A Guide to
Maritime Disasters by Ryan MacEachern
Non-fiction
Fiction
MV Do単a Paz On 20th December, 1987 the MV Do単a Paz, a Philippine-registered passenger ferry sank after it
had collided with an oil tanker, the MT Vector out of the registered 1,583 registered passenger and
13 crew members of the MT vector only 26 people survived. Scandal surrounded the disaster as even
though the manifesto showed 1,583 names meaning the vessel had been overcrowded (1,518 capacity) survivors said the boat could have been over crowded by 3,000-4,000. The collision remains the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.
Weight: 2,602 mT Length: 93.1 m Capacity: 1,518/66 Passengers/Crew
Deaths: 1,557 (4,000+ suspected) Survivors: 26
SS Poseidon On 31st December 1972 Captain Leslie Nielsen was ushering Lex Luthor among others into a new
year with a celebratory cruise on the SS Poseidon, when a rogue wave capsized the vessel and caused complete havoc. Only six survivors were rescued. Leslie Nielsen managed to chew his way through
the hull and swam to shore, he later wrote a book about his experience on the SS Poseidon and played himself in the film adaption entitled “Airplane!�.
Weight: 81,237 mT Length: 310 m Capacity: 2,139/1,101 Passengers/Crew
Deaths: 3236 Survivors: 7
RMS Titanic
On 15 April, 1912 during her maiden voyage the RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg, 375 miles south of Newfoundland. The ship was on voyage from Southampton, UK to New York City, US.
1514 people perished in the disaster with a majority freezing to death in the freezing waters before
the rescue boats could get to them. The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, split in two and gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet.
Weight: 46,328 mT Length: 269 m Capacity: 2435/892 Passengers/Crew
Deaths: 1514 Survivors: 710
MV Seabourn Legend On June 13, 1997 movie stars Sandra Bullock & Jason Patric were enjoying a delightful cruise to the Caribbean, unfortunately a psychotic Willem Dafoe, suffering a breakdown due to a low point in his
career, hi-jacked the Seaborne Legend. Dafoe was planning on crashing the cruise into a sound set in
LA masquerading as Caribbean island Saint Martin. He was set on putting the stage out of its misery as it clearly had identity issues. His plan proved unsuccessful.
Weight: 9,961 mT Length: 135 m Capacity: 208/164 Passengers/Crew
Deaths: Jason Patric’s career Survivors: Sandra Bullock’s career
MS Costa Concordia On 13 January 2012 at about 9:45 pm, in calm seas and overcast weather, under command of Captain
Francesco Schettino, the MS Costa Concordia struck a rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea just off the eastern shore of Isola del Giglio, off the western coast of Italy. The collision created a 50 m long gap in the
hull of the ship. Water immediately started flooding into the engine rooms causing the propellers to
shut off eventually the Concordia became grounded in shallow water with most of her starboard side submerged. Salvage of the vessel is still on going.
Weight: 114,137 mT Length: 209.2 m Capacity: 3,780/1,100 Passengers/Crew
Deaths: 32 Survivors: 3229
MS Poseidon On 31st December 2006 tempting fate and completely ignoring history The MS Poseidon fell victim
to the same fate as its namesake 30 years earlier. However the wave did not anticipate the presence of
legendary loose cannon Snake Plissken who successfully rescued 5 passengers and remained a fugitive from the law by pretending to drown. He unfortunately did not manage to rescue the president.
Weight: 148,528 mT Length: 354 m Capacity: 2,620/1,253 Passengers/Crew
Deaths: 3768 Survivors: 5