The list of shipwrecks in 2018 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 2018.
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
The fishing vessel was in a collision with Xuan Thanh 10 (Vietnam), which kept moving even after the collision, and capsized in the South China Sea. The 15 crew on board escaped safely.[4]
The fishing vessel was in a collision with Hyderabad (Pakistan) in waters southeast of Laem Chabang, where the vessel sank partially submerged with the bow above the water. Four people were rescued and four were reported missing.[5]
The incomplete tanker broke from her moorings at Corrientes and drifted down the Paraná River for 31 nautical miles (58 km) until she ran aground on a sandbank.[9]
The Moudge-classfrigate was driven ashore and damaged at Bandar-Anzali. Two of her crew were reported missing.[12] The frigate broke in two on 20 January, and finally sank on 28 January.[13]
Carrying 36 passengers and a crew of 14, the shuttle boat caught fire and was run aground in shallow water and burned out off Tampa, Florida, while ferrying customers to the Ocean Breeze Casino, an offshore casino boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Fifteen people were taken to hospitals. One of them, a female passenger, died.[17]
The cargo ship ran aground in Kalmar Strait on approaches to port in Mönsterås, Sweden while travelling at high speed of around six knots (11 km/h).[18]
The tanker caught fire 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) off Kandla. Her 26 crew were evacuated, but one of them subsequently died from burns sustained in the fire.[20][21]
The wooden catamaran ferry left Nonouti on a two-day journey to South Tarawa, but capsized and sunk en route (exact date still unknown). Seven people were rescued on 22 January, as search and rescue efforts continued.[22][23] The aerial search for the vessel and possible survivors was eventually called off on 1 February, with 81 people still missing and presumed lost.[24]
The fishing vessel collided with Jamila (Liberia) 29 nautical miles (54 km) southwest of Paita, and sank. The ship was reportedly sailing unauthorized at time of collision. Three people were reported dead.[32]
The derelict Design 381 fishing/fish processing vessel was scuttled with explosives 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) north north west of Dutch Harbor, Alaska sometime in mid-January.[37]
The cargo ship was beached near Feodosia, in the Crimean peninsula. Her crew were rescued. She had previously suffered a hull breach in the River Don, Russia. The ship finally sank on 20 March, with the forecastle and superstructure above the water.[40]Berg was consequently declared a total loss.[41]
The general cargo ship was abandoned in the Port of Beirut by its owner and crew years earlier, and sank in the breakwaters of the port between 16 and 18 February.[54][55]
The fishing boat broke free from its mooring at Provincetown, Massachusetts in a storm and was driven onto the West End breakwater and sank. In July 2018 the wreck was raised, taken into Provincetown harbour and broken up.[57]
The cargo ship was driven ashore at Lisbon, Portugal. Her ten crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Lisbon to Casablanca, Morocco. Betanzos was refloated on 16 March.[58]
The container ship caught fire in the Arabian Sea. Four of her 27 crew were reported missing, the rest were rescued by ALS Ceres (Marshall Islands).[59] One of those rescued subsequently died from injuries sustained in the fire.[60]
The military troop carrier sank in Java Sea near the Thousand Islands after an engine failure and impact from a high swell. All 65 soldiers on board were rescued by AD-04-15 (Indonesia).[63]
The tugboat fouled the anchor chain of the anchored bulk carrier Atlantic Fairy (Panama) in the Mississippi River near the 4600 block of Patterson drive, Algiers, Louisiana causing her to capsize and sink. The vessel was raised in June. One crewman was rescued by the tug Earl Gonsoulin, two were killed.[64][65][66]
The cargo ship capsized in the English Channel after colliding with the fishing vessel Deborah (Belgium).[70] Her seven crew were rescued by helicopter.[71]
Princess HawaiiThe 61-foot (19 m) longlinefishing vessel sank in the Pacific Ocean approximately 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) north of the island of Hawaii after two large waves struck her. Her crew of eight survived and was rescued by another fishing vessel 12 hours later.[75]
The motor paddle vessel foundered in the Irish Sea 10 nautical miles (19 km) off the coast of Anglesey whilst being towed from Gloucester to Coleraine (N Ireland). There was nobody on board. Its final moments were attended by the Holyhead Lifeboat.[89]
The bulk carrier foundered 180 nautical miles (330 km) west of Cape Town, South Africa after suffering engine room flooding on 12 April and being towed for 11⁄2 months.[90]
The tanker ran aground in the St. Lawrence River at Morrisburg, Ontario, at 04:10 on 29 May, local time. The ship ran aground next to the village, out of the main shipping channel. The ship remained intact, with no water entering, nor oil exiting the vessel. The Saint Lawrence Seaway remained open for traffic.[91] The ship was pulled free on 4 June having struck an old lock system that had been submerged during the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The cause of the grounding was due to the vessel's issues with its rudder.[92]
During a voyage from Simanindo Harbour on Samosir Island to Tiga Ras Harbour in Simalungun Regency on Lake Toba in North Sumatra on Sumatra in Indonesia with 188 passengers and crew aboard, the motorferry capsized and sank, leaving at least 94 people missing. During the first hours after the accident, 18 people were rescued and one body was recovered; later three more bodies were recovered from the sunken ferry.[101][102]
The ferry began foundering in heavy weather causing the captain to run the ship aground on a reef to prevent sinking in deep water. She later sank off Sulawesi with the loss of 31 lives, 130 rescued.[110][111]
The cargo ship was driven aground by a storm off Higashidori on the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan. A helicopter rescued her entire crew of five.[112]
The 43.6-metre (143 ft) live fish transport struck a wreck known as "Kepal Simen" and sank in shallow water partially above water 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) off Penang's south coast.[128]
The ferry foundered in heavy swells off Loloda, Halmahera, Indonesia. Forty-five people on board were rescued, but five crew members and one passenger were left missing.[136]
The cargo ship was driven ashore during a storm north of the entrance to the harbor at KaohsiungTaiwan. Ten members of her crew were rescued by helicopter. She later was refloated.[142][143]
The cargo ship was driven ashore during a storm south of the entrance to the harbor at Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Nineteen crew members were rescued by helicopter. She later was refloated.[148][149]
Alta stranded on the coast of County Cork, Ireland, February 2020. The cargo ship was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km) south east of Bermuda after drifting disabled for 20 days while en route from Greece to Haiti. Her ten crew were rescued by the United States Coast Guard, while the crippled ship was left adrift.[188] She was spotted adrift, still afloat, by HMS Protector on 30 August 2019.[189]Alta came ashore on the coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland during Storm Dennis on 16 February 2020.[190]
Hurricane Michael: The out of service cruise ship broke free from her dock in Cooked Creek, blew across West Bay and was driven ashore partially sunk and on her port side on the shore of St. Andrews Bay, Florida near the Florida State University Panama City campus. Work to right and refloat the ship started in mid January. She was sunk as an artificial reef 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of the entrance to St. Andrew's Bay on 3 May 2019.[195][196]
Hurricane Michael: The sailing vessel capsized and sank in St. Andrews Marina in Panama City, Florida during the hurricane. Later raised and stored ashore. Rebuilding to start in May/June of 2022 at Stone Loft Boat Inc., St Andrews, Fla., ending date projected for 2023.[197][198]
The coastal boat capsized and sank in the Caribbean Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) north of the Caratasca Bar. Seventy-six of the people on board survived, two were killed, and several were left missing.[204]
The tug sank in the Gulf of Khambhat while assisting the vessel Voyage Sympathy (Kiribati) on her sea trials. Six members of her crew survived and one was left missing.[206]
The Fridtjof Nansen-classfrigate was grounded intentionally to prevent her from sinking after she collided with the tankerSola TS (Malta) in the Hjeltefjord near Bergen, Norway, and was left with a severe list and her propulsion systems underwater. Sola TS was able to return to port. Eight people were injured in the collision. Helge Ingstad slid deeper in the water on 11 November, leaving only her upper superstructure above water. Later raised and scrapped.[209][210][211]
The cargo ship sank in the Flores Sea near Bali, Indonesia. Seven members of her crew were rescued by the vessel Cahaya Abadi 201 (Indonesia); seven other crew members were left missing.[221]
The motor vessel, operating as an unlicensed party boat and overcrowded with nearly 100 people on board, capsized and sank in Lake Victoria just off a beach resort near Mukono Town, Uganda, during a pleasure cruise. At least 32 people drowned and at least 40 were unaccounted for; it was unclear which of the latter may have died and which had made it to shore and left the scene. There were 26 known survivors.[224][225]
The 90 foot dredging barge capsized and sank in 100 feet of water in Massachusetts Bay after breaking loose from her tow "Big Jake" (United States).[227]
The cargo ship ran aground in the Bohai Sea northwest of Weifang, China. She broke in two with her aft section sinking. Nine members of her crew were rescued and one was left missing; one of the rescued crew members died later.[233]
The coaster was sunk in a collision, possibly with the vessel Breeze (Kuwait), in the Singapore Strait. Eleven members of her crew were rescued; four were injured.[235]
The cargo ship ran aground in rough seas in the Black Sea off Turkey during a voyage from Russia to Istanbul, Turkey. Sixteen members of her crew were rescued by Turkish coastal emergency teams.[238]
The deck cargo ship suffered a steering failure in the Singapore Strait three nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) east of Tajung Sepang, Malaysia, collided with another ship, capsized, and sank. Six members of her crew were rescued and three were left missing.[241]
The coaster dragged her anchor and was driven ashore by a storm on Nanri Island in the Taiwan Strait. All 13 crew members made it to the island and were evacuated by helicopter.[247]
During a voyage from Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii, with a cargo of approximately 3,500 Nissanautomobiles and a crew of 21 on board, the 650-foot (198.1 m) car carrier was abandoned in the North Pacific Ocean approximately 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km) northwest of Hawaii after she caught fire and lost power in 15-to-18-foot (4.6 to 5.5 m) seas. Sixteen of her crew were rescued by other merchant ships; five who went overboard after experiencing trouble launching a life raft in 17-foot (5.2 m) seas were presumed lost, with one of them missing and the other four found unresponsive in the water and unable to grab onto lifesaving gear deployed by the responding merchant ships, which had no other means of bringing them aboard.[249][250][251]