Cruise Ship Safety
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Cruise News Headlines
St. Kitts will feature new Argro-Tourism Demonstration Farm - Posted Feb 4, 2012
Man overboard on Allure of the Seas - posted Feb 3, 2012
CDC Ratings
New ships added - updated Feb 3, 2012
Tropical Storm Updates
All Clear - Season begins June 1st and runs through November 31st.
Cruise Ship Incidents - Sunken Ships
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Related Links |
Costa Concordia photo courtesy
A Current List of Sunken Passenger Ships
We complied a comprehensive list of passenger ships that sank between 1980 and 2010. Thankfully, no incidents were reported for the years 1981-1983, 1985-1987, 1989-1990,
1993, 1996-1997, 2005-2006 and 2011.
How Can It Happen?
Poor design or failure of the ship's equipment or pressure hull
Failure or leaking of the hull is a serious problem that can lead to the loss of buoyancy or the free surface effect and the subsequent sinking of the vessel. Even the hulls of large modern ships have cracked in heavy storms. Leaks between the hull planks of wooden vessels is a particular problem.
Failure of pumps can lead to the loss of a potentially salvageable ship with only a minor leak or fire.
Failure of the means of propulsion, such as engines, sails or rigging, can lead to the loss of a ship. When the ship's movement is determined only by currents or the wind and particularly by storms, a common result is that the ship is unable to avoid natural hazards like rocks, shallow water or tidal races. Example of this type of accident: Dec 2004 M/V Selendang Ayu. To remain buoyant, the hull of a vessel must prevent water entering the large air spaces of the vessel (known as downflooding). Clearly for the ship to float, the submerged parts of the hull will be watertight, but the upper parts of the hull must have openings to allow ventilation to compartments, including the engine room, for crew access, and to load and unload cargo.
Weather Conditions
Weather conditions play a huge role in the safety of ocean travel. Rouge waves are a freak of nature; unpredictable and beyond our control. Considered to be a myth until an actual monster wave was caught on camera, these waves have caused considerable damage and fear among the passengers. The following incidents are examples of this type of accident.
Mar 2004 - Lady D, Pontoon Water Taxi, 23 passengers, 2 crew members ( 5 fatalities).
Apr 1998 - Evanick - Fishing vessel with 4 crew onboard ( 4 fatalities).
Human Error
Navigation errors and other human errors can lead to collisions with another ship, rocks, an iceberg, etc. or running aground. Captain's don't always listen to the advice and warnings of others and ultimately risk the lives of passengers and crew. Tragic accidents can happen when vessel masters ignore warnings from USCG as well as fellow boaters. Here are some examples.
Jan 2012 - Costa Concordia, 3200 passenger, 144,500 GRT off the coast of Italy (up to 32 fatalities)
Jun 2003 - Takki Too, 32 ft. passenger vessel, 17 passengers, 2 crew members, (11 fatalities)
2012 Incidents
MV Rabaul Queen
Date: February 2, 2012
Ship: MV Rabaul Queen, 259 GT
Where: 9 nautical miles off
Finschhafen, on her way from Kimbe to Lae, off Papua New Guinea's east
coast.
Incident: The 22 year-old Japanese-built ferry sank off the
coast of New Guinea with approximately 350 passengers and 12 crew aboard.
Disposition: 238 rescued, 121 know missing
MV Rabaul Queen
Costa Concordia
Date: Friday, January 14, 2012Ship: Costa Concordia
Where: Isola del Giglio, Italy
Incident: Hit a reef and grounded with a reported 160 ft. gash in hull
Disposition: Pending (get updates for this incident here)
Just days after making an emergency stop in the port of Marseille for minor repairs as reported in Direct marseille Plus, the Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef at around 9 pm local time (UTC+1) off , having left Civitavecchia earlier that evening at the start of a seven-day cruise to Savona, Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma, Tunis, and Palermo.
42°21′53″N 10°55′16″E / 42.36486°N 10.92124°E / 42.36486; 10.92124
At about 8 pm, passengers were in the dining hall when there was a sudden, loud bang, which a crew member (speaking over the intercom) ascribed to an "electrical failure". Passengers were later advised to put on their life-jackets. The ship tilted some 20 degrees. Amid panic, many passengers took to lifeboats, while some jumped into the water to swim to shore. Three passengers reportedly drowned after jumping overboard, and another seven were critically injured. According to the local coastguard, 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew members were on board at the time.
The crew remained aboard and the shipping line initially insisted there was no danger of sinking. The first daylight pictures showed the ship lying on its right side and half submerged, not far outside Giglio Harbour. Other reports indicated the ship had developed a major electrical fault. According to the local coast guard, the ship has more than a 100 ft. gash on its port side. The Daily Mail showed images of a large gash.
2010
SV Concordia (3-mast sailboat) built in 1992
February 17
The Concordia, a floating classroom operated by Nova Scotia-based West Island College International for grade 11, 12 and first-year-old college students sank after a suspected microburst (a sudden vertical downdraft of wind) caused the ship to capsize about 300 miles off the coast of Brazil. The vessel was knocked onto its side within 15 seconds and eventually sank 20 minutes afterward. All on board successfully abandoned ship. As the capsizing was so fast, no radio distress call was made but a distress radiobeacon was activated when the vessel sank. The survivors spent nearly 30 hours in life-rafts before the aircraft spotted them. 48 students and 16 crew members were onboard. No fatalities.
Tugboat Ocean Lark
January 6
Capsized while heading to Indonesia when the incident happened. Two crew members were rescued by a passing Singapore supply vessel some 16 nautical miles east of Horsburgh Lighthouse. 7 fatalities, 5 people missing.
2009
Ferry Sinking in Manila Bay, Philippines
December
A wooden-hulled passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat - carrying at least 73 people between them. The ferry sank not long after the collision. The fishing boat was able to stay afloat and limp back to port. There were 4 fatalities and another 23 missing. 46 people were rescued.
Danny FII sank (11 miles) off the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli.
December
A cargo ship carrying more than 80 people and livestock sank in the Mediterranean off Lebanon. The ship was transporting 43,000 sheep from Uruguay to Tartous in Syria. (42 fatalities).
Ilinden Sightseeing Boat - Ohrid Lake Macedonia
September 5
The boat was reported to have broke in half with 55 passengers onboard (capacity: 42) and two crew members. The boat sank in 20 feet of water after what the captain described was a loud "crack" sound toward the rear of the boat. (15 fatalities)
Super Ferry 9 Passenger Transport - Philippines
August 31
The y was said to be carrying 847 passengers and 117 crew plus four sea marshals on its journey from General Santos to Iloilo. According to a statement posted on the company website, the ferry began listing to the right (starboard) side on Sunday 8-31-09. The captain tried to correct the list but found conditions to be irreversible and ordered the ship abandoned. 5 fatalities and 60 people are still unaccounted for as of Sept 6.
Teratai Prima Ferry
January
Sank en route to , on the Indonesian half of Borneo. The Ferry was carrying more than 250 people when the vessel capsized in stormy seas in central Indonesia. Eighteen survivors were rescued by passing fishing boats.
2008
The Suwa Maru No. 58
June 23, 2008
A fishing boat with 20 crew members, sank in seemingly moderate sea conditions of Cape Inubosaki, Japan. Reports from the investigators indicated that although reported wave heights were between 2 and 3 meters (6.5 and 9.8 feet), the ship may have encountered abnormal waves twice, sinking the ship about 10 minutes after being hit by the initial wave.
MV Princess of the Stars (Ferry)
June 21, 2008
A Ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines, capsized off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen. Fengshen passed directly over Romblon as a Category 2 storm. Built in 1984, the 23,824-ton ferry MV Princess of the Stars had a total passenger capacity of 1,992 people. 860 were on board as the ferry capsized (751 passengers, 111 crew). A week after the ferry disaster, more than 100 passengers had been confirmed dead, with 500 still missing. There were 32 confirmed survivors.
Alaska Ranger U.S. Fish Processing Vessel - Bering Sea
March 23, 2008
The Alaska Ranger had left Dutch Harbor the previous day to fish on Petrel Bank, a fishing ground 500 nautical miles to the west. About 0230 on the morning of March 23, the crew discovered flooding in the vessel’s rudder room, and at 0246, the vessel broadcast a Mayday call. The U.S. Coast Guard immediately launched search and rescue operations. The crew evacuated the vessel before it sank sometime after 0430. The Coast Guard and the crew of another fishing vessel, the Alaska Warrior, rescued 42 of the 47 persons who had been on the Alaska Ranger. Five crewmembers died in the accident. The wreckage of the Alaska Ranger lies in 6,000 feet of water at the bottom of the Bering Sea and was not examined. The vessel’s estimated replacement value was $15 million. Full NTSB Report (PDF)
2007
Explorer (GAP Adventures)
Sank in Antarctica after hitting an iceberg.
Sea Diamond (Louis Cruises)
The ship hit a reef in a lagoon a half mile from shore near the main port of Santorini. Two passengers reported missing; they have never been found and are presumed dead.
2004
Wilderness Adventurer (Glacier Bay Cruise Line)
Struck ice in Tracy Arm in southeastern Alaska. This ship began to take on water but didn't completely sink before it was salvaged - no fatalities.
2003
Safari Spirit (American Safari Cruises)
Hits rocks north of Vancouver. Ship sank in about 30ft of water - no fatalities.
2002
Terra Australis (Crusceros Australis)
Sank off the coast of Chile following a fire that began in the engine room and spread throughout the ship. No passengers were onboard but 1 crew member died of smoke inhalation.
MS Windsong (Windstar)
The ms Wind Song was a masted sailing yacht used as a cruise ship by Windstar Cruises from 1987 until 2002, when the ship suffered a devastating fire. The Wind Song was one of an unusual class of vessels, designed as a modern cruise ship but carrying an elaborate system of computer-controlled sails on four masts. The ship's usual itinerary was an inter-island cruise in French Polynesia.
On December 1, 2002, an engine room fire forced evacuation of 127 passengers and 92 crewmembers to Raiataea, a nearby island. The French Navy put out the fire and towed the ship to Papeete, where examination showed extensive damage to engineering spaces, although the passenger areas were mostly intact. Subsequently the Navy demanded compensation for its services, and French Polynesian government seized the Wind Song. However, the Carnival Corporation (owner of Windstar Cruises at the time) was unwilling to pay the costs involved, and even scrapping was uneconomical, because of the ship's small size and remoteness from shipbreakers in India, China, and elsewhere. Carnival denied access to the vessel by any investigators other than the corporation's own and claimed that the cause of the fire was unknown.
On January 22, with the agreement of Carnival, the President of the Territorial Government of French Polynesia, Gaston Flosse, ordered the scuttling of the Wind Song. That night the ship was towed into the Sea of the Moon between Tahiti and Moorea and sunk in 9,843 feet of water, at latitude 17.45S, longitude 149.48W.
2001
The World Discoverer
On April 30, 2000 at 4:00 pm local time (0500 GMT) the ship struck a large uncharted rock or reef on the Sandfly Passage, Solomon Islands. A passenger ferry was dispatched to the ship where all passenger were then transported to safety. The captain then brought the ship into Roderick Bay after the ship began to list 20 degrees and grounded the ship to avoid sinking. After underwater surveying of the ship, the World Discoverer was declared a "Constructive Loss". The ship has remained in Roderick Bay ever since. There are no reports of any oil or petroleum or other pollutant spills were reported as a result of the impact.
2000
Seebreeze (Premier)
Sank in 30 foot seas with no passengers aboard. No fatalities.
1999
S.V. Sir Francis Drake (Tall ship Adventures)
Sunk in hurricane while moored.
Sun Vista (Sun)
Fire in engine room – The ship sank off Malaysia.
1998
Fantome (Windjammer)
The ship sank while trying to outrun Hurricane Mitch off the coast of Honduras. More than 30 crew perished.
1995
Club Royale
Gambling cruise ship sinks while riding out storm – no passengers aboard and no fatalities.
1994
Achille Lauro (Starlauro)
The Ship caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean (near Seychelles) – 4 died, 8 injured.
Sally Albatross
Grounded in Gulf of Finland and the ship sank half-way before being moved.
1992
Royal Pacific
Sinks in a collision with fishing vessel. Two 4 fatalities. 2 dead and 30 to 100 missing reported missing.
1991
Oceanos (Epirotiki Lines)
Oceanos Cruise Ship 1991 Photo Credit: ABC News
On 3 August 1991, the Oceanos set out from East London, South Africa, headed to Durban. It headed into 40-knot winds and 9 m (30 ft) swells. Usually there would have been a "sail-away" party on deck with musicians and entertainers Moss Hills and Tracy Hills. However, due to the rough sea conditions, this was held inside in the Four Seasons lounge. Although Moss and Tracy and other members of the ship's entertainment crew did their best to get a party atmosphere going, most passengers chose to stay in their cabins. The storm worsened as the evening progressed - eventually the ship was rolling about from side to side so badly that crockery and cutlery began sliding off the tables and potted plants were falling over.
1988
Jupiter (Epirotiki Lines)
A collision with a car ferry at the entrance to Piraeus caused the ship to sink. 4 fatalities.
1986
SS Admiral Nakimov (Black Sea Shipping Co)
August
The ship collides with a cargo vessel and sinks in the Black Sea eight miles from Novorossysk. Seventy-nine people are killed, 836 rescued, 319 never found. Russian website chronicles tradegy.
MS Mikhail Lermontov (Baltic Shipping Co.)
February
Sinks in 100 feet of water off New Zealand’s South Island after hitting a reef. One crew member died.
1984
Sundancer (Sundance Cruises)
On her third cruise to the US/Canadian west coast, the ship was declared a total constructive loss after hitting rocks off Maud island north of Vancouver. The ship sank (partially submerged) and was evacuated with no loss of life, though lifeboats were useless, and there was considerable confusion and terror. Human error is blamed for the accident. According to Canadian investigators, following the grounding the ship anchored in Menzies Bay (16 km north of Campbell River) to assess damage. With uncontrollable flooding below decks, it headed back to open sea, limping an hour later -- at 1 AM -- into Duncan Bay (8 km south) where passengers were evacuated. Crew were disorganized and evacuation was largely coordinated by passengers themselves.
1980
Prinsendam (Holland America Line)
About 500 crew and passengers onboard
The Prinsendam was traveling the Gulf of Alaska about 140 miles from the Alaska coast near Yakutat, Alaska on Oct 4, 1980. At approximately 5:30 a.m., a fire broke out in the engine room and the Captain declared the fire out of control about an hour later. Passengers were evacuated to life boats with only 15 passengers and 25 crewmembers remaining on the Prinsendam. A nearby supertanker, Williamsburgh assisted with the rescue of passengers and crew from life boats at approximately 7:45 a.m. A United States Coast Guard ship arrived in the mid-afternoon to transfer those who needed immediate medical treatment to an Alaskan hospital. Later in the evening the Coast Guard Cutter, Mellon arrived and dispatched a team to provide medical assistance onboard the Williamsburgh. At around 9:00 p.m. 20 passengers and 2 Air Force aviator technicians were still reported missing in one of the Prinsendam’s lifeboats. The Coast Guard Command in Juneau directed the USCGC Boutwell and an HC-130 Hercules to search for the missing lifeboat. At around 0100 the next morning, some 18 hours after the ordeal had begun, the Boutwell spotted a flare from the lifeboat. Shortly thereafter, the lifeboat’s passengers were recovered and the rescue was over with no deaths or serious injuries and all passengers and crew from the Prinsendam accounted for. The Prinsendam capsized and sunk on October 11, 1980.
More Links: Cruise Ship Fires Sunken Ships Sudden Lists/Waves Natural Hazards
