looking and special navigation equipment, so the appearance of the Doña Paz ferry was a complete surprise, and the crew of the Vector could not prevent a collision.

It was assumed that part of the blame lay with the crew of the ferry, since at the time of the disaster, only one of the crew members was on the captain's bridge (and, probably, it was not the ship's captain), and the rest of the team went about their business. But later this version did not find proper confirmation, therefore, all charges were dropped from the team and the operator (Sulpicio Lines).

If we consider the reasons that led to a huge number of victims, then the same fault lies with the crews of both ships and their owners.

Firstly, there were almost three times more passengers on the ferry than allowed (4341 against the maximum allowable 1518) - in the event of a collision and subsequent fire, panic and stampede began on the ship. The fire on the ship and the burning water closed all the ways to escape, so many passengers found their last refuge in the cabins and corridors of the ferry.

Secondly, a large number of people died in the fire both on the ferry and at sea - due to the oil spill from the Vector tanker, the water literally burned and did not give salvation. In addition, the waters in the strait are teeming with sharks, which also gave rise to fear in people and only despair forced them to leave the ship.

Thirdly, there were life jackets on the ferry, but they were all hidden under lock and key, and even if one of the crew members opened a warehouse with vests, there would hardly be enough for everyone. But the vests, like the people who need them, went to the bottom.

Fourthly, the team of the Doña Paz ferry did not make any attempts to organize the rescue of people, these people were not ready for an emergency. The professionalism of the ferry team still raises questions.

Finally, fifthly, the ferry and the tanker were not equipped with basic means of communication - even the simplest radio station! Therefore, at the time of the crash, no one could call for help, and the Philippine authorities learned about the terrible disaster only in the morning. It is clear that after such a time it was simply impossible to save someone, and this delay became fatal for many passengers of the Doña Paz.

Absolute disregard for the safety of ships and the unprofessionalism of the crews, the opportunity to get additional benefits and savings on everything - all this underlies the terrible shipwreck, which became the largest in peacetime.

In terms of the scale of maritime disasters, the Philippines has firmly taken a leading position. In 1987, as a result of a collision with a tanker, the Dona Pas passenger ferry of the Sulpicio Lines company sank. The company's administration then announced that there were 1,583 passengers and 60 crew members on the ship. Subsequently, it turns out that there were actually 4341 passengers there, of which only 24 survived. Less than a year later, the Dona Marilyn ferry dies, and with it more than three hundred passengers and sailors. Seven weeks after this tragedy, the world will learn about the death of the ferry "Rosalia" with 400 passengers, and a short time later - another ferry with its 50 victims. But no one knows how many smaller ships and boats and the people who were on them actually disappeared in the depths of the sea around the Philippines.

And more about crashes, for example, and. And here is also

The sinking of the Titanic is mistakenly considered the shipwreck of the century. The reason for this confusion is clear. This ocean-going ship was built with unprecedented chic, intended for first-class passengers. Swimming pool, promenades, Turkish baths, tennis court... The cabins were decorated in various artistic styles - from antique to modern. The most luxurious included a living room, two bedrooms, a dressing room, a bathroom, a toilet, a personal promenade deck 15 meters long.

In this class floated millionaires, actors, diplomats, bankers and other cream of high society. Due to these circumstances, the crash of the liner was presented as a universal tragedy, worse than which there was nothing and could not be. In this disaster, we recall, 1495 passengers and crew members died.

It makes no sense to give details of this catastrophe. Thanks to the film and the endless stream of publications on the subject for more than a century, they are better known than Newton's Third Law.

However, there are much more horrifying shipwrecks in terms of the number of victims. So, about 7 thousand people died on the German ship Goya. The ship was torpedoed during World War II. And the most bloody maritime tragedies are also associated with military operations. But we will not consider them, since in this case we are not talking about the arbitrariness of the elements or navigational errors, but about the deliberate destruction of enemy ships.

Help came too late

The second largest peacetime shipwreck occurred on September 26, 2002, when the Senegalese state-owned ferry Joola capsized off the coast of the Gambia. 1863 people died. A total of 551 bodies were found. Of these, 93 have been identified. The rest were buried in a specially organized cemetery on the coast of the Gambia.

Only 64 passengers managed to escape. But this is not the merit of the rescue services, which did not go to the aid of drowning people for a criminally long time. The overturned ferry went under water for 4 hours, sinking at 15.00. And all this time, people, fighting for their lives, clung to the hull of the ship. A few lucky ones were saved by fishermen whose boats were nearby. Rescuers showed up the next morning.

On September 26, 2002, the Senegalese state ferry Joola capsized off the coast of the Gambia (Photo: youtube.com)

The ferry, built in Germany in 1990, was designed to sail in coastal waters, but not in the open sea. As a result of intensive operation and poor maintenance, the ship was badly worn out.

And, finally, the main cause of the disaster was more than three times the overload of the ferry, designed for 550 passengers and 30 crew members. On Joola, there were more than 1800 only legal passengers who had tickets. About a hundred more stowaways were secretly planted by members of the team.

Since it was hot and stuffy on the lower levels of the ferry due to its congestion, passengers sought to move to the upper deck. This caused the vessel's center of gravity to rise well above the waterline. Together with strong sea waves, this led to the capsizing of the vessel.

The government, by hook or by crook, disoriented the Senegalese about the real causes of the death of their compatriots. Both the number of victims and the number of passengers were deliberately underestimated, of which there were allegedly only 612. No conclusions were drawn regarding the inaction of the rescuers from the Senegalese Navy. This led to a massive manifestation of discontent. In addition, the French government put pressure on the President of the country, demanding an objective investigation, since 10 Frenchmen were among the victims.

A government crisis erupted in the country. The president Abdoulaye Wade fired the prime minister Mame Boye. Most of the ministers were also dismissed, especially the security officials, who were accused of inactivity. However, this did not calm Paris, the French Court of Appeal in 2008 issued an arrest warrant for Boye. However, the order was canceled a year later.

The new prime minister, Idrissa Sek, has launched a new investigation. It was it that indicated the death in a shipwreck of 1863 people.

Passengers jumped into the burning sea

The largest shipwreck occurred on December 20, 1987. The Philippine ferry "Donya Paz", en route from Tacloban to Manila, collided in the Tablas Strait with the tanker "Vector", carrying more than a thousand cubic meters of gasoline. 4386 people died, 26 were saved.

The weather was clear, but the sea was rough. At 22:30, when most of the passengers had already fallen asleep, a collision occurred. At that moment, there was only one crew member on the bridge of the ferry. The remaining 65 people in the cabins watched TV and drank beer.

Survivors said that immediately after the collision, the ferry started a fire. Spilled oil products blazed over a large expanse of water. The crew, who were in a panic, rushed around the ship along with the passengers, not trying to restore at least some kind of order. There were no life jackets, they were under lock and key.

The ship was doomed, two hours later it went under water. And all this time, desperate people jumped overboard, although the chances of escape were illusory. Firstly, gasoline spilled from the tanker was burning around the vessel. Secondly, the strait was teeming with sharks. Thirdly, as has been said, there was a decent wave at sea.

During the investigation of the causes of the shipwreck, it turned out that the crew was recruited mainly from non-professionals, who also lacked discipline. The enormous number of victims must be attributed to the greed of the shipowners. Donya Paz, built in Japan in 1963 and repaired at the docks a month before the collision, was designed for 1518 passengers. The ship owners tried to hide the truth for a long time, claiming that 1525 tickets were sold. The survivors testified that the ferry was packed to capacity - people were accommodated in all free spaces, in the corridors and on the deck. As a result of a thorough investigation, it was found that there were 4341 passengers.

Most of the 26 survivors (24 ferry passengers and 2 tanker crew members) suffered burns from burning fuel. The bodies of thousands of passengers have never been found. Three hundred corpses washed ashore over the next few days. All of them, according to Philippine authorities, were partially eaten by sharks.

11/07/2011

The sunken ship "Bulgaria" claimed the lives of dozens of people, and made us once again think about the safety of river and sea transport. Most people are only familiar with the tragedy of the Titanic, about which many films have been made and many stories have been told.

H oh, oddly enough, it was not the Titanic that carried the largest number of human lives to the bottom. In this ranking, a list of the worst shipwrecks in history and it is based on those who died in these disasters. It is worth noting that all these disasters occurred in peacetime.

1. Doña Paz - 4,375 dead

Passenger ferry registered in the Philippines. Sunk on December 20, 1987 after a collision with the tanker "Vector". Approximately 4,375 people died in the process, making this the largest maritime disaster in peacetime. The ferry was built in 1963 at the Japanese shipyard Onomichi Zosen, Onomichi, and was called the Himeuri Maru. The Himeuri Maru, owned by the Ryukyu Kaiun Kaisa, sailed through Japanese waters with a capacity of 608 passengers. In 1975, the ship was sold to Sulpicio Lines, a Philippine passenger ferry operator, and was named Don Sulphico and later Doña Paz. A month before the collision, the ferry was being repaired at the docks. During the clash, Don Paz performed twice a week Passenger Transportation on the route Manila-Tacloban-Catbalogan-Manila-Catbalogan-Tacloban-Manila.

2. Explosion in Halifax - 1,950 dead

Explosion in Halifax - an explosion that occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917 in the harbor of the city of Halifax. As a result of a strong explosion of the French military transport "Mont Blanc", loaded with explosives, which occurred as a result of the collision of the "Mont Blanc" with the Norwegian ship "Imo", the port and a significant part of the city were completely destroyed. About 2 thousand people died as a result of the explosion, under the rubble of buildings, and because of the fires that arose after the explosion. Approximately 9 thousand people were injured.

3. Yoola - 1,863 dead

A Senegalese state-owned ferry that capsized off the coast of the Gambia on September 26, 2002. The disaster resulted in the death of at least 1,863 people. On September 26, 2002, the ferry Yoola left Ziguinchor in the Casamance region on one of her regular trips to Dakar, the capital of Senegal. During the voyage, the ship, designed to carry about 580 passengers, accommodated about 2,000 people. On the way, the ship capsized as a result of strong winds off the coast of the Gambia. Detailed reports show that this happened in less than five minutes.

4. Sultana - 1,800 dead

The steamer Sultana, sailing on the Mississippi River, was destroyed by the explosion of one of the four boilers on April 27, 1865. This led to the greatest maritime disaster in the history of the United States. Approximately 1,800 of the 2,400 passengers on board were killed. The ship sank near Memphis, Tennessee.

5. Titanic - 1,517 dead

The Titanic is a British steamer of the White Star Line, one of three twin ships of the Olympic class. largest passenger liner world at the time of its construction. During the first voyage on April 14, 1912, she collided with an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. There were 1,316 passengers and 892 crew members on board, for a total of 2,208 people. The Titanic disaster became legendary and was one of the largest shipwrecks in history. Several feature films have been shot on its plot.

6. Empress of Ireland - 1,012 dead

The Empress of Ireland is a Canadian passenger liner laid down on the stocks of the Govan shipyard, near Glasgow (Scotland). Launched in January 1906, she underwent sea trials until June 27, 1906. One of the most large ships of its class, owned by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. He flew flights between England and Canada. The comfort of the premises, the high speed of the ship, as well as the excellent service on board the liner made him popular among those wishing to cross the Atlantic Ocean. During its next voyage on May 29, 1914, the Empress of Ireland collided with the Norwegian coal carrier Storstadt on the St. Lawrence River and sank 14 minutes later at a depth of more than 40 meters. He carried 1,477 people on board (420 crew members and 1,057 passengers).

7. Estonia - 852 dead

The Estonia ferry was built in 1979 in Germany at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. "Estonia" sank on the night of September 27 to September 28, 1994. At the same time, 852 people died out of 1049 on board. The ferry was originally built for Viking Line and was named Viking Sally. It was supposed to run between Turku, Mariehamn and Stockholm. In 1986, it was sold to Silja Line and renamed Silja Star, leaving it on the same route. In 1991, the ferry was operated by Wasa Line, wholly owned by Silja Line, and the ferry, now under the name Wasa King, began to run between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå. In January 1993, to provide a ferry service between Tallinn and Stockholm, the Swedish company Nordström & Thulin and the Estonian state-owned Estonian Shipping Company (Estonian Shipping Company, abbreviated as ESCO) created a joint venture called Estline (). EstLine A/S"), which purchased the Wasa King ferry, renaming it "Estonia" ("Estonia").

8. Eastland - 845 dead

It was a passenger ship based in Chicago. It was used for tours of the Great Lakes. The ship sank on July 24, 1915 as a result of a natural disaster. This was the largest shipwreck in the Great Lakes region.

9. Birkenhead - 460 dead

Birkenhead is a ferry built specifically for the Royal Navy. It was designed as a frigate, but later intended to carry troops. February 26, 1852 while transporting troops, the ship crashed off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa.

10. Mary Rose - 400 dead

Mary Rose was the three-deck flagship of the English navy under King Henry VIII Tudor. This massive caracca was launched at Portsmouth in 1510. It was probably named in honor of the French queen Mary Tudor (the king's sister) and the rose as the heraldic symbol of the Tudor house. During the Italian Wars, the Mary Rose was commanded by brother admirals Edward and Thomas Howard. In 1512, the Mary Rose took part in the attack on Brest. In 1528 and 1536 it was modernized: the number of guns was increased to 91, the displacement was increased to 700 tons. In 1545 the French King Francis I landed on the Isle of Wight. The British sent 80 ships, led by the Mary Rose, to the Solent to defend the island. Overloaded with artillery, the karakka, never distinguished by stability, suddenly began to list and sank along with Admiral George Carew. Only 35 sailors managed to escape. By the way, the remains of this ship were found, and now they are stored in maritime museum city ​​of Portsmouth .

optopus.ucoz.ru, photo from pajamasmedia.com

The world is familiar with many of the largest shipwrecks, shocking with their scale and horror of what happened. A lot of terrible shipwrecks that caused significant human casualties are also known in Russian history.

Top worst shipwrecks of the 20th century

As you know, modern ships are equipped with means designed to save human life. However, this was not always the case. Especially many large shipwrecks occurred in the last century. Some disasters on the water occurred far at sea, and some - in the coastal strip, when rocks or reefs became the cause of their death.

Disasters on the water have been happening since people began to go to the open sea The number of flights is constantly growing, in large part due to fierce competition, pushing the safety of those on board into the background. The consequences of all this are clear. Next, consider some of the most terrible shipwrecks.

Ferry "Donja Pas"

One of the largest shipwrecks of the 20th century occurred in 1987. We are talking about the passenger ferry "Dona Paz". For more than two decades, he regularly transported people, cruising along the coast of the Philippines and Japan.

The wreck of the Doña Paz ferry was one of the worst shipwrecks. Colliding with a tanker, the ferry literally broke in half. A fire broke out and the passengers died in the fire. The number of victims of this terrible shipwreck is four thousand three hundred seventy-five people.

Liner "Wilhelm Gustloff"

The cruise ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" belonged to one of the largest tour operators in the Third Reich. It was launched in 1937. The ship departed fifty cruises, and the cost of tickets was so low that even the working class could afford to travel on board it.

The accident with the liner "Wilhelm Gustloff" occurred during the Second World War. During the Second World War, the liner played the role of a hospital, and later became a barracks for submariners. In early 1945, the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine. According to official figures, five thousand three hundred and forty-eight people died in that shipwreck. Historians also call a different number of victims - at least nine thousand people.

The sinking of the Titanic

Who doesn't know about the Titanic? It seems that everyone knows about this sensational shipwreck. The ship managed to make only one voyage, which was both the first and the last for it. The disaster occurred on an April day in 1912, when this luxurious ship went on a cruise.

The sinking of the Titanic was the most famous disaster on the water. The victims of the shipwreck were one thousand five hundred and thirteen people. Only seven hundred and eleven passengers survived. The Titanic sank under water in one hundred and sixty minutes. By the way, according to uznayvse.ru, the Titanic is included in the rating of the largest ships.

The worst shipwrecks in national history

Several large shipwrecks are also known in national history. All of them caused huge human losses. It is impossible not to recall the collapse of "Armenia", "Admiral Nakhimov", "Novorossiysk" and "Estonia". The wreck of the Kursk submarine, the shipwreck of the Bulgaria and Komsomolets became a terrible tragedy for our country and the whole world. "Armenia" sank in the autumn of 1941 near the Crimea in just four minutes. The ship was transporting evacuated residents and wounded Red Army soldiers. Five thousand people died. Only eight passengers survived.

The collapse of the ship "Armenia" happened rapidly One of the most major disasters on the water in the USSR was the crash of "Admiral Nakhimov". He went from Novorossiysk to Sochi, carrying one thousand two hundred and forty-three people. Due to the fact that the steamer rammed the grain carrier, it had a hole. It sank in seven minutes. Four hundred twenty-three people died. This shipwreck happened at the end of August 1986. The name "Novorossiysk" in the USSR was given to a ship that previously belonged to the Italian Navy. At the end of October 1955, an explosion occurred in the nose, which caused a hole of one hundred and fifty square meters. "Novorossiysk" sank. Six hundred and four people died.

The death of the ferry "Estonia" became a tragedy of modern times. In September 1994, the ferry "Estonia", leaving the port of the city of Talin, fell into a storm and collided with the ferry "Mriella". During the rescue, the situation was complicated by a storm. Missing and killed eight hundred and fifty-two people. All our contemporaries know about the tragedy that happened to the Kursk nuclear submarine. The crash occurred in August 2000 due to explosions on board. The crew consisted of one hundred and eighteen people. They all died. More recently, in July 2011, there was another terrible shipwreck in Russian history. We are talking about the ship "Bulgaria", which cruised along the Volga. With a capacity of one hundred and forty people, there were two hundred and eight passengers on board. About a hundred and twenty people were killed, many of them children.

The collapse of "Bulgaria" - a terrible tragedy on the Volga In the Norwegian Sea, the submarine "Komsomolets" crashed. It happened in April 1989. The cause was a fire in the aft compartment. The crew consisted of sixty-nine people, only twenty-seven crew members managed to survive.

The worst water disaster in human history

Perhaps the worst water disaster in the history of mankind was the shipwreck of the German ship Goya in 1945. About seven thousand people became its victims.

The disaster with the ship "Goya" is recognized as the most terrible shipwreck It happened during the Second World War. The ship was used as an evacuation ship. At night, a Soviet submarine caught up with the Goya and attacked the ship. Ten minutes later, the Goya ship, along with all the passengers, went under water.

The wreck of ships... Such an incident is always shrouded in a halo of secrets, myths and legends. The famous shipwrecks are the black pages of history, which can be read only by looking into sea ​​depths. Sadly, majestic giant liners very often become victims of the raging waters of the seas and oceans.

The most famous shipwrecks became public knowledge. To date, there are many secret lists that name the most impressive ship disasters in the history of mankind. Below are just a few of those that have entered world history.

Ships that have been wrecked

For many, the first thing that comes to mind is a story that shocked the whole world with its tragedy. It eclipsed every other shipwreck. This is the story of the "Titanic" ... Although this story has grown over time with a lot of conjecture and conjecture, everyone is still interested in learning about what really happened. The crew was so blinded by the majesty of their ship and its superiority over other vessels that for a time everyone became overconfident.

Possible causes of the tragedy

At that time, many said that a ship had finally been built that could not be sunk. But reality turned out to be unpredictable. One night, the ship was moving at full speed along its route, and only at the very last moment the sailors were able to notice the top of a huge block of ice rising above the surface of the water. Urgent attempts were made to move the ship aside, but it was too late: the ship was wrecked. Almost at full speed, the Titanic hit an iceberg with its starboard side.

The ship breaks in half

Gradually, the lower tiers in the forward compartment of the ship begin to flood. Almost half of the vessel is filled with the cold water of the Atlantic Ocean. A counterweight is created on the ship, as a result of which it is half immersed in water. The body can not withstand the monstrous load and breaks in half. Both parts of the broken ship lose power and sink. Eyewitnesses of the tragedy recall that terrible day with trepidation, but still some facts remain in the shadows. For example, class discrimination of passengers.

Could more have been saved?

Some witnesses claim that individual lifeboats were only half full of passengers. Only a few people sat in them, who set sail as soon as possible, in fear that the boat would overflow and sink. As a result, far fewer passengers were saved than could have been. However, do not forget that heroic deeds also took place that night. Many risked their lives to help others escape. Be that as it may, this disaster has become a symbol of arrogance.

complicated story

Another, no less tragic collision occurred with the steamer "Admiral Nakhimov". It became the big sensation of the twentieth century. The warm day of August began with the arrival at the port cruise ship. The city of Novorossiysk said goodbye to passengers who were soon to go on an exciting trip. Around the same time, a ship called "Pyotr Vasev" was planning to enter the port. The crews of both ships were warned about each other and had to act carefully, no one had any idea that the ships would soon crash.

Who is guilty and does it make sense to find out now?

As a result of short negotiations, it was decided to disperse on the right sides at the exit from the port. However, something went wrong, namely, the automatic course setting system failed. Technique is imperfect, this should never be forgotten. Shipwrecks are clear evidence of this. When it was noticed that the ship was moving at full speed directly towards the Admiral Nakhimov, the situation almost completely got out of control.

Dry cargo ship "Pyotr Vasev" crashed into a passenger liner and made a hole in its board measuring eight by ten meters. in eight minutes. Some of the circumstances under which the ship was wrecked raised questions among many. Why did a passenger ship sink to the bottom like a stone, if, according to the rules, it must have sufficient buoyancy to survive on the surface of the water for at least an hour after the crash? In addition, information was received that the captain had complied with the order of the port dispatcher and changed the route of the vessel. There will be many gaps and white spots in this story.

However, the most inconsolable fact is the death of almost half a thousand people. Perhaps the scale of the disaster would not have been so terrible if it had been possible to launch lifeboats. But what could be done in just eight minutes? It takes at least half an hour to organize the boarding of people in one boat. And this is under favorable conditions.

In the case when the crash of the ship "Nakhimov" took place, there was neither time nor factors allowing people to escape in boats. Time after the disaster, it becomes increasingly difficult to find out the true circumstances of the crash. Surely the true facts lie in the depths of the water, so it makes no sense to speculate, because time, like human lives, cannot be returned back.

These are just two stories, but they are not the only ones. The following list of the most famous shipwrecks will show that wrecks largest liners- far from uncommon.

• SS America.
• "Pioneer of the World"
• "Mediterranean sky".
• MB Captayannis.
• BOS 400.
• Fort Shevchenko.
• "Evangelia".
• "SS Maheno".
• "Santa Maria".
• "Dimitrios".
• "Olympia".

The ships were built over the years, solemnly left their native ports against the wind and eventually sank, ran aground, leaving only fragments and piles of iron in memory of themselves.