How often do big ships sink in the ocean?

“every year, on average, more than two dozen large ships sink, or otherwise go missing, taking their crews along with them.” In a prescient comment, she says, “imagine the headlines if even a single 747 slipped off the map with all its passengers and was never heard from again”.



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Both modes of transportation, flying, and sailing, are statistically considered safe methods of overseas travel. When talking about statistics, airplane accidents average one in 1.6 million flights per year. Cruise ships, however, have a much fewer number of accidents per year.

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Are cruise ship crashes common? Unfortunately, cruises are not without hazards. Accidents, crimes, injuries, and illness outbreaks occur far more than most of us realize. Despite safety protocols and regulations for the cruise industry, an average of 200 deaths are reported on cruise ships every year.

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There were 49 large ships totally lost in 2020, basically unchanged from 48 in 2019, according to latest data from Allianz. Safety & Shipping Review 2021 reports that annual shipping losses are now half of the total recorded ten years ago.

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Colossal vessels stay above water by displacing an amount of water equal to their mass (the wide, U-shaped hull helps with this). As the ship moves forward and pushes water away, the water is ceaselessly trying to return to fill the space, with an energy that forces the ship upward.

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If, of course, the ship is too heavy (say it was filled with too much steel or other heavy stuff) then the weight of water displaced will never equal the ship's weight and it will never float (it will sink like a stone).

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In 2020 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) database listed 438 ships worldwide, with 5,767 crew members, abandoned since 2004; not all cases are referred to the IMO, so the actual number is larger, but unknown. In 2020, by August 470 seafarers on 31 vessels had been abandoned.

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Within the last 111 years, over 20 cruise ships and ocean liners have sunk.

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Yes, cruise ships have brigs, which is the nautical term for a jail on a vessel, including a cruise ship. The term comes from the word brigantine, which is a type of two-masted sailing ship formerly used to house criminals.

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The Maritime Injury Guide reports that 19 people go missing from cruise ships yearly. While that may not sound significant, it adds up to 400 people over the last 20 years. This includes accidental falls overboard, suicides, and disappearances during port visits.

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In 2023 thus far, there have been 10 overboard incidents affecting 11 people, according to data compiled by Ross Klein, a social work professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, who runs a cruise safety website. Nine of those eleven people died as a result.

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