For centuries, crossing the globe meant hopping aboard a vessel and trusting the endless blue to carry you safely from port to port. Water may look placid on the surface, but when something goes wrong it can turn a leisurely cruise into a chilling plunge. In short, sinking is a nightmare: you’re plunged into cold, you lose breathable air, crushing pressure can crush you, and the deep is full of creatures that would love a snack. So, if you ever get the chance, steer clear of any situation that could end with a ship disappearing beneath the waves. 10 baffling tales of maritime mishaps prove that even the most advanced or mundane vessels can meet an untimely watery fate.

10 Baffling Tales Of Unusual Sinkings

10 The USS Bowfin Is the Only Submarine That Ever Sank a Bus

Submarines were the silent predators of World War II, responsible for sinking thousands of enemy ships across the world’s oceans. The American fleet’s USS Bowfin earned a peculiar distinction in 1944 that still makes historians grin. After a refit at Pearl Harbor, the Bowfin slipped into the Pacific and chased a Japanese convoy toward a cluster of islands near Okinawa. There, three Japanese vessels were moored beside a pier that also held a crane and, oddly enough, a bus parked on the dock.

Seizing the chance, the Bowfin launched three torpedoes, then quickly shifted position and fired another three. The onslaught obliterated several Japanese ships and also shattered the pier structure. In the chaos, the torpedoes struck the bus, sending it to the ocean floor. This incident remains the sole recorded case of a submarine taking down a piece of public transportation, making the Bowfin the only sub ever to sink a bus.

While the primary mission was to cripple enemy shipping, the incidental destruction of a bus has become a quirky footnote in naval history, illustrating how war can produce the most unexpected collateral damage.

9 L Ron Hubbard Claimed to Have Sank Two Mystery Submarines During WWII

Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was a man of many stories, and the sea featured prominently in his personal mythology. According to Hubbard’s own accounts, he served as a naval officer in 1943 and performed heroic feats worthy of a comic‑book captain. He claimed that, while patrolling off the Oregon coast in May of that year, his crew sank two Japanese vessels, a tale that would have bolstered his larger‑than‑life persona.

However, official Navy records could find no trace of any such enemy submarines, and the only documented “engagement” involved his crew opening fire on a floating log. Hubbard later suggested that the Navy deliberately covered up the truth because the Japanese had ventured uncomfortably close to the American shoreline, a claim that has never been substantiated.

Hubbard’s naval career ended in further embarrassment when he mistakenly entered Mexican waters and fired upon an island for no apparent reason, leading to the loss of his command. Whether fact or fiction, his maritime anecdotes add a surreal layer to his already colorful legacy.

8 North Korea Claimed to Sink a US Vessel That Was Already Decommissioned

War stories often get tangled in fog, and the Korean peninsula is no exception. In 1950, North Korean officials announced that they had sunk the American heavy cruiser USS Baltimore. If true, the sinking would have represented a significant victory for the fledgling navy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Historical records, however, tell a different tale. The USS Baltimore was officially decommissioned in 1947, three years before the Korean War erupted. There is no evidence of the ship being reactivated or present in the Pacific theater at the time of the alleged attack. The claim appears to be a propaganda effort rather than an account of an actual naval engagement.

North Korea’s boast underscores how wartime narratives can be manipulated, especially when a nation seeks to amplify its military prowess on the world stage.

7 The US Military Sank a Radioactive Aircraft Carrier Near San Francisco

When a vessel is deliberately sunk, the act is called scuttling, and the practice can serve ecological or strategic purposes. The USS Independence, a World II‑era aircraft carrier, met this fate in a rather radioactive fashion. After participating in nuclear bomb tests, the ship absorbed a significant amount of radiation, making it a prime candidate for disposal.

Following its return to the United States for decontamination studies, the Navy decided to use the vessel as a target at Bikini Atoll before bringing it back to the West Coast. In 1951, the ship was towed 30 miles offshore from San Francisco and deliberately sunk. Experts argued that the ocean would act as a massive buffer, diluting any residual radioactivity and posing minimal risk to marine life or human consumers of seafood.

While the ocean’s capacity to absorb radiation is substantial, the sinking of a radioactive carrier remains a striking example of how militaries repurpose outdated assets, even when they carry lingering hazards.

6 Titanic’s Sister Ship Sank a U‑Boat

The RMS Olympic, the elder sibling of the ill‑fated Titanic, earned its own place in naval legend by taking down an enemy submarine. Launched in 1910 as the world’s largest ocean liner, the Olympic later served as a troopship during World I, undergoing a camouflage makeover that included a gray paint scheme and covered portholes to evade enemy sight.

In 1918, while navigating the English Channel, the Olympic’s crew spotted a German U‑boat threatening Allied shipping. Rather than merely evading, the ship’s armed crew engaged the enemy, ramming the submarine and sinking it outright. This bold maneuver demonstrated the vessel’s versatility, transitioning from luxury liner to wartime combatant.

The incident remains a proud footnote in the Olympic’s storied career, highlighting how even the most glamorous ships can become formidable war machines when the tide turns.

5 There Are Over a Half Dozen Nuclear Subs Sunk at Sea

Nuclear‑powered submarines have prowled the depths since the mid‑1950s, representing the pinnacle of underwater technology. Yet, not all of these marvels have returned safely to port. At least eight nuclear‑powered subs have vanished beneath the waves, taking their reactors and, in some cases, nuclear weapons with them.

The loss of these vessels raises concerns about long‑term environmental impacts. Fortunately, their reactors are heavily shielded, and the radioactive material is expected to decay over centuries, reducing immediate danger. Russia has announced plans to retrieve two of its missing subs—K‑159, lost in 1963, and K‑27, scuttled in 1982 after a brief period of mild radioactivity—but no concrete recovery efforts have materialized yet.

These underwater graves serve as stark reminders that even the most advanced technology can succumb to the unforgiving ocean, leaving mysteries that may never be fully resolved.

4 Garfield Phones From a Sunken Shipping Container Have Washed Ashore for Decades

For roughly four decades, residents along the coast of Brittany, France, have been puzzling over a recurring oddity: vintage Garfield‑themed rotary phones inexplicably washing up on their beaches. The mystery deepened until 2019, when investigators traced the source to a sunken cargo container that had sunk in the 1980s.

The container, filled with hundreds of these quirky phones, had settled in an underwater cave that only becomes accessible during low tide. As the sea’s currents shift, the container’s contents gradually escape, delivering nostalgic telephones to the shore line year after year.

While the phones themselves are harmless relics, their long‑term journey from a forgotten wreck to modern beaches underscores the ocean’s ability to preserve and eventually release human artifacts in the most unexpected ways.

3 An Overflowing Toilet Sank a U‑Boat

U‑boats were the terror of the Atlantic, responsible for sinking up to 3,000 Allied vessels during World II. Yet, one of the most bizarre incidents involved a simple, everyday piece of equipment: a toilet. The German U‑boat U‑1206, a late‑war model, was fitted with a compromised septic system designed to save interior space by venting waste directly into the sea.

When the crew tried to operate the system, a malfunction caused a valve to open, flooding the submarine’s bathroom and, crucially, the battery compartment located just beneath it. The seawater mixed with battery acid, producing poisonous gases that forced the crew to surface quickly. In a desperate bid for buoyancy, they fired torpedoes, which propelled the sub to the surface directly in front of Allied forces.

The resulting attack led to the capture of most of the crew and the sinking of U‑1206. This episode illustrates how a seemingly minor engineering oversight—a faulty toilet—can cascade into a catastrophic failure, sinking an entire warship.

2 The Eastland Sinking Killed More People Than the Titanic

The Eastland disaster remains one of the most tragic and overlooked maritime catastrophes in American history. Unlike the Titanic, which sank in the open Atlantic, the Eastland met its fate on the calm waters of Lake Michigan. On a crisp morning in 1915, the passenger liner set out from Chicago with 2,573 people aboard for a day‑trip picnic on a nearby park.

The vessel had a notorious reputation for instability, having nearly capsized on previous voyages. On the day of the tragedy, the ship was already listing while still docked, even before the passengers had boarded. Rather than cancel the excursion, the crew attempted to correct the tilt by adjusting ballast, only to cause the ship to list in the opposite direction.

At 7:25 a.m., the Eastland was leaning 25 degrees to port and taking on water. Five minutes later, it pushed off the dock and rapidly rolled onto its side. Though the incident occurred at the harbor where onlookers could see the disaster unfold, the sheer number of passengers—844 casualties—made rescue efforts near impossible. The over‑loaded lifeboats, installed after the Titanic disaster, contributed to the vessel’s top‑heavy condition, sealing its fate.

1 The Whaling Ship Essex Was Sunk By a Sperm Whale

The American whaling ship Essex embarked on a two‑and‑a‑half‑year voyage in 1820, hunting sperm whales in the Pacific. The crew’s routine involved sending out smaller boats to harpoon their quarry, a practice that was both lucrative and perilous. During one such hunt, a massive sperm whale, estimated at 85 feet—well above the average 65 feet—broke away from its pod and charged the Essex.

The colossal creature rammed the ship’s hull with such force that the 238‑ton vessel’s wooden sides buckled and water poured in. Within minutes, the whaler began to sink, forcing the crew to abandon ship and endure a harrowing ordeal at sea. The tragedy of the Essex captured the public imagination and later inspired Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby‑Dick, cementing the event’s place in literary and maritime history.

Survivors endured weeks of starvation, dehydration, and even resorted to cannibalism before rescue arrived, making the Essex’s story one of the darkest chapters in whaling lore.

We’re all familiar with the story of the RMS Titanic, the British passenger liner that hit an iceberg in the Atlantic ocean and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912. What few people realize, however, is that the Titanic was not the first ship to sink during its first journey, and by no means the last. Some faced a similarly overwhelming number of casualties, while others were more fortunate.

From German battleships to Dutch trading vessels, here are ten lesser-known ships that sank during their maiden voyages.

Related: Top 10 Remarkable Finds Involving Old Ships And Explorers

10 MS Zenobia (1979)

Close to the harbor of Larnaca in Cyprus, the wreck of the MS Zenobia lies 42 meters (138 feet) beneath the azure surface of the Mediterranean Sea. This Swedish-built ferry was put into service in late 1979, leaving on her maiden voyage from Malmö to Tartous in Syria in May 1980. While just off of Larnaca, early in the morning of June 2, 1980, the ship started to list. During the following five days, every possible effort was made to save her. However, in the early hours of June 7, she finally capsized and sank.

The most likely cause of the Zenobia’s sinking was her computerized ballasting system, which had caused reoccurring problems. Engineers discovered that a software error caused the system to pump excess water into the side ballast tanks. When this finally caused the ship to sink, cargo worth millions was taken with her, but remarkably, there were no casualties.^[1]

9 SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1875)

Built for the German Kaiserliche Marine, SMS Grosser Kurfürst was an ironclad turret ship that took eight years to complete. First laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in 1870, she was officially launched in 1875 but only fully completed three years later.

Steaming through the English Channel during her maiden voyage in May 1878, Grosser Kurfürst was accompanied by two other ships: the ironclad SMS König Wilhelm and SMS Preussen. When they encountered a group of fishing boats under sail, the three ships quickly turned to avoid them. In so doing, Grosser Kurfürst was rammed by König Wilhelm after accidentally crossing her path. Sinking within just eight minutes, over half of her 500-man crew were lost.^[2]

8 RMS Tayleur (1854)

Often described as “the first Titanic,” the RMS Tayleur was a full-rigged iron clipper ship chartered to serve the Australian trade routes. Built in just six months, she left Liverpool in England for her maiden voyage in January 1854. Within 48 hours of setting off, the crew believed that they were sailing through the Irish Sea but were, in fact, traveling westwards toward Ireland. It was later found that the ship’s compasses hadn’t worked properly due to the iron hull, so she had headed straight for the island of Lambay while caught in thick fog and storms. With an undersized rudder and slack rigging added to the mix, she ran aground on the east coast of the island.

Unable to lower the lifeboats without them smashing onto the rocks, the crew collapsed a mast onto the shore so that passengers could escape by clambering along it. Some of these individuals had carried ropes from the ship, which they then used to pull others to safety. The ship’s 29-year-old captain waited on board until the sea consumed her, leaving just the tops of her masts showing. After being alerted by a surviving passenger, the coast guard made their way to the wreck, where they encountered the last survivor. A man named William Vivers had managed to climb to the top of the rigging, where he waited 14 hours to be rescued. Of more than 650 passengers who had been on board when the Tayleur set sail, only 280 survived.^[3]

7 CSS Georgiana (1863)

This Confederate steamer was supposed to be one of the best-armed vessels in the Confederate Fleet. The SS Georgiana was built in Scotland before setting sail on its maiden voyage in 1863. Headed for South Carolina, she was due to be fitted out with the guns stored in the hold once she reached Charleston. However, as she approached her destination on March 19, she was met by the yacht America, which swiftly alerted the nearby battleship USS Wissahickon. With all her guns and defenses in storage, she was completely defenseless against the warship’s large guns, which quickly pierced the hull.

With the propeller and rudder destroyed and the hull quickly taking in water, the Georgiana’s captain signaled a surrender before breaching the boat. He then purposefully sank it to prevent it from being boarded before escaping to land with the entire crew. Furious that they wouldn’t be able to gain a reward for capturing the steamer, the Wissahickon crew set her on fire to prevent any looters from salvaging the cargo. The Georgiana was finally lost after burning and taking on water for several days.^[4]

6 RMS Magdalena (1948)

The RMS Magdalena was a passenger and refrigerated cargo ocean liner built in Belfast in 1948. She was built as a replacement for a ship that had been lost in 1940 and was to serve the route between England and South America. Bound for Buenos Aires, she set forth on her maiden voyage in March 1949.

In the early hours of April 25, the Magdalena approached Rio de Janeiro. Her crew found that she was half a nautical mile too far north of her intended position and took measures to correct it to not hit the Tijucas Rocks. Nevertheless, she hit them after the Third Officer mistook them for a ship without lights, then failed to sufficiently maneuver in time. The Brazilian Navy responded to the Magdalena’s SOS forecast by sending three chasers and three submarine destroyers. After many passengers were rescued, attempts were made to refloat the ship and tug her into Rio de Janeiro. She soon split in two, however, and both sections now lay just 11–13 meters (36–42 feet) beneath the waters of Guanabara Bay. While much of the cargo was salvaged, hundreds of oranges that had been on the Magdalena later washed up on Copacabana Beach.^[5]

5 RMS Amazon (1851)

The RMS Amazon was a wooden paddle steamer and Royal Mail Ship built in London to serve routes between Southampton and the Caribbean. The Amazon set sail on her maiden voyage on January 2, 1852, loaded with mail, expensive cargo, and 50 passengers. Within the first 24 hours, she came to a standstill twice after her engine bearings overheated. Then, upon entering the Bay of Biscay on January 4, she caught fire.

The fire quickly intensified to the extent that the engine rooms could no longer be reached. With the crew unable to stop the engines, the ship raced on during attempts to launch the lifeboats. Repeated efforts to lower them caused most of the occupants to be tossed into the water. The fire soon brought down the ship’s fore and mainmast, and the deck collapsed after the explosion of her magazine brought down the mizzen mast. Glowing red-hot, she finally sank about thirty minutes later, just off the coast of the Isles of Scilly.^[6]

4 KMS Bismarck (1941)

Intended to herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet, the state-of-the-art battleship Bismarck was launched at Hamburg on February 14, 1939. However, it wasn’t until two years later that she was able to make her maiden voyage. The British had been closely guarding ocean routes against Germany since the outbreak of the Second World War, meaning only U-Boats could move freely through the war zone. In May 1941, the Bismarck finally broke out into the Atlantic Ocean. Knowing that she would be impossible to track down in the open water and likely cause devastation on Allied convoys, the British sent almost their entire Home Fleet in pursuit.

The British Battleships Hood and Prince of Wales intercepted the Bismarck near Iceland, and a raging battle ensued. In a ferocious exchange, the Hood lost all but three of its 1,421 crew after she exploded and sank. Leaking fuel, the Bismarck then fled for occupied France but was soon sighted and attacked by British aircraft. Three British warships were then able to descend upon the Bismarck to inflict heavy damage. With numerous fires aboard, the pride of the German navy was soon unable to steer and listing severely, rendering her guns almost completely useless. The Bismarck quickly sank after the command went out to scuttle her, leaving only 115 of her 2,221 crew to survive.^[7]

3 MS Georges Philippar (1932)

Completed in January 1932, the ocean liner Georges Philippar was constructed for France’s Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes. The ship’s maiden voyage from Marseilles to China and Japan commenced in February 1932, despite prior threats made against her.

On May 16, as the Georges Philippar approached the Horn of Africa during her homeward run, a fire broke out in a piece of electrical equipment. Despite cutting power from the affected section of the ship, the fire spread rapidly, filling the cabins and passageways with dense smoke and affecting communications. She was brought to a stop to enable the lifeboats to be lowered, and while she listed, the order was given to abandon ship. The lifeboats had to be hosed down while they were launched to prevent them from being consumed by the flames. Many of the passengers even had to leap directly into the ocean to avoid the blaze, particularly those who had become trapped in their cabins. After being completely abandoned, the Georges Philippar drifted for a while before finally sinking to the depths of the ocean.^[8]

2 Batavia (1628)

Built in Amsterdam in 1628, the Batavia was the new flagship of the Dutch East India Company. She set sail on her maiden voyage in October 1628, headed for the Dutch East Indies. Valuable cargo and 340 passengers were on board, as well as a huge supply of trade gold and silver. What was to ensue has become known as one of the worst horror stories in maritime history.

A bankrupt merchant named Jeronimus Cornelisz was present on board and, together with a small number of the crew, planned a brutal mutiny. A crew member deliberately steered the ship off course, which caused her to hit Morning Reef near Beacon Island off the coast of Australia. Approximately forty people drowned as the ship sank, while the remaining passengers and crew were able to get ashore. With no water and limited food on the islands they were marooned on, the captain and his crew took off in a longboat to search for water.

As one of the survivors left behind, Cornelisz designated himself as the leader and gathered a band of supporters and fellow mutineers to help him eliminate any opponents. Together, they brutally murdered around 125 of the men, women, and children who had survived the wreck, keeping a small number of women as sex slaves. When the Batavia’s captain was eventually able to return with help, the mutineers were quickly arrested and later executed. Only one-third of the original passengers had survived Cornelisz’s atrocities.^[9]

1 Vasa (1628)

The vast, ornately decorated Swedish ship Vasa was the world’s most advanced warship when she set sail from Stockholm in 1628. Carrying an unprecedented number of bronze cannons and covered in intricate wooden carvings, the ship was celebrated by a huge public crowd that had gathered to see her embark on her maiden voyage. Just twenty minutes after setting sail, however, they watched on, horrified, as a strong gust of wind caused Europe’s most ambitious warship to topple over and sink.

A later inquest found that the ship had been too unstable, likely because the gun deck was far too heavy. This was probably the result of being designed and built by someone with no experience in building such a well-armed ship, as well as the construction being rushed by the king. The Vasa was raised intact in 1961 and, perfectly preserved, can be visited today in Stockholm’s Vasa Museum.^[10]