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The 9 Worst Cruise Ship Disasters

The Titanic may be the most famous ship disaster, but surprisingly, it’s not even close to being the deadliest wreck that ever occurred on a luxury liner. If you’re trying to dissuade someone from taking a cruise, you should show them this list of maritime misadventures presented in no particular order. Disclaimer: The vast majority of cruises sail without incident and are safe and not filled with poop. (Oh yeah, we’ll get there.) Get your plate ready for a buffet of high-seas horror.

1. RMS Titanic

F.G.O. Stuart (1843-1923) {{PD-old}} /Wikimedia Commons

The many experts in 1912 who considered the Titanic “unsinkable” were to be proven wrong on the boat’s maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. Thomas Andrews had designed the ship to withstand head-on collisions and rammings from other ships. However, the North Atlantic Ocean iceberg that took down the vessel scraped through five of its 16 watertight compartments. The boat would have reportedly remained afloat if it had only gone through four. Like other systems at the time, the Titanic's lifeboats were designed to shepherd passengers to nearby rescue ships, not take them to shore. Unfortunately, help was many hours away in the wee hours of April 15 when the boat was going under. The poor crew organization also caused many lifeboats to leave the ship at far less than full capacity. Plus, they only had enough boats for about a third of the onboard. As a result, more than 1,500 people died — either on the ship or in the icy waters, waiting for help. A recent theory suggests a fire that started in the hull before the ship set sail weakened the vessel’s steel walls, making it susceptible to an iceberg that normally wouldn’t have caused as much damage.

2. Eastern Star’s Dongfang zhi Xing

In 2015, Dongfang zhi Xing was traveling on the Yangtze River in China when a thunderstorm struck, and the boat capsized. Ships in the area were warned that bad storms were coming and told to take precautions, but it is unclear if the Dongfang zhi Xing ever received the warnings and continued to sail. The ship was met with winds of up to 72-85 mph, and ultimately, a downburst (a strong downward wind) caused the ship to capsize and sink. Out of the 454 people on board, only 12 survived, making the total number of dead 442.

3. Carnival Cruise Line’s Triumph

DVIDSHUB/Flickr

A generator fire on Carnival Cruise Lines’s Triumph (now called Carnival Sunrise) left the ship powerless, and a late-night comedy punchline was born: “The Poop Cruise.” Without working bathrooms, passengers were forced to drop their payloads into red “hazardous waste” bags and stuff them into garbage cans left in the hall. Passengers described carpets soaked with more than two inches of raw sewage. News reports described the scene as a “shanty town” and a “new circle of hell.” One passenger reportedly called her husband and told him that their 12-year-old daughter had Skittles for breakfast. It took four days for the Triumph to be towed from the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile, Alabama, where it was possible to smell the ship from the dock. Later, 31 passengers claimed long-lasting damage, including PTSD, and sued. After the verdict, 27 of them split $118,000, many earning less than $3,000 (minus legal fees) for their troubles.

4. Costa Concordia

European Commission DG ECHO/Flickr

One of the biggest passenger ships ever wrecked, the Costa Concordia had 17 decks, six restaurants, a three-story theater, and enough room for 4,200 vacationers. On January 13, 2012, Captain Francesco Schettino agreed to a request by the ship’s chief maître d’, Antonello Tievoli, and sailed closer to Isola del Giglio than normal. Why? Tievoli, a native of Giglio, wanted to impress and “salute” local residents. Unfortunately, Captain Schettino turned off the ship’s alarm for the computer navigation system and later admitted he thought he knew the waters well enough to navigate by sight. However, the ship’s first mate testified that the captain had left his glasses in his cabin and requested them. The Costa Concordia struck an underwater rock, capsized, and sank, killing 32 passengers. Schettino’s worst maritime sin? He abandoned the ship with 300 passengers still onboard. A Coast Guard officer in contact with the ship at the time of the sinking claimed he told Schettino to get back onboard. After being convicted of manslaughter and pursuing several appeals, Schettino only started his 16-year prison sentence in May of 2017. The salvage effort (the ship was completely dismantled) was the largest effort of its kind.

5. SS Eastland

Launched in 1903, the SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. Although the ship had noted listing (tilting) since its inception and some measures had been taken to rectify this, the SS Eastland was still suffering from being top-heavy when boarding for a cruise in 1915. The ship was meant to sail from Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana, carrying workers from Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works for a picnic. On July 24, 2,572 passengers boarded, with many congregating on the open upper decks. While still docked, the ship began to list to the port side, and reportedly, at some point, more passengers rushed to the port side, causing the ship to roll onto its side completely. Despite the river’s bottom being just 20 feet below and the shore being about the same distance, a total of 844 passengers and crew members died, including 22 entire families.

6. Royal Pacific

When the Royal Pacific was first launched as a passenger ferry in 1964, it could carry 250 passengers, 91 cars, and 16 trucks. Sold and converted into a cruise ship in the late 1980s, the boat’s maiden voyage was a two-night “cruise to nowhere” from Singapore and sailed by Phuket, Malacca, and Penang before returning home. At around 2 a.m., when most passengers were asleep, the crew heard a loud bang, and the plates on the buffet table crashed to the ground. A Taiwanese trawler, Terfu 51, had accidentally rammed the ship, leaving a six-foot gash in the side. As the trawler pulled away, there was a deafening sound of metal scraping against metal. The PA system wasn’t working properly on the boat, but the safety officer ran downstairs to survey the damage. When he returned, he told everyone to put on their life jackets. Reports vary about how many passengers were impacted — most tallies number 30 dead and 70 injured. Several passengers also complained that a mix of Greek-, English- and Mandarin-speaking crew members led to few people understanding what anyone was saying.

7. SS Morro Castle

The story of the SS Morro Castle is so dreadful it’s surprising no Hollywood producer has turned the tale into a horror movie. Director Fritz Lang collaborated on a script about the tragedy, and named it “Hell Afloat” (which is a pretty apt description), but it was never made. Between 1930 and 1934, the SS Morro Castle regularly shuttled 480-plus passengers between Havana and New York. While onboard, there was no Depression to worry about and no Prohibition, which meant plenty of booze-filled partying. However, the September 1934 return sail from Cuba to the Big Apple seemed cursed. On September 7, Captain Robert Wilmott complained of stomach trouble after eating dinner and retired to his cabin, where he later died of an apparent heart attack. Chief Officer William Warms took command, and a few hours later, around 3 a.m. on September 8, a fire started in one of the storage lockers. The crew’s attempts to fight the fire were haphazard and inadequate, and soon, the blaze couldn’t be contained. Many crew members abandoned the ship, leaving confused passengers to fend for themselves in the dark, smoky hallways. Some jumped from the deck to their death in the water. Rescuers lined up on the Jersey Shore to meet the lifeboats carrying passengers. The next morning, the burning, black hull of the SS Morro Castle ran aground at Asbury Park, New Jersey. Of the 549 people aboard the cruise, 86 guests and 49 crew members died.

8. Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas

A cruise can be an oasis of calm in rough waters, but it’s also a petri dish of disease where viruses ricochet from passenger to passenger. In 2014, the Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas cruise from New Jersey to the Caribbean earned the dubious honor of being the ship with more sick passengers than any other boat trip since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started keeping statistics more than 20 years ago. An estimated 700 passengers and crew members were sick at some point. Most cruise ship illnesses result from norovirus, that causes inflammation of the stomach and large intestines and regular trips to the “head.” If you’re wondering how to stay healthy on a cruise with sick passengers, plenty of handwashing (and avoiding ill people) is key. Bugs pass quickly through contact with ship railings, bathroom doors, and buffet food.

9. MTS Oceanos

Built by a French company and first launched in 1952, the MTS Oceanos was purchased by a Greek company in 1976. On August 3, 1991, Oceanos set sail for East London, South Africa, and headed north for Durban, led by Captain Yiannis Avranas. The ship reportedly headed into 40-knot winds and 30-foot swells, and thus, the typical sail-away outdoor deck party with British entertainers Moss and Tracy Hills was moved to an indoor lounge. The sea conditions worsened that night, leading to the ship rolling from side to side, and eventually, an explosion was heard due to a lack of repairs for the waste disposal system. This all led to the ship losing power and water filling its generator room, so the generators were shut down and the ship was led adrift. A distress call was sent and answered by numerous South African helicopters and a Dutch container ship. Shockingly, the captain and many crew members were among the first to be airlifted to shore, leaving the entertainment staff to coordinate the rescue efforts and help passengers to safety. All 571 passengers and crew members were saved by the time the ship sank nose-first into the sea.

The Worst Cruise Ship Disasters

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A cruise is supposed to be a week of rest, relaxation, and adventure, but for the people on the cruises on this list, it was a nightmare. This list is full of the worst cruise ship disasters in history, from disease outbreaks, to power outages, to shipwrecks.  

This list will make you think twice about going on that cruise to the Caribbean. Disasters like these are, statistically, not that common. But still, you would not want to be stuck on any of these unfortunate maritime adventures.

• Pjotr Mahhonin
• Wikimedia Commons
• CC-BY-SA 4.0

Viking Sky: Lost Power In Dangerous Waters Off The Coast Of Norway

March 14, 2019, the Viking Sky set sail off the coast of Norway with more than 890 passengers on board. For unknown reasons, the ship lost power in particularly dangerous waters off the Norwegian coast called Hustadvika. An evacuation team began airlifting passengers to safety via helicopter. The ship rocked in the waves and high winds, causing glass to shatter, heavy objects to fall and slide, and cabins to flood. 

The ship was stranded for 24 hours before it regained power and was tugged back to shore. Twenty people were injured, everyone's trips were refunded, and the rest of the cruise was canceled. 

• Willy Stöwer
• Public domain

Titanic: Hit An Iceberg

Though Titanic wasn't technically a cruise ship, its demise is the worst maritime mishap in history. The ship, which was supposed to be unsinkable, hit an iceberg and went under. About 1,500 people perished.

• CC-BY-SA 3.0

Costa Concordia: Ran Aground

• Max Rigot Selling Company, Chicago

S. S. Eastland: Tipped Over At Port

Seabourn spirits: bombarded by pirates.

In 2005, Seabourn Spirits was bombarded off the coast of Somalia by two boats of pirates . The ship's captain was able to outrun them, and thankfully only one person  was injured. The ship made it to port to repair the damage from grenades.

Royal Pacific: Collided With Fishing Trawler

In 1992, the Royal Pacific collided with a Taiwanese fishing trawler due to poor visibility in the middle of the night. The collision caused the cruise ship to sink, and 30 of the 530 passengers perished. 

• Guillaume Baviere

Star Princess: Fire On Ship

In 2006, a fire broke out on the Star Princess while it was on its way to Jamaica. Three hundred rooms were damaged, 13 people had to be treated for smoke inhalation, and one person suffered a coronary because of the smoke. The cause of the fire was a discarded cigarette.

• Peter J. Fitzpatrick

MTS Oceanos: Capsized Due To Negligence

The MTS Oceanos was carrying 571 passengers on a short cruise from East London to Durban, South Africa. The ship had been neglected and badly needed repairs, but it sailed anyway. It capsized because of a hole in the bulkhead. The captain abandoned ship without even bothering to send a distress call, but thankfully an entertainer named Moss Hills put out an SOS and successfully evacuated everyone on board. 

• Scott Lucht

Carnival Triumph: No Working Toilets

• powderchair

Pacific Sun: Harsh Storm

Louis Majesty: Rogue Waves

Celebrity Mercury: Norovirus Outbreak

• U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Mikesa R. Ponder

Carnival Splendor: Lost Power

• JoachimKohlerBremen

Explorer of the Seas: Record Number Of Sick People

M.s. black watch: legionnaires disease.

• Daniel Schwen

Norwegian Dawn: Cabins Flooded

In April 2005, a rogue 70-foot wave hit the Norwegian Dawn , smashing windows and flooding 62 cabins. The ship encountered stormy weather on its way back to New York City from the Bahamas. About 300 passengers chose to get off early, in Charleston.

• Diseases / Medical Conditions

In the middle of the ocean, no one can hear you scream.

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The Costa Concordia Disaster: How Human Error Made It Worse

By: Becky Little

Updated: August 10, 2023 | Original: June 23, 2021

Many famous naval disasters happen far out at sea, but on January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia wrecked just off the coast of an Italian island in relatively shallow water. The avoidable disaster killed 32 people and seriously injured many others, and left investigators wondering: Why was the luxury cruise ship sailing so close to the shore in the first place?

During the ensuing trial, prosecutors came up with a tabloid-ready explanation : The married ship captain had sailed it so close to the island to impress a much younger Moldovan dancer with whom he was having an affair.

Whether or not Captain Francesco Schettino was trying to impress his girlfriend is debatable. (Schettino insisted the ship sailed close to shore to salute other mariners and give passengers a good view.) But whatever the reason for getting too close, the Italian courts found the captain, four crew members and one official from the ship’s company, Costa Crociere (part of Carnival Corporation), to be at fault for causing the disaster and preventing a safe evacuation. The wreck was not the fault of unexpected weather or ship malfunction—it was a disaster caused entirely by a series of human errors.

“At any time when you have an incident similar to Concordia, there is never…a single causal factor,” says Brad Schoenwald, a senior marine inspector at the United States Coast Guard. “It is generally a sequence of events, things that line up in a bad way that ultimately create that incident.”

Wrecking Near the Shore

The Concordia was supposed to take passengers on a seven-day Italian cruise from Civitavecchia to Savona. But when it deviated from its planned path to sail closer to the island of Giglio, the ship struck a reef known as the Scole Rocks. The impact damaged the ship, allowing water to seep in and putting the 4,229 people on board in danger.

Sailing close to shore to give passengers a nice view or salute other sailors is known as a “sail-by,” and it’s unclear how often cruise ships perform these maneuvers. Some consider them to be dangerous deviations from planned routes. In its investigative report on the 2012 disaster, Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports found that the Concordia “was sailing too close to the coastline, in a poorly lit shore area…at an unsafe distance at night time and at high speed (15.5 kts).”

In his trial, Captain Schettino blamed the shipwreck on Helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin, who he claimed reacted incorrectly to his order; and argued that if the helmsman had reacted correctly and quickly, the ship wouldn’t have wrecked. However, an Italian naval admiral testified in court that even though the helmsman was late in executing the captain’s orders, “the crash would’ve happened anyway.” (The helmsman was one of the four crew members convicted in court for contributing to the disaster.)

A Questionable Evacuation

Evidence introduced in Schettino’s trial suggests that the safety of his passengers and crew wasn’t his number one priority as he assessed the damage to the Concordia. The impact and water leakage caused an electrical blackout on the ship, and a recorded phone call with Costa Crociere’s crisis coordinator, Roberto Ferrarini, shows he tried to downplay and cover up his actions by saying the blackout was what actually caused the accident.

“I have made a mess and practically the whole ship is flooding,” Schettino told Ferrarini while the ship was sinking. “What should I say to the media?… To the port authorities I have said that we had…a blackout.” (Ferrarini was later convicted for contributing to the disaster by delaying rescue operations.)

Schettino also didn’t immediately alert the Italian Search and Rescue Authority about the accident. The impact on the Scole Rocks occurred at about 9:45 p.m. local time, and the first person to contact rescue officials about the ship was someone on the shore, according to the investigative report. Search and Rescue contacted the ship a few minutes after 10:00 p.m., but Schettino didn’t tell them what had happened for about 20 more minutes.

A little more than an hour after impact, the crew began to evacuate the ship. But the report noted that some passengers testified that they didn’t hear the alarm to proceed to the lifeboats. Evacuation was made even more chaotic by the ship listing so far to starboard, making walking inside very difficult and lowering the lifeboats on one side, near to impossible. Making things worse, the crew had dropped the anchor incorrectly, causing the ship to flop over even more dramatically.

Through the confusion, the captain somehow made it into a lifeboat before everyone else had made it off. A coast guard member angrily told him on the phone to “Get back on board, damn it!” —a recorded sound bite that turned into a T-shirt slogan in Italy.

Schettino argued that he fell into a lifeboat because of how the ship was listing to one side, but this argument proved unconvincing. In 2015, a court found Schettino guilty of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, abandoning ship before passengers and crew were evacuated and lying to authorities about the disaster. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. In addition to Schettino, Ferrarini and Rusli Bin, the other people who received convictions for their role in the disaster were Cabin Service Director Manrico Giampedroni, First Officer Ciro Ambrosio and Third Officer Silvia Coronica.

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The 8 Worst Cruise Ship Disasters

Somali pirates, icebergs, and coral reefs have ruined many would-be vacations.

Gregorio Borgia | AP

Carnival Triumph:  What was supposed to be a four-day jaunt to the Caribbean became an eight-day nightmare when an engine fire left the ship floating in the Gulf of Mexico without power, air-conditioning, or a working septic system.

[ RELATED: Cruise From Hell Set to Limp Ashore Tonight ]

Carnival Splendor:  Carnival's Splendor suffered a similar fate as Carnival's Triumph in November 2011. Both were stranded by engine fires, though the Splendor was left floating in the Pacific Ocean. After three days the Splendor and its 4,500 passengers were towed back to the San Diego Bay.

Costa Concordia:  This Italian cruise ship ran aground on a reef off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, in January 2012 and toppled onto its side. Of the 4,200 aboard, 32 died and 64 were injured, according to the Associated Press . The half-submerged ship is still being removed.

[ PHOTOS: Costa Concordia Disaster: One Year Later ]

Seabourn Spirits:  In 2005, while 100 miles off the coast of Somalia, pirates in speedboats attacked the small cruise ship. The pirates fired on it with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades before the captain changed course and got away. None of the ship's 300 passengers were hurt, and the ship made it to the Seychelles where the rocket damage was repaired.

Celebrity Mercury:  More than 400 of the 2,600 passengers and crew onboard the Mercury were stricken ill in 2010 in what the Centers for Disease control deemed a norovirus outbreak . The virus caused widespread vomiting and other gastrointestinal ills on the ship, which left from Charleston, S.C.

Norwegian Dawn:  At least 62 cabins were flooded when a 70-foot wave smashed into the Dawn, in 2005. About 300 of the ship's passengers disembarked early, in Charleston, after the storm had passed.

S.S. Eastland:  In 1915, just three years after the Titanic sank, the S.S. Eastland passenger tour ship rolled over while in port in downtown Chicago. More than 840 of its 2,500 passengers died in the accident.

RMS Titanic:  The original cruise ship disaster, the "unsinkable ship" struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912 and sank into the icy water, killing more than 1,500 of its 2,200 passengers and crew.

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The world’s worst cruise ship disasters

Tragedies aboard cruise ships live on in infamy as the sinking of RMS Titanic, the biggest cruise disaster in history, bears witness. Ship-technology.com lists the worst ever cruise ship disasters.

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The World’s Deadliest Cruise Ship Disasters

Rms titanic.

The sinking of RMS Titanic in April 1912 remains the worst, and the most infamous, cruise ship disaster in history. The sinking of the biggest passenger ship ever built at the time resulted in the death of more than 1,500 of the 2,208 people onboard.

The accident occurred when the ship hit an iceberg while cruising at its maximum speed of 23k on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The massive loss of life in the North Atlantic Ocean resulted mainly from hypothermia.

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RMS Titanic was the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by White Star Line. It was constructed by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast in three years and was designed by the naval architect Thomas Andrews.

RMS Titanic measured 269.11m in length, 28.042m in breadth, had a gross tonnage of 46,328t and comprised nine decks. The cruise ship was equipped with 20 lifeboats for 1,178 people.

The steamship’s three propellers were driven by two four-cylinder, triple-expansion, inverted reciprocating steam engines and one four-blade low-pressure Parsons turbine.

RMS Lusitania

The sinking of RMS Lusitania in May 1915, after being hit by the German military submarine U-20, caused 1,201 deaths during a voyage from New York to Liverpool. She was considered the largest, fastest and most luxurious ship in the world at the time of her launch in June 1906.

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The Lusitania disaster resulted in the death of many Americans and became one of the major reasons behind the US entering World War I.

The German submarine targeted the submarine as a naval ship, as it was also carrying war weapons for the British.

RMS Lusitania was built by John Brown and Co. of Scotland and completed its maiden voyage in September 1907. The steamship was owned and operated by Cunard Company; a rival of White Star Line, which owned the Titanic.

RMS Lusitania had an overall length of 239.8m, beam of 26.7m, draft of 10.2m, depth of 18.4m, gross tonnage of 31,550t and ten decks. It was designed to accmmodate 2,165 passengers and 827 crew members. It was equipped with four 375kW generator sets and possessed a service speed of 25k and a maximum speed of 26.35k.

RMS Empress of Ireland

RMS Empress of Ireland, which sank in the Saint Lawrence River in May 1914, claimed the lives of 1,012 people out of the 1,477 people onboard. It was the second major cruise ship disaster after the Titanic disaster. The Ocean Liner operated on the North Atlantic route between Quebec and Liverpool in England.

The passenger steamship collided with the 6,000t Norwegian collier, the Storstad, following a thick fog which engulfed the river. Just five of the 42 lifeboats could be launched into the water due to the listing of the vessel on her starboard side. The accident was aggravated by the cold conditions, failure to close the ship’s watertight doors and failure to close all portholes aboard.

RMS Empress of Ireland was owned by Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. It was designed by Francis Elgar and built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering. The ocean liner was launched in January 1906 and completed her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Montreal in June 1906.

The cruise ship was 168m long, its beam measured 20m and gross tonnage was 14,191t. The ship was equipped with two steam engines and two quadruple expansion propellers, which provided a maximum operating speed of 20k.

MS Estonia, formerly known as Viking Sally, Silja Star and Wasa King during different periods from 1980 to 1993, sank in September 1994 during its voyage from Tallinn to Stockholm, resulting in 852 deaths, while 137 people were saved through rescue operations.

The cruise ferry accident was caused by rough sea conditions in the Baltic Sea, when wind speeds ranged from 35mph to 45mph. The bad sea conditions forced the ship to initially list on the starboard side and later sink completely.

The ferry was constructed by Meyer Werft at its shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, in 1980. The ferry, initially named Viking Sally, was delivered in June 1980 to its first owner Rederi Ab Sally. The vessel was operated by EstLine from 1993 to 1994.

MS Estonia measured 155.43m in length, 24.21m in breadth, had a draught of 5.55m, a gross tonnage of 15,598t and featured nine decks and ten lifeboats. The vessel was equipped with four 4,400kW diesel engines connected to two propeller shafts, and had an operational speed of 21k. The cruise ferry had capacity to accommodate 2,000 passengers and 460 cars.

SS Eastland

The SS Eastland disaster in July 1915 claimed more than 844 lives out of the 2,500 people onboard. The disaster occurred when the ship listed while being still tied to a dock in the Chicago River during preparations to cruise to Michigan City.

The probable causes of the disaster are believed to be the flaws in its design and construction, inadequacy of its ballast tanks and overloading. The accident occurred when the passengers embarked the ship. The ship initially listed to the starboard side and further to portside, throwing off passengers and trapping some in the interior cabins.

SS Eastland was owned by Michigan Transportation Company and operated by Chicago-South Haven Line. It was constructed by Jenks Ship Building Company, which specialised in constructing freighters but had no prior experience in construction of passenger vessels. The vessel was launched in May 1903.

The cruise ship had an overall length of 275m, width of 38m and gross tonnage of 1,961t. It was equipped with two triple expansion steam engines, four scotch boilers and two shafts. The vessel was designed for a top speed of 16.5k. It was equipped with 11 life boats and 37 life rafts.

Saint-Philibert Cruise Ship

Saint-Philibert was a twin screw-propelled small cruise ship that met with disaster in June 1931 resulting in the loss of about 500 lives, sparing just eight passengers while on its homeward run on the Loire Estuary in France.

The disaster was induced by harsh storms driving the passengers to take shelter behind the machinery casings, which caused the ship to list over. It was further struck by a wave causing her to sink. The ship, which carried approximately 500 people during the voyage, exceeded the normal carrying capacity by about 80%.

The inadequacy of the ship’s speed to face such waves, lack of coverings for shelter and absence of communication equipment further aggravated the situation. Besides, the captain and crew were considered unqualified.

Saint-Philibert cruise ship measured 32m in length and 6.4m in breadth, and had a draft of 2.74m and gross tonnage of 189t.

SS Admiral Nakhimov

The SS Admiral Nakhimov disaster in August 1986 resulted in the death of 423 people, mostly Ukranians, out of the 1,234 people onboard. The accident occurred in the Tsemes Bay near the port of Novorossiysk enroute Sochi.

The cruise ship collided with the large bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev at a speed of five knots, causing it to sink within a few minutes. The accident was caused by negligence of the captains of the two ships. The captain of Pyotr Vasev failed to heed the warning announced from SS Admiral Nakhimov, while the captain of Admiral Nakhimov was absent on the bridge at the time of the tragedy.

The passenger liner was originally named SS Berlin III and operated on the Crimean-Caucasian line. It was owned by Norddeutscher Lloyd and constructed by Bremer Vulkan.

SS Admiral Nakhimov had an overall length of 174m, beam of 21.02m and gross tonnage of 17,053t. It had a capacity to accommodate 1,125 passengers and 354 crew, and a cruise speed of 16k.

Aleksandr Suvorov

Aleksandr Suvorov, a river cruise ship of the Valerian Kuybyshev-class, met with disaster in June 1983 resulting in the death of 176 people out of the 415 people onboard, while cruising on the Volga-Don basin in Russia. The blame for the accident was placed on the captain who failed to prevent the accident and had not provided a proper order.

Just prior to the accident, an auction to be held at the cinema hall was announced, leading the passengers to the upper deck of the ship. The ship, which was cruising at a speed of about 13.5k at the time, crashed onto a bridge, failing to pass through the second span of the bridge. A freight train passing through the bridge was also affected by the crash, causing some cars to derail and fall on the ship.

Volga-Don Shipping Company was the operator of the ship at the time. Slovenské Lodenice constructed the vessel in Komárno, Czechoslovakia. The ship was restored after the accident and is currently operated by Vodohod.

Aleksander Suvorov has an overall length of 135.75m and width of 16.8m, and is comprised of four decks. It can accommodate 400 passengers and 83 crew, and runs on a 6CHRN36/45 (EG70 -5) diesel engine.

SS Morro Castle

The SS Morro Castle disaster in September 1934 resulted in the loss of more than 137 passengers and crew out of the 318 passengers and 240 crew onboard. The cruise ship was on its 174th return voyage to New York City from Havana.

The disaster was caused by a fire, which emanated from the cruise ship’s library and engulfed the entire ship. The fire was worsened by bad weather, inadequate crew and the ship’s design, which incorporated easily flammable interior materials. Just 12 lifeboats were launched out of the many lifeboats capable of rescuing 408 people.

The ship was owned by Agwi Navigation Co. and operated by Ward Line. It was constructed in 1930 at a cost of approximately $5m by Newport News Shipbuilding. The vessel completed her maiden voyage in August 1930 and served Ward Line along with its sister vessel SS Oriente for four years.

SS Morro Castle was 155m long, 21.6m wide and 11.9m deep, and had a capacity to carry 489 passengers and 240 crew. The steam turbo-electric liner was propelled by two turbines and sailed at a speed of 20k.

SS Andrea Doria

The SS Andrea Doria collided with the eastbound Swedish passenger liner Stockholm due to poor visibility caused by a thick fog. The disaster took place in July 1956 near the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, while cruising towards New York City resulting in the death of 52 people, while 1,660 people were rescued.

It is considered the world’s first major radar-assisted collision at sea, as the cause of the accident is assumed to be from the misreading of the radar. It was struck just aft and below the starboard bridge, and sank after 11 hours.

The ocean liner was owned by Italian Line and constructed by Ansaldo Shipyards of Genoa, Italy, at a cost of approximately $30m. It was launched in June 1951 and set out on its maiden voyage in January 1953.

SS Andrea Doria measured 212m in length, had a beam of 27m and a gross tonnage of 29,100t. It featured ten decks and was equipped with two steam turbines providing a top speed of 23k.

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'We all suffer from PTSD': 10 years after the Costa Concordia cruise disaster, memories remain

GIGLIO, Italy — Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds.

The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull. The blackout after the ship's engine room flooded and its generators failed. The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland.

Italy on Thursday is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration that will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment the ship hit the reef: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. The events will honor the 32 people who died that night, the 4,200 survivors, but also the residents of Giglio, who took in passengers and crew and then lived with the Concordia's wrecked carcass off their shore for another two years until it was righted and hauled away for scrap.

► CDC travel guidance: CDC warns 'avoid cruise travel' after more than 5,000 COVID cases in two weeks amid omicron

“For us islanders, when we remember some event, we always refer to whether it was before or after the Concordia,” said Matteo Coppa, who was 23 and fishing on the jetty when the darkened Concordia listed toward shore and then collapsed onto its side in the water.

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats.

The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month  warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection.

► 'We found out while we were flying': Last-minute cruise cancellations leave travelers scrambling

► 'The Disney magic is gone' ... or is it?: Longtime fans weigh in on changes at Disney World

'We all suffer from PTSD'

For Concordia survivor Georgia Ananias, the COVID-19 infections are just the latest evidence that passenger safety still isn’t a top priority for the cruise ship industry. Passengers aboard the Concordia were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat after the captain steered the ship close too shore in a stunt. He then delayed an evacuation order until it was too late, with lifeboats unable to lower because the ship was listing too heavily.

“I always said this will not define me, but you have no choice," Ananias said in an interview from her home in Los Angeles, Calif. “We all suffer from PTSD. We had a lot of guilt that we survived and 32 other people died.”

Prosecutors blamed the delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all the passengers and crew had evacuated.

Ananias and her family declined Costa’s initial $14,500 compensation offered to each passenger and sued Costa, a unit of U.S.-based Carnival Corp., to try to cover the cost of their medical bills and therapy for the post-traumatic stress they have suffered. But after eight years in the U.S. and then Italian court system, they lost their case.

“I think people need to be aware that when you go on a cruise, that if there is a problem, you will not have the justice that you may be used to in the country in which you are living,” said Ananias, who went onto become a top official in the International Cruise Victims association, an advocacy group that lobbies to improve safety aboard ships and increase transparency and accountability in the industry.

Costa didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on the anniversary.

► Royal Caribbean cancels sailings: Pushes back restart on several ships over COVID

'We did something incredible'

Cruise Lines International Association, the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, stressed in a statement to The Associated Press that passenger and crew safety was the industry's top priority, and that cruising remains one of the safest vacation experiences available.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victims of the Concordia tragedy and their families on this sad anniversary," CLIA said. It said it has worked over the past 10 years with the International Maritime Organization and the maritime industry to “drive a safety culture that is based on continuous improvement."

For Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli, the memories of that night run the gamut: the horror of seeing the capsized ship, the scramble to coordinate rescue services on shore, the recovery of the first bodies and then the pride that islanders rose to the occasion to tend to the survivors.

► Cruising during COVID-19: Cancellation, refund policies vary by cruise line

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 1,000-foot long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the night of the disaster, a Friday the 13th, remains seared in his memory.

“It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

It seemed the natural thing to do at the time. “But then we realized that on that night, in just a few hours, we did something incredible.”

10 years later, Costa Concordia disaster is still vivid for survivors

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Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio . But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds.

The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull. The blackout after the ship’s engine room flooded and its generators failed. The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland.

Italy on Thursday is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration that will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment the ship hit the reef: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. The events will honor the 32 people who died that night, the 4,200 survivors, but also the residents of Giglio, who took in passengers and crew and then lived with the Concordia’s wrecked carcass off their shore for another two years until it was righted and hauled away for scrap.

“For us islanders, when we remember some event, we always refer to whether it was before or after the Concordia,” said Matteo Coppa, who was 23 and fishing on the jetty when the darkened Concordia listed toward shore and then collapsed onto its side in the water.

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats.

The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises , regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection.

A dozen passengers on cruise ship test positive for coronavirus

The passengers, whose infections were found through random testing, were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, according to the Port of San Francisco.

Jan. 7, 2022

For Concordia survivor Georgia Ananias, the COVID-19 infections are just the latest evidence that passenger safety still isn’t a top priority for the cruise ship industry. Passengers aboard the Concordia were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat after the captain steered the ship close too shore in a stunt. He then delayed an evacuation order until it was too late, with lifeboats unable to lower because the ship was listing too heavily.

“I always said this will not define me, but you have no choice,” Ananias said in an interview from her home in Los Angeles. “We all suffer from PTSD. We had a lot of guilt that we survived and 32 other people died.”

Prosecutors blamed the delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all the passengers and crew had evacuated.

Ananias and her family declined Costa’s initial $14,500 compensation offered to each passenger and sued Costa, a unit of U.S.-based Carnival Corp., to try to cover the cost of their medical bills and therapy for the post-traumatic stress they have suffered. But after eight years in the U.S. and then Italian court system, they lost their case.

“I think people need to be aware that when you go on a cruise, that if there is a problem, you will not have the justice that you may be used to in the country in which you are living,” said Ananias, who went onto become a top official in the International Cruise Victims association, an advocacy group that lobbies to improve safety aboard ships and increase transparency and accountability in the industry.

Costa didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on the anniversary.

Cruise Lines International Assn., the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, stressed in a statement to the Associated Press that passenger and crew safety were the industry’s top priority, and that cruising remains one of the safest vacation experiences available.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victims of the Concordia tragedy and their families on this sad anniversary,” CLIA said. It said it has worked over the past 10 years with the International Maritime Organization and the maritime industry to “drive a safety culture that is based on continuous improvement.”

For Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli, the memories of that night run the gamut: the horror of seeing the capsized ship, the scramble to coordinate rescue services on shore, the recovery of the first bodies and then the pride that islanders rose to the occasion to tend to the survivors.

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 1,000-foot long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the night of the disaster, a Friday the 13th, remains seared in his memory.

“It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

It seemed the natural thing to do at the time. “But then we realized that on that night, in just a few hours, we did something incredible.”

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Cruise Ship Accidents

CruiseMapper's cruise ship accidents project follows our CruiseMinus project for reports and news/updates on major passenger vessel accidents, cruise line incidents and various types of incidents on passenger ships.

Our accidents and incidents reports provide statistical data on negative ("cruise minus") experiences during unfortunate events at sea and ashore. Here you will find detailed reports on cruise ship disasters (sinking, groundings, collisions, allisions, listing, fires), mechanical / technical issues, sea pollution, Norovirus-Coronavirus and other illness outbreaks .

CruiseMapper's reports also include cases of crew and passenger deaths, injuries (overboards, missing people, drownings, suicides), crimes (murders, sexual abuse, violence/assaults), cruise law news (individually filed lawsuits, class action cases, scandals, social media campaigns, etc).

If you don't search for events on a particular vessel (via the search box above), the following link jumps down directly to our list of sea-going passenger ships with accident-incident reports.

Cruise Minus

While the "Cruise Minus" website used to report events only on cruise liners, CruiseMapper has reports also on cruiseferries (largest Ro-Ro ships with passenger cabins) and riverboats .

As soon as something wrong happens on a particular passenger ship, we add a report regarding the accident / incident at the vessel's dedicated accident page. This way, CruiseMapper provides you with an unofficial cruise ship accident database of "bad cruise" (minus) events at sea and on shore (during port stays, private or group excursions and tours).

Despite everything you read here about dangers on cruise ships, remember to stay positive and don't be afraid of cruising. Unarguably, ship cruises are among travel industry's top 5 "best value for money" vacation options. And remember that even cheapest cruise deals are almost all-inclusive. Your ticket price includes accommodation, all meals (almost 24 hour available), room-service (on most companies), live entertainment, swimming pools and jacuzzies, not to forget exciting itineraries with plenty of ports.

Most statistical data regarding passenger ship accidents and cruise incidents is based on official reports published online by United States Coast Guard (USCG.mil). Other sources are online news media and local police reports. Statistics for cruise illness outbreaks are based on official reports published online by the US agency "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" (CDC.gov). Our cruise ship tracking service is sponsored by VesselFinder.com.

• USCG department is a branch of US Armed Forces. It provides maritime service to both military and commercial/civilian vessels in distress at sea. The department provides maritime law enforcement service, and has jurisdiction in both US and international waters.
• CDC is USA's national public health institute, and federal agency under the umbrella of US Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is headquartered in Georgia (DeKalb County, northeast of Atlanta GA).
• VesselFinder is a free AIS marine traffic tracker providing real-time ship tracking data and historic ship positions (vessel movement) worldwide.

US Coast Guard (USCG) medevacs

An average medevac (medical emergency evacuation) of cruise ship passenger / crew conducted by the USCG cost around USD 30,000. The cost depends on the distance between vessel and nearest Coast Guard Air Station. USCG medevacs are paid by the US taxpayers. No expenses are charged directly to cruise companies or passengers / crew.

During standard missions, the nearest USCG air station dispatches an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter (twin-engine, single-rotor search and rescue helicopter) to the cruise vessel. The helicopter usually lands on the ship's helipad (Heli Deck) or (on smaller ships) just hovers over its top deck. From there, the team airlifts / hoists the patient in a rescue basket. The patient could be accompanied by a relative (spouse), and in more serious cases - by a crew nurse. Then it transports them to the nearest land-based medical facility.

Usually, such maritime rescue operations also include a Lockheed HC-130 Hercules (military transport aircraft) that supports communications coverage. Statistical data show that an average "cruise ship overboard" search and rescue operation conducted by the USCG could cost easily USD 0,5 million, and even reach USD 1 million.

What is the difference between cruise incident and accident?

"Accident" implies a negative association. Accidents usually result in major damages, serious injuries or even loss of life. The word is synonymous to mishap, unforeseen/unplanned bad event or circumstance with a negative outcome. For the argument sake, some use "accident" in a positive manner, when describing something bad that happened which lead to good things after all. Accidental love comes to mind.

Since "incident" can refer to anything bad or wrong that can happen, it could be both positive and negative as experience. "Incident" is used to describe feature events, usually with some adjective before the word explaining the incident type. These two words are majorly different, but often confused and interchangeably used. However, not so many among the cruise incidents can be termed "accidents". In most cases, these are simply unfortunate events (without Jim Carrey, of course).

Types of incidents and accidents on cruise ships

Cruise ship accidents and incidents can be classified as:

• disasters (sinking, grounding, capsizing, collision, allision, terrorist and pirate attacks, pollution, crashes and killings on land tours/shore excursions)
• mechanical (fire, propulsion issues, power loss) - often result in cruise cancellations.
• sickness / illness outbreaks (Norovirus/GastroIntestinal, Influenza, Legionellosis/aka "Legion Fever") - often result in delayed embarkation or itinerary changes.
• deaths (overboard jumps/missing passengers and crew members, drowning in ship pools, critical traumas, murder, suicide, Myocardial infarction/heart attack)
• injuries (rape, assault, battery, fractures by accidental falling/slipping)
• crimes (bomb threats, robbery, drug smuggling/possession, arrests for past fugitive warrants, theft, belligerent behavior and indecent exposure by intoxicated passengers)
• weather-related (heavy fogs, squalls, storms, hurricanes) - usually result in itinerary changes and ports of call delays.

NOTE: By "Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act" ( pdf ), all passenger shipping companies are required by law to report to FBI any criminal activity against US citizens. Reports are mandatory, even on incidents at sea, during which the vessels were in international waters. The act became a law in 2010, when was signed by Barack Obama. The most common accidents on cruise ships are caused by:

• rogue waves (may reach height of up to 100 ft / 30 m)
• Hurricanes and squalls /heavy storms at sea (10 such events per season on average)
• ship fires (a total of 72 onboard fire incidents happened between 1990-2011)
• collisions (6 cruise vessels sunk hitting the sea bottom /rocks and reefs) or icebergs between 1990-2012, the most notorious accident being on Costa Concordia .
• allisions - when the vessel strikes a fixed object (such as pier.wharf, rocks, buoy, etc), usually happen during docking/undocking maneuvers.
• Norovirus illness (an average of 15 virus outbreaks on cruise ships happen per year).

Statistical data about cruise ship overboard accidents show that the average overboard passenger age is 41 yo. Most overboards involve males and happen on voyage's last night. Most overboard passengers are either drunk, on drugs or engaged in tomfoolery (climbing between staterooms, playing on railings). The surviving rate is nearly 22% (1 in 5). The longest time an overboard cruise passenger managed to survive (found alive and recovered) was 18 hours.

When a passenger or crew disappears (officially is reported missing) while the vessel is at sea, the cruise company has the duty to conduct an onboard search immediately upon learning about it. If the person is not found on board, then the ship reports the incident to USCG and FBI and starts a search and rescue operation. The ship returns to the last location at sea when the victim was last seen. This location is often subject to adjusting for weather and sea conditions. The company's failure to perform a search and rescue operation can render it liable for the person's disappearance.

According to CLIA, 90% of all commercial vessels calling on US ports are foreign-flagged. Common cruise ship flag-states are Bahamas, Panama, Bermuda, Malta, Italy, Holland. When a person on the vessel's manifest disappears, an official report must be sent to the flag country.

Among the common factors contributing to cruise ship overboards are Inadequate security staff and CCTV surveillance, failures to monitor onboard CCTV camera footage, overserving alcohol to passengers on the ship, criminal activities (homicides, violent assaults), overboard jumps as suicides (due to loneliness, depression, terminal illness, marital problems, etc).

Shore excursion accidents and incidents

When cruise ship passengers suffer injuries while on land tours/excursions, the resulting litigations are some of the most complex maritime injury cases. They are unique and complicated as incidents which occur in foreign countries and involve foreign tour operators.

Cruise companies often argue that tour operators are wholly independent and, as such, they have no legal responsibility to disembarked passengers. However, it is often apparent that tour operators are either cruise line agents or joint ventures with the companies. Cruise ship companies earn large profits from tours and excursions, and often they control nearly every aspect of the contract-based relationship with the tour company.

When a shore excursion incident occurs to a passenger, the cruise line usually rejects blame and attempts to force him/her to seek recovery against the tour operator. However, experienced maritime lawyers can successfully battle such legal deceits, establish jurisdiction over the tour company, prove the cruise line's and tour company's negligence.

Cruise ship injury lawyers can uncover contacts between foreign tour companies and the USA in order to establish Court's jurisdiction over foreign tour providers. Cruise lawyers can pinpoint where the cruise ship line failed to provide safety and welfare of its customers.

Cruise passenger accident claims

The 4 biggest ever mistakes a passenger can possibly make are:

• Failing to read and understand the terms and conditions of the cruise ticket contract. Given to all passengers before they embark on a voyage, the cruise ticket contract contains all the limitations against the cruise line company and the specific terms for filing an injury claim.
• Failing to report the cruise incident (injury, crime) immediately after it occurred. In order to receive compensation, a victim on board the cruise vessel should act immediately to report the incident, collect witnesses' testimonies, and document about the claim.
• Settling for less. After being injured, a cruise passenger is likely to be shortchanged by the cruise line company, that will want to settle the claim by offering cheap gifts (like vouchers, for example).
• Not seeking proper medical care. Most passengers visit the ship's Infirmary (medical facility) after being injured but fail to follow up with their doctors once they get home. For a positive outcome regarding the claim, it is important to document the injuries as much as possible.

Know, that maritime law is often confusing even to experts. Get in touch with an experienced attorney specialized in cruise ship accident claims to help you avoid these common mistakes and receive the compensation you're entitled to.

What victims of incidents/crimes on cruise ships should do?

On the boat, a variety of cruise line employees (butlers, stewards, cleaning staff, security) have access to passenger staterooms. Onboard crimes are not uncommon. Victims of cruise crimes/incidents should take the following steps:

• Immediately report the incident to the ship's security department (in writing).
• Document who you reported it to, when, who was with you.
• Obtain a copy of your report.
• Take photos of the crime scene - if possible, before it changes. Even if it has changed, take photos.
• Write down names, addresses and phone numbers of all persons who were witnesses to the incident.
• If you're injured, visit the onboard doctor/infirmary for treatment.
• If necessary, visit a land-based hospital at the next call port.
• Contact an experienced maritime lawyer as soon as possible.

Cruise ship disasters

Synonymous to "misfortune" and "catastrophe", "cruise disaster" implies an event causing major destruction (ship crash, sinking, wreckage, manslaughter) and widespread distress.

The worst among all disastrous events at sea are:

• RMS Titanic sinking (1500 drowned /year 1912)
• SS Eastland tipping over in Chicago (800 drowned /year 1915)
• MS Eastern Star (China-Yangtze River cruise ship) hit by a cyclone, capsized and overturned (442 dead or missing /year 2015 June)
• MS Aleksandr Suvorov (Russia-Volga River cruise ship) crashed into a railway bridge girder, still in service (177 killed /year 1983)
• TSMS Lakonia caught fire and sank near Madeira island Portugal (128 drowned /year 1963)
• MS Bulgaria (Russia-Volga River cruise ship) sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir in Tatarstan, Russia (122 drowned /year 2011)
• Concorde plane crash accident - a French aircraft with 100x Peter Deilmann cruise passengers (booked on MS Deutschland ) crashed on takeoff from Paris France, leaving no survivors.
• The ocean liner SS Andrea Doria was rammed by MS Stockholm (now Astoria) on July 25, 1956. A total of 46 people were killed in the collision. The liner capsized and sank on July 26.
• Costa Concordia sinking - hit a rock, capsized, sank near Giglio island Italy (32 drowned /year 2012)
• The terrorist attack on cruise passengers in Tunisia (22 killed /year 2015)
• MS Westerdam passengers were killed in an Alaskan plane crash accident (9 killed /year 2015).
• (statistics) In the period 1979-2013, a total of 55 cruise ships sank, of which 15 in the period 2010-2013.
• (statistics) In the period 1979-2013, a total of 106 cruise ship collisions were reported, of which 79 between 2005-2013.
• (statistics) In the period 1990-2013, a total of 139 cruise ship fires were reported, of which 101 between 2005-2013.

Ship grounding accidents

Ship grounding is a marine accident in which the vessel impacts on the seabed. When the grounding is severe, it applies extreme loads upon the ship's whole structure. In less severe incidents, running aground results in stranding and minor hull damages. Serious ship groundings (like Costa Concordia ) result in hull breaches (water ingress), oil spills, even total loss of the ship and human casualties.

• Worldwide statistics show ship groundings are ~1/3 of all commercial marine shipping accidents and are second in frequency (after ship collisions).
• (statistics) In the period 1972-2013, a total of 131 passenger ships ran aground, of which 66 in the period 2005-2013.

Cruise ship pollution at sea

On April 22, 2016, "International Maritime Organization" (IMO) officially banned cruise ships and ferries from dumping their untreated wastewater into Baltic Sea. The ban will be enforced in 2019 (for new vessels, built after 2010) and in 2021 (for older ships). The ban will chiefly affect larger ships cruising in the Gulf of Finland during summer. The measure makes Baltic Sea the world's first open sea region banning the passenger ships' sewage-dumping practice. Statistics show that 300+ international cruise vessels call at Helsinki port every year.

In December 2016, Princess Cruises pleaded guilty to 7 felony charges for sea pollution. The Carnival Corporation-owned company agreed to pay USD 40 million criminal penalties. The payment was the largest-ever that involved deliberate pollution by a marine vessel at sea. Caribbean Princess (together with the fleetmates Coral, Grand, Golden, Star) were dumping wastewater on a regular basis, covering up this practice.

These cruise ships used a "magic pipe" to bypass their usual equipment and illegally discharged large quantities of oily waste into open sea and ocean waters. The practice was reported by a ship engineer on Caribbean Princess in August 2013. Then the ship's chief and senior first engineers tried to cover it up by removing the "magic pipe" and ordering their subordinates to lie to the UK authorities when they boarded the ship for inspection in Southampton. The following month, upon arrival in NYC, USCG investigators examined the Caribbean Princess ship and eventually determined that it had been discharging waste since 2005. Other illegal practices were also discovered, among which allowing saltwater in to prevent the system's alarms when too much waste was being discharged, and also preventing the bilge alarm during bilge water discharge when the engine room's storage tanks were overflowed.

As part of the plea agreement, vessels from 8 Carnival Corporation companies (a total of 78 vessels) will operate for 5 years under a supervised "environmental compliance plan" requiring regular independent audits. Of the USD 40 million criminal penalties paid, USD 10 million went toward projects benefiting the marine environment.

Note: In the table below, all ship pollution-related incidents are marked as "sea pollution". Most of the official reports are for the region of Alaska issued by USCG and also by port authorities.

Cruise crime reports and statistics

A huge part of all listed below incidents reports and news are related to crimes done on cruise ships. Among those are murders, sexual assaults, criminal batteries, robberies. However, the most violent crimes on cruises are done ashore. A 2008 poll reports 10% of cruise passengers were affected by some sort of crime. In the period 2002-2007, FBI prosecuted only a quarter of all reported crimes, of which:

• 55% were sexual assaults
• 22% were physical assaults
• 7% were homicides
• 5% were about missing persons.

Fact is, that most of the cruise crime incidents remain unreported. The following statistics are related to cruise ship crime rates based on FBI-collected data:

• (on average per year) 50 cases of crime at sea are opened/investigated by the FBI.
• In the period 2002-2007, 46% of all cruise crime cases involved members of the crew.
• In the period 2012-2014, a total of 74 rapes on cruise ships and a total of 29 assault crime cases involving serious body injuries were officially reported.
• Fact is that in only 1 year period (Oct 2007 through Oct 2008), the FBI received from Carnival Cruise Lines alone a total of 93 reports on sex-related crimes on cruise ships. In a significant proportion of those incidents, victims were minors.

Today, one of the world's top dangerous travel destinations is Nassau Bahamas (on New Providence Island). The country's capital city has one of the highest murder rates - over 30 per 100,000. For comparison, the US rate is ~4,5 per 100,000. City's young men jobless rate is also record-high (19,5% as of 2015). There are numerous crime reports about cruise passengers on shore excursions being robbed, raped, killed. In 2015, Nassau's tourist murder rate reached a record high. The USA issued far more Bahamas travel warnings than any other country. Nassau's image today is synonymous with violent crime, ineffective law enforcement, non-functioning legal system.

• All NCL ships in the Caribbean changed their 2010-2011-2012 itineraries, skipping St Lucia . The line's decision followed the 3 attacks on cruise passengers ((armed robberies) in 2009, that occurred ashore during excursions on the island.
• In August 2015, Canada's and UK's travel advisory offices issued Bahamas travel warnings about the rising number of sexual assaults and armed robberies and break-ins (targeting foreign tourists), often with fatal results. Both reports state the most violent crimes occur in Nassau and Freeport (Grand Bahama Island).

Of similar color is the "aura" around the tourism image of Honduras. On Isla Roatan (Bay Islands), numerous passengers and crew members have suffered "bad cruise" experiences due to armed robberies and assaults. There are also too many cases of murders even near the ports of Mahogany Bay and Coxen Hole, where the cruise vessels dock.

• In March 2015, the US State Department issued its Honduras Travel Warning. While crime and violence are serious issues throughout Honduras, its Government lacks enough resources to effectively protect tourists, to investigate and prosecute. The local police lack enough vehicles and even fuel to properly respond and assist. Members of the police have been arrested, charged and convicted for criminal activities.
• The travel warning suggests while ashore, passengers to avoid wearing any jewelry (valuables in general), displaying cash or credit cards, walking at night, walking alone on beaches, car traveling with the windows up and the doors locked.

Another major "cruise crime" destination is Mexico. In April 2015, the US State Department issued its Mexico Travel Warning. Due to threats to passenger safety posed by organized crime, there are risks of traveling to certain Mexican destinations. Among those are Baja California ( Ensenada ), Colima (Manzanillo), Sinaloa ( Mazatlan ), Guerrero ( Acapulco , Ixtapa ), Jalisco ( Puerto Vallarta ), Quintana Roo ( Cozumel , Cancun, Playa del Carmen ) and Yucatan (Merida, Chichen Itza). Most of the reported incidents are related to rapes, robberies and kidnappings. The number of US citizens murdered in Mexico was 100 in 2014.

Another major crime issue is drug trafficking. There are unofficial statements that cruise ships are used on "regular basis" for smuggling cocaine and marijuana, in amounts between 3-30 kg. Most drug smuggling incidents are reported on Transatlantic repositioning cruise ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean between South America and Europe (Italy). Another "favorable" drug smuggle destination is Western Caribbean (roundtrips from Florida), with stops in Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, from where drugs are smuggled into the US.

The improved cruise crime report policy is a direct result of the efforts of the nonprofit organization ICV ("International Cruise Victims Association") working with US Congress. Since 2016, cruise lines are required by law to report all crimes to USA's Department of Transportation. Cruise Line Incident Reports are officially issued by the US Department of Transportation. As result, the number of reported sexual assaults in 2016 jumped nearly 5 times (485%, 63 reports) over 2015 (13 reports). Total reported cruise ship crimes jumped over 3 times (339%, 95 reports) over 2015 (28 reports). FBI started responding to shipboard sexual assaults more aggressively.

Cruise Ship Accident Reports and News

Below are listed almost all cruise ships, owned by major line companies. If the vessel's name is linked, it means it has a record in our database. So simply follow the corresponding links.

Due to the large number of ships per line, those of the largest company fleets are listed in separate tables. This also allows you to compare cruise line incidents by type and year of occurrence.

The list below could also include officially announced names of new vessels under construction .

Accidents on cruiseferries

Worldwide Ferry Safety Association's statistics show between 800-1000 people die in ferry boat accidents annually. Among the main factors that usually contribute to a ferry accident are:

• Mechanical/machinery failure
• Overloaded vessel (miscalculation in boat's total weight could result in capsizing)
• Improper routine maintenance
• Adverse weather conditions (gales, storms, rogue waves)
• Operating under the influence of intoxicating substances (alcohol, drugs, narcotics).

The list of the world's deadliest accidents on cruiseferries (passenger / RoPax vessels only) includes:

• Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 (1968-built) - sank in February 2006, deaths 1020
• Estonia (1980-built as Viking Sally) - capsized and sunk in September 1994, deaths 852
• Sewol (2014-built) - sank in April 2014, deaths 306
• Heraklion (1949-built) - sank in December 1966, deaths 200+
• Herald of Free Enterprise (1980-built) - capsized in March 1987, deaths 193
• Princess Victoria (1947-built) - sank in January 1953, deaths 133
• Express Samina (1966-built as Corse) - hit rocks off Paros island in September 2000, deaths 82
• Jan Heweliusz (1977-built) - capsized and sank in January 1993, deaths 55
• TEV Wahine (1966-built) - sank in a cyclone in 1968, deaths 52
• Norman Atlantic (2009-built) - fire in December 2014, deaths 9 (plus 19 missing)
• Euroferry Olympia (1995-built) - fire in February 2022, deaths 8 (plus 3 missing)

You can search CruiseMapper's accidents on ferries by typing "ferry" in the page's search box or by pressing "Ctrl + F" and type "ferry" in your browser's search box. By the second option, all ferries in the ship list below will be highlighted.

Most of the reported here accidents on ferries are fires, ship collisions (in port and at sea), dock allisions, running aground, power loss, overboard passengers.

Accidents on river cruise ships

Since the following list doesn't include riverboats (all vessels with MMSI-identification only / without IMO), next (in bullets) are listed CruiseMapper's river cruise ship accidents.

• (fires) Arosa Riva (2017), Queen of the West (2008), Crucestar (2012), Gerard Schmitter (2012)
• (bridge crashes) Arosa Mia (2014), River Duchess (2005), River Empress (2006), Viking Freya (2016), Swiss Crystal (2018)
• (canal/lock crashes) American Empress (2003 / as Empress of the North), Ocean Voyager (2015 / as MS Saint Laurent), Viking Forseti (2013)
• (ship collisions) - Viking Mani (2016), Travelmarvel Jewel (2009, 2011 / as Avalon Tranquility), Viking Bragi (2013)
• aground - American Empress/Empress of the North (2006), Serenissima (2013)
• propulsion/power loss - Avalon Panorama (2011), Viking Magni (2013), Louisiane (2016)

Our unique "cruise accidents" project also allows YOU - the crew or the cruise tourist - to participate and add your very own incident report here. You are most welcome to share with our numerous users your personal "cruise minus" experience by submitting comments and/or updates via CruiseMapper's contact form.

You can email us a detailed report, or simply share your thoughts on events at sea/ashore you know about or whatever cruising-related bothers you. The idea is much like that of a forum, but with one HUGE difference - you will not find topic discussions here. CruiseMapper's incident reports are all about your personal ship travel events (bad vacation experiences) and not about discussing them or arguing about them.

The reasons are simple. You have here the opportunity to read and post about cruise events at sea and ashore, and share facts that the big-money-making cruise line companies don't like - and want to forget. However, all major cruise forum sites are either owned or influenced (some even manipulated financially) by the lucrative cruising industry. Mocking the complainants in most cases discourages people with negative ("cruise minus") experiences to share or even comment there.

At CruiseMapper you are free to share and complain (even anonymously, if you like so) about a particular cruise vessel or onshore events. Unlike forum sites, at Cruise Mapper you will find no sympathy or compunction - but you will be heard. Once you submit your report/comment, it will be first checked for authenticity and moderated (cleaned, if needed) removing foul language, grammatical errors, etc.

If you are unfortunate to have your own negative cruise travel event, and it still bothers you - just let it out here, share it with the world and be done with it. Enjoy our cruise ship "yellow pages" - and remember to stay positive. Everything happens for a reason.

Note: The following list of cruise line accidents (per ship) includes only CruiseMapper's ocean-going vessels. For all other vessels (including riverboats ) use the search box at page top .

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Pictures: 5 Cruise Ship Disasters That Changed Travel

Some good may yet come of Italy's Costa Concordia wreck. At least since Titanic, cruise accidents have sparked new safety standards.

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Norwegian cruise ship loses ability to navigate after rogue wave hits

A Norwegian cruise ship lost the ability to navigate after a rogue wave crashed into it Thursday, the cruise company HX said.

The MS Maud lost power after the wave hit as the ship was sailing toward Tilbury, England, from Florø, Norway, HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, said in a statement.

None of the 266 passengers or 131 crew members were seriously injured, HX said.

"The situation is stable, the ship has propulsion and they are able to navigate the ship manually via emergency systems," the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said in a statement Friday local time.

The rogue wave shattered windows on the ship's bridge, which caused water to enter the vessel and resulted in a power outage, Reuters reported.

The ship was in the North Sea at the time, in an area hit by a storm late Thursday with hurricane-force gusts forecast to continue Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said according to Reuters.

One passenger posted a video on Facebook showing the view from her room's window Thursday with the cruise ship bobbing up and down and creaking in the throes of high waves. 

Because of a lack of navigational abilities, the ship had to be steered manually from the engine room, per the news agency.

Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said.

The ship, traveling under its own power, is currently sailing to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation, HX said in an updated statement Friday.

“Following ongoing safety checks and technical assessments, given the weather conditions, we decided to amend the planned sailing route. Across the fleet, there are thorough operational protocols in place and we always prioritize the safety of those onboard,” HX said.

"Our team are working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard," the statement added.

Irene Byon is a booking producer for NBC News.

Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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• Confidential Settlement – Death of infant from defective product
• Confidential settlement – medical malpractice (Brevard County, FL)
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10 Worst Cruise Ship Disasters in History

Cruises are a very popular way to vacation.   Because they are all-inclusive and travel to exciting and exotic places, they are the reasons why 23.63 million passengers each year decide to spend their vacations at sea.

But what happens when something goes wrong on a cruise?   Have there been tragedies at sea aboard cruise ships? 

The answer is yes, sometimes things go awry for vacationers on cruise ships.   These floating cities (average capacity of 3,000 guests but some are filled with 5,500) are likely to be at risk for many of the same things that travelers face on any trip…and more.  

Here are the 10 worst cruise ship disasters in history.

Costa Concordia : The Costa Concordia was a large cruise ship filled with 3,229 passengers when it ran aground on a reef off the coast of Italy in 2012.  

The 17-deck ship actually tipped over after it took on water.   In one of the most tragic accidents of its kind, 32 passengers were killed, 64 were injured, and one was missing and never found. In the costliest ship disaster in history, it took over a year and a half to bring the ship upright, after which it was taken to port and dismantled.

The accident was caused when the ship Captain Francesco Schettino decided to sail close to the shore to impress local residents.   The ship’s navigation system was disarmed when the ship struck rocks.   Then the captain committed the ultimate maritime sin: he abandoned ship while 300 passengers were still onboard. Capt. Schettino was convicted of manslaughter.

RMS Titanic: In probably the most famous cruise ship disaster of all time, this 1912 sinking has become legend, books and movies.

Originally touted as “unsinkable,” the ship proved quite sinkable on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.   In the early morning hours, the ship struck an iceberg in the frigid north Atlantic waters.

Too few lifeboats (only enough for 30% of the passengers) and an isolated position in freezing water resulted in the watery deaths of over 1,500 people.

The plight has been memorialized in such Hollywood films as Titanic, A Night to Remember , and The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

S.S. Eastland : Only three years after the Titanic tragedy, the S.S. Eastland rolled over on its side while still docked. At the time, the ship held Western Electric employees celebrating an event. The disaster resulted in 800 deaths.

Seabourn Spirit: In November 2005 this luxury cruise ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. Two boats of pirates neared the ship and fired machine guns and hand held rocket propelled grenades.

One crew member was injured by shrapnel.   The crew used evasive manoeuvres and a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a sonic device that blasts powerful sound waves, to stop the attack.   The ship has been renamed the Star Breeze.

MS Royal Pacific : In the early morning hours of August 23 1992, the Greek-owned cruise ship Royal Pacific was struck by a Taiwanese fishing trawler in the Straits of Malacca off southern Malaysia.

There were 530 passengers aboard of which 30 were killed and 70 injured.   Most passengers were asleep at the time of the collision. The casualties were compounded by a broken PA system and a crew that reportedly focused on saving themselves instead of passengers.

Star Princess : On March 23, 2006, the 3,100-passenger Star Princess was sailing from Fort Lauderdale toward Jamaica when at 3 a.m. a fire broke out on one of its decks.

A grand-class Princess Line cruise ship, Princess is owned by Carnival. Investigation revealed a cigarette left on the deck caused the fire, which took the life of one passenger from smoke inhalation and injured 13 others.

Carnival Triumph “poop cruise” : In 2013, a fire broke out in the engine room of the 2,700-passenger Carnival Triumph cruise ship.

This left the ship without power or propulsion for four days. This resulted in no air conditioning or working toilets for the passengers and crew. Human waste was piled in bags on the decks. After investigation, documents showed that the cruise line was aware that an engine fire was likely but continued to operate the ship.

Passengers described carpets soaked with more than two inches of raw sewage. It took four days for the Triumph to be towed from the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile, Alabama. Reports were that the human sewage problem was so bad that onlookers could smell the ship from the dock.

Celebrity Mercury : Celebrity Mercury, owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, was on a Caribbean cruise from Charleston, SC when in February 2010 413 passengers became ill with the Norovirus.

That’s nearly one out of every four passengers. The virus spreads quickly in confined spaces like cruise ships, and between 2010 and 2015 Celebrity Cruise ships experienced 15 of these outbreaks.

Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas : In January 2014 the Explorer of the Seas was forced to return to port two days early because so many passengers became violently ill, likely with Norovirus.

According to the CDC, it was the largest known number of people sick on a cruise: 630 passengers and 54 crew. Reports were that the numbers were probably higher since many passengers failed to report their illness for fear that they would be confined to their cabins.

SS Morro Castle:   Between 1930 and 1934, the SS Morro Castle was a ship that carried almost 500 passengers between Havana and New York. The attractiveness of the ship was that during Prohibition there were no limits to alcohol consumption on board.  

The ship was a regular “booze cruise.” But in September 1934 the ship was returning from Cuba to New York when everything seemed to go wrong. On September 7, the ship’s captain Robert Wilmott went to his cabin with what he thought was an upset stomach, but later died of a heart attack.

Chief officer William Warms took command and a few of hours later, around 3 a.m. on September 8, a fire started in one of the storage lockers. The crew failed to adequately address the blaze, which began to consume the vessel.

Many of the crew members abandoned the ship. Passengers were dazed and confused passengers in the wee hours in this smoke-filled ship. Some jumped from the deck to their death in the water. Rescuers lined up on the Jersey Shore to meet the lifeboats carrying passengers. Out of the 549 aboard the ship, 86 passengers and 49 crew were killed. 

The best way to protect yourself from the dangers of cruise ships is to pay attention to the risks.   To protect from Norovirus, the best protection is to wash your hands very often, use hand sanitizer, avoid buffets (use the dining room) and avoid crowded spaces. 

To increase your chances of surviving a fire or collision, pay careful attention to the muster drills that take place on every cruise, know where your life jackets are stored and where the nearest life boat is, and keep close watch of all family members.

Because tourists tend to drink more on cruise ships it is best to moderate alcohol use and watch out when others don’t. There are many instances of passengers going overboard or assaults taking place because of over-serving of booze.

Stay together on the ship.   When passengers go off alone there is a greater chance of problems.   That includes the risk of harm from other passengers as well as crew members who might decide to get too friendly.

Watch where you walk. The most common injury on a cruise ship is from a slip and fall.   Many times there are wet areas that are very slippery. Sometimes it is near the pool but other times it may be something spilled or someone who has walked with wet feet.

Even the spas and saunas can be a slip hazard.   Avoid the medical care onboard ships.   They are often staffed by health care providers who cannot get jobs stateside or by foreign doctors.  

Medical malpractice occurs aboard ships…don’t  become a statistic.   However, if you do require medical care it may be your best -or only – place to get care.   If you have repatriation insurance (insurance that will transport you home, sometimes available through your credit card company), use it.   If it’s anything serious you will want to get to a major medical facility stateside.

While cruises are popular, it requires constant vigilance, there are many other cases of worst cruise ship disasters, these are just a few examples to make sure you know the dangers. 

John Leighton

A nationally-recognized trial lawyer who handles catastrophic injury and death cases. He manages Leighton Law, P.A. trial lawyers, with offices in Miami and Orlando, Florida. He is President of The National Crime Victim Bar Association, author of the 2-volume textbook,Litigating Premises Security Cases, and past Chairman of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America’s Motor Vehicle, Highway & Premises Liability Section. Having won some of the largest verdicts in Florida history, Mr. Leighton is listed inThe Best Lawyers in America (14 years), “Top Lawyers” in the South Florida Legal Guide (15 years), Top 100 Florida SuperLawyer™ and Florida SuperLawyers (14 years), “Orlando Legal Elite” by Orlando Style magazine, and FloridaTrend magazine “Florida Legal Elite

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A cruise ship rescues 68 migrants and finds 5 bodies in a boat adrift in the Atlantic Ocean

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MADRID (AP) — A cruise ship rescued 68 migrants and found five bodies in a traditional fishing boat that was drifting off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Spain’s maritime rescue agency said Thursday.

It said an oil tanker traveling from northwestern Spain to Brazil spotted the drifting boat on Wednesday afternoon about 815 kilometers (506 miles) south of Tenerife, one of the seven islands in the Canaries archipelago.

Spanish authorities diverted the Insignia, a cruise ship, to rescue the migrants. The Insignia crew also recovered three of the five bodies on the fishing boat. The remains of two people were left at sea because of bad weather hampering their recovery.

The canoe-shaped boats, known as pirogues, are used by fishermen in Mauritania and Senegal.

It is unusual for cruise ships to make rescues of migrants on the Atlantic route, but the pirogue “was a long way out and they could be in danger,” said a maritime rescue’s spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity under departmental rules.

One of the passengers on the cruise ship, Steve Dilbeck from Huntington Beach, California, said they were not told about the dead.

“They did say the boat had been at sea for 20 days,” Dilbeck told The Associated Press in a text message. “We were diverted in the evening and took us two hours to reach them. They were brought on board and placed in the Insignia Lounge, which is where they have all their shows.”

“The area has been closed off to passengers. Told they had them remove their clothes and put on jumpsuits. Then they asked passengers if they had shoes and clothes they could donate, particularly for men. Their announcement said 62 were men, with the rest women and children,” he added.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Insignia had left Mindelo, a port city in Cape Verde, on Tuesday. Its operator, Miami-based Oceania Cruises, did not immediately comment on the rescue.

The Spanish rescue agency emailed a statement saying the Insignia is expected to arrive on Friday at the port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife.

The Canary Islands is a destination for boats packed with migrants departing from northwestern Africa on a perilous Atlantic route in search of a better life in Europe.

Spain’s Interior Ministry says a record 55,618 migrants arrived by boat — most of them in the Canary Islands — last year, almost double the number of the previous year. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, the ministry said.

The Spanish nonprofit organization Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) says more than 5,000 migrants have died so far this year through May while trying to reach Spanish coasts, most of them on the Atlantic route. The figure for all 2023 was 6,600, more than double the number for 2022.

Associated Press writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Watch CBS News

Cruise ship rescues 68 migrants adrift in Atlantic

By Erielle Delzer , Elias Lopez

June 20, 2024 / 7:40 PM EDT / CBS News

A cruise ship rescued 68 people adrift on a fishing boat off the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the cruise operator, Oceania Cruises, said Thursday.

The ship, the Insignia, was near the end of a 180-day trip around the world when it received a distress call about the boat.

"We can confirm that Insignia rescued 68 people from a vessel in distress between Cape Verde and Tenerife and [brought] them onboard for medical assistance and provided food, drinks, clothing and a safe place to rest," Oceania Cruises said in a statement to CBS News. "We have coordinated next steps with authorities in Tenerife, and they will be taking over the care of the rescued people." 

Henry Tom, a cruise ship passenger from Vancouver, Canada, told CBS News that it took a couple of hours to rescue the people on the fishing boat and that about five people on the boat were dead. 

The Associated Press reported the crew was able to recover three of the five bodies on the small boat, known as pirogue, but were unable to recover the remaining two because of bad weather. The news agency said an oil tanker first spotted the drifting boat south of the island of Tenerife. Authorities diverted the Insignia cruise ship to rescue the migrants. 

The migrants were from Africa, Henry Tom, the passenger, said. "We believe they were from Senegal. Not 100% sure," he said. He said they were placed in the Insignia Lounge, where the ship hosts live performances, and that passengers were donating shoes and clothing for the migrants, whom he said had been at sea between 20 and 30 days. 

Spain recorded 55,618 migrants arrived by sea — most of them to the Canary Islands — last year, almost double the number from 2022. More than 23,000 have landed so far this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

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Erielle Delzer is a verification producer for CBS News Confirmed. She covers misinformation, AI and social media. Contact Erielle at [email protected].

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My first cruise with my son was a nightmare. We lost power twice, had to shower with flip-flops, and couldn't make 2 of our destinations.

• Up until this year I had never been on a cruise before. 
• I decided to take my 10-year-old son over Spring break. 
• The cruise desperately needed some TLC and we lost power twice. 

Until this year, I'd never been on a cruise — and I swore I never would. As someone anxious in general, I had plenty of reservations. What if there was a norovirus outbreak? What if I got seasick? What if the ship hit an iceberg, sinking like the Titanic? But as I brainstormed potential Spring break destinations with my 10-year-old, I reconsidered.

As a single mom, I don't love navigating new places alone, and organizing a weeklong vacation felt overwhelming. Setting sail on a fun-packed cruise ship where everything was pre-planned was the perfect solution.

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I booked a five-night Key West and Bahamas cruise through Celebrity, leaving from Miami. To avoid feeling trapped, I chose a stateroom with a veranda. We could sit outside in the salty ocean air and enjoy the stunning views.

Our pitstop in South Beach

To keep things stress-free, I bookended our trip with a full day and night in South Beach . Neither of us had been there, and the day before our cruise, I splurged on The Miami Beach Edition . The 5-star property, with private beach access, ocean-facing pools, and an on-site ice rink and bowling alley, did not disappoint.

We chose Estiatorio Milos for Easter dinner, a Greek seafood restaurant where fish flown in fresh from the Mediterranean are displayed. The experience included a chef visiting our table to discuss the day's offerings. Our trip was off to an incredible start.

Our cruise experience wasn't great

Boarding our cruise ship, the Celebrity Summit, went smoothly, and we went right to our stateroom , which appeared as advertised. On the balcony, we watched the sunlight dance on the water's surface. I relaxed, letting my worries slip away.

But when I went inside and opened the bathroom door, the musty smell of mildew overwhelmed me. During that night's shower, I discovered why as the water collected in a pool at my feet. From then on, we wore our flip-flops and showered fast.

We made our first port and explored the delightful city of Key West. But our boat couldn't dock the next day due to high winds, so we missed our second destination, Bimini, Bahamas . Disappointed, we explored the boat, looking for fun diversions. But other than gambling and drinking, there wasn't much to do.

The pool was rusty and dirty, and the "arcade" consisted of two Xboxes in a small room. The ship, built in 2001 and refurbished in 2016, desperately needed some TLC. Chipped tile, stained carpets, and broken faucets were a few of its glaring issues. My son checked out the gift shops while I grabbed a coffee. A salesperson put a $2,000 watch on his wrist, encouraging him to make the purchase. Luckily, he knew better.

We even lost power

During a several-hour power outage, our imaginations took over. We discussed the possibility of onboard pirates — zero communication from the crew didn't help. At one point, dark sludge crept up through our shower drain, and our toilet stopped working. When the power came back on, the $270 Wi-Fi didn't, and it remained spotty for the rest of the voyage.

The ship went black again during dinner the next day. The staff served our meal in the dark like nothing was amiss. At that point, we wanted off. The next day, we docked in Nassau, Bahamas, where we played in the ocean. I let my son take me on a Jet Ski ride, which was the highlight of his trip.

The following morning was debarkation day. We couldn't get off the boat fast enough.

We enjoyed another beautiful day at South Beach, sinking our toes in white sand beaches and exploring the outdoor Lincoln Road Mall.

Though our cruise experience was probably an outlier, I won't chance it again. But South Beach? We're in love.

Watch: Cruise ship captain breaks down 8 cruise ship disasters in movies and TV

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Travel | travel: here’s why the best way to see french polynesia is on a cruise ship.

Experience should tell well-traveled warm-weather wanderlusters that when offered this greeting at a tropical resort, it’s best to take it with a grain of sea salt. Too many times has this heat-seeking holiday maker been burned, not by the sun’s rays, but that seemingly hospitable phrase.

At the five-star GoldenEye resort in Jamaica, for one, “paradise” had me waking up in a bedsheet speckled with blood despite having the protection, or not, of a mosquito net and generous layer of insect repellant. Las Brisas Acapulco is a luxury property affectionally called “The Pink and White Paradise,” but the only color I saw was red due to loud service carts whizzing past our room at all hours of the night. A drive-by shooting across the street was the cherry on top during a visit that was far from utopian.

If I had a nickel — or other small-value coin of foreign currency — for every time a tropical destination failed to live up to the paradisical hype, that would be a tidy sum and fodder for a tell-all travel book. But since life is short and we need more positivity in this topsy-turvy world, let’s not dwell on places where slices of heaven are inadvertently mixed with bits of hell. We should instead focus our travel binoculars on a corner of the world that rarely disappoints.

We’re talking about French Polynesia in the center of the serene South Pacific. Made up of five archipelagoes and 118 islands, nearly half of them uninhabited, this pinch-me place is a popular setting for screensaver graphics and wall calendars. It literally is the model of what many of us picture as the quintessential tropical paradise.

Who doesn’t dream of cooling off with a fruity libation while lounging beside palm trees swaying in the breeze on a pristine white-sand beach? Here’s where that vision becomes reality, and the icing on the coconut cake are views of crystal-clear turquoise waters surrounded by lush, green mountains. Even sweeter, unlike many vacation destinations near the equator, French Polynesia gets the seal of approval — a Level 1 travel advisory — from the U.S. State Department for safety.

Air Tahiti Nui, American, Delta, French Bee, Hawaiian and United airlines all fly between Tahiti and Los Angeles or San Francisco, and it’s a minimum of eight hours in the air. Although not a short trip, or a cheap one with roundtrips costing north of a grand, the ROI is a French-accented dream vacation with a joie de vivre.

Blessed with unmatched beauty, unique culture, friendly people and an alluring sense of seclusion, French Polynesia is a favored nation for honeymooners, celebrants of milestone anniversaries and others with the urge to splurge somewhere sultry besides the likes of South Florida, Hawaii, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.

Staying at a resort is how 80% of visitors do French Polynesia, per the country’s tourism authority ( tahititourisme.com ), and many go big with lodging at one of those luxurious overwater bungalows synonymous with the destination. The pinnacle of posh is arguably The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort ( www.stregisborabora.com ), where from inside your high-class hut you can watch sea life though glass-bottom flooring, and outside jump into an aquamarine lagoon off your private platform with a perfect view of iconic Mount Otemanu.

Making a full-service, five-star resort your base for an entire vacation sounds like paradise, and the majority of visitors would seem to agree. But know that if you ever want to explore other islands to get a different taste of Tahitian-French culture, that, mon amie, can be a hassle. Because flights and ferry service are limited to certain islands and days of the week, even the most resourceful hotel concierge may try to talk guests out of this well-intentioned, yet impractical idea.

If catching “island fever” after spending a few days on one property is a possibility, then your best ticket to paradise could be a cruise. By ship is the easiest way to visit multiple islands in a sprawling destination that’s roughly the size of Europe. On a typical 7- to 10-day journey around the Society Islands, for example, ships make calls in Moorea, Taha’a, Raiatea, Huahine and, of course, Bora Bora, before returning to Tahiti. Paul Gauguin, Windstar and Silversea are offering the most roundtrips with this itinerary over the next year, give or take a port, and of special note are those that anchor overnight in Bora Bora.

One of the benefits of cruising is you go to many places and unpack only once. But when given the opportunity to abandon ship to spend a night in an overwater villa, fussing with luggage a second time is a pleasant inconvenience. On a recent weeklong “More Society Islands & Tahiti” voyage aboard the 332-passenger Paul Gauguin, at least two guests skipped out on their spacious veranda stateroom with butler in exchange for an “Overwater Deluxe Villa” at the St. Regis, the only Forbes five-star resort in Bora Bora. That coveted category starts at $1,530 a night. By comparison, the InterContinental Tahiti and Hilton Tahiti were reporting midweek availability in July with rates starting at $330 and $370, respectively, but with markedly less wow factor.

Selling points of the St. Regis include snorkeling safely in the stunning Lagoonarium stocked with more than 120 species of fish, adults-only nooks and crannies, a heavenly spa, themed dining events nearly every night at one of the six restaurants and bars (the luau-like Polynesian Evening on Wednesdays is a high-energy hoot), and among the recreational offerings is an assigned bicycle for every guest.

The good life continues back on the Paul Gauguin ( www.pgcruises.com ). With an excellent 1:1.5 crew-to-guest ratio, service on the Paul Gauguin is solid — quite possibly the most caring and friendly this sea-legged scribe has experienced. Several among the crew flaunted other talents at a delightfully entertaining crew show on the penultimate evening.

On other nights in the understatedly beautiful 314-seat Grand Salon, Polynesian culture is shared through song and dance by impressive local acts. Late-night entertainment is often a weak link on small ships, but not here; the Santa Rosa Band and pianist-singer Jerry Lomocso are two versatile acts out of the Philippines worthy of the extended contracts they just received.

Shipboard entertainment, a stern-side marina for watersports, and most organized activities are included in the cruise fare, which for a 7-day sail can be booked for as low as $5,000, double occupancy. What’s not included are treatments at the well-managed Algotherm Spa and shore excursions. That’s typical even for luxury-category cruising. Looking at a few tours, ATVing in Huahine costs $279 per machine (single or double), but the views along the route, road and off-road, are priceless; “Coral Garden Drift Snorkeling” ($120 in Raiatea, $125 in Taha’a) takes swimmers to one of the best spots in the world; and the “WaveRunner Adventure” in Moorea ($239 per machine, single or double) includes a pitstop at a motu for a thrilling ray encounter.

Adventures of the epicurean kind were mostly successful on the recent cruise; dishes starring steaks, shellfish, lamb and veggies were of the high caliber one would expect from French-based Ponant, which acquired the ship in 2019, and is known for outstanding cuisine. A tip of the chapeau to Cheese Night at L’Etoile restaurant, featuring a dazzling spread of 15 types of prized French fromage.

Like the food, pretty much everything about the Paul Gauguin goes down smoothly. Even the ship’s bones are specially designed for smooth navigation in Polynesian waters, and at the risk of causing a nerd alert, here’s why: A 17-foot draft allows the ship to get in close to shallow lagoons and isolated islands, maximizing stopover time.

As for parts of the ship we can actually see, recent refurbishments have the 27-year-old ship looking younger and more distinguished than when I sailed on it in 2018. If only the spa’s $210 “Deep Regenerating Sun Care” treatment could have done that for me.

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Runaway cargo ship dali finally cleared from baltimore’s francis scott key bridge after disastrous crash.

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The cargo ship that caused the deadly Francis Scott Key bridge collapse has been cleared from the entrance to the Port of Baltimore, officials said.

The Dali, which has remained stuck in the vital shipping lane since the collapse on March 26, is expected to sail to Virginia to undergo repairs and offload its cargo, according to the US Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic Office.

The Coast Guard will be closely monitoring and traveling along with the Dali to ensure it reaches its destination at the Norfolk International Terminal. 

The crew of the vessel has been stuck on board the Dali while the salvage effort cleared the wreckage of the bridge and freed the ship.

Now that the ship is free and in transit, 10 of its 21 crew members were previously cleared to leave the Dali and return home,  CBS News reports . 

The Indian nationals are expected to be housed in Baltimore amid the ongoing litigation and FBI investigation over the collapse that killed six construction workers when the Dali slammed against one of the bridge’s supporting columns.   

Rev. Josh Messick, of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, said his charity is also working to get the remaining 11 crew members off the boat, but warned them that they might be stuck in the US for months. 

“They’ll be here for the duration of the litigation process, which could take a year or more,” Messick told CBS. 

“I and the other entities involved who are there to support them have as gently as possible tried to prepare them for this eventuality—that they could be here for the foreseeable future,” he added. 

“And when all is said and done, there may be one or more of them that remains even longer.”

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Synergy Marine, the company that manages the ship, has said it will continue to pay for for food and lodging for the crew members while they’re stuck in the US. 

The Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union has previously said that the crew has been distressed by an “unfounded” fear that they will be held personally liable for the accident, even though evidence which has emerged in the investigation so far indicates that will not be the case.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have so far suggested that the crew appeared to do everything right when the Dali experienced two power outages while sailing out of the Port of Baltimore.

The second outage caused the ship to lose its steering and propulsion, leading it to smash into one of the bridge’s support columns, leading to the collapse.

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