The list of shipwrecks in 1981 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1981.
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References |
Ship | Country | Description |
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Big Sea | ![]() | The fishing vessel sank while tied to a buoy in Port Etches on the south-central coast of Alaska. [1] |
Mercy Bee | ![]() | The fishing vessel capsized in heavy surf in Squaw Bay ( 60°49′15″N147°50′30″W / 60.82083°N 147.84167°W ) on the south-central coast of Alaska. [2] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Novo Amapá | ![]() | According to Federal government of Brazil official confirmed report, the Passenger ship sinks at the mouth of the Cajari River, Pará States, Brazil, 186 persons were rescued and survived, killing more than 130 people.[ citation needed ] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
José Martin | ![]() | The tanker ran aground off Dalarö, Sweden. [3] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Deifovos | ![]() | The cargo ship sank off Vega, Norway, [5] with the loss of nine of her 37 crew. [6] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Ems | ![]() | The cargo ship sank after collision with Undine (![]() |
Frederika 1 | ![]() | The cargo ship sank after colliding with Blackthorn (![]() ![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Golden Princess | ![]() | The passenger ship sank in a storm while laid up at Perama, Greece. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Nellie M | ![]() | The Troubles: sunk at Lough Foyle after being boarded and bombed by an IRA team on a hijacked lifeboat, raised and refitted in 1982, sold to an Irish company and renamed Ellie (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Burgundia | ![]() | ![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Eastern Mariner I | ![]() | The cargo ship was damaged in a storm, and sank three days later east of Bermuda ( 32°19.36′N64°31.30′W / 32.32267°N 64.52167°W ). [13] |
Wood Duck | ![]() | The 32-foot (9.8 m) fishing vessel sank in Union Bay in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska in a violent storm. Her owner-operator died in the sinking. [14] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Akra Aktion | ![]() | Ran aground off Mangalia, Romania and sank. [15] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Uyak | ![]() | The 60-foot (18 m) fishing vessel sank off Humpback Rock in Chiniak Bay on the coast of Kodiak Island near Kodiak, Alaska. [16] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
USS Glennon | ![]() | The Gearing-class destroyer was sunk as a target off Puerto Rico. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Dae Rim | ![]() | The 291-foot (88.7 m) cargo ship caught fire and washed ashore at Cape Wrangell on the coast of Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands with the loss of 24 lives. There were two survivors. [17] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Jupiter | ![]() | The 82-foot (25.0 m) fishing vessel was wrecked on Sozavarika Island ( 54°51′20″N162°31′35″W / 54.85556°N 162.52639°W ) off the south coast of the Alaska Peninsula in Alaska. Her crew of five survived. [18] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Pacific Angel | ![]() | The 94-foot (28.7 m) crab-fishing vessel was wrecked without loss of life on Chowiet Island ( 56°02′N156°42′W / 56.033°N 156.700°W ) in the Semidi Islands southwest of Kodiak Island. [19] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Daito Maru No. 55 | ![]() | The 105-foot (32.0 m) fishing trawler sank in the Bering Sea about 380 nautical miles (700 km; 440 mi) northwest of Adak in the Aleutian Islands with the loss of her entire crew of 26. [17] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Nisho Maru | ![]() | The ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Olfert Fischer | ![]() | The Niels Juel-class corvette was damaged by an engine room fire off Bornholm on her sea trials. Subsequently repaired but commissioning delayed from 25 May to 16 October. [21] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Bering Scout | ![]() | The 65-foot (19.8 m) tug sank with the loss of three lives in Etolin Strait on the west-central coast of Alaska. [1] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Alkmini | ![]() | The cargo ship collided with the motor vessel Duro Seis (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Unidentified | ![]() | Lebanese Civil War: The cargo ship exploded at Tyre, Lebanon. She had been chased into harbor by an Israeli Navy warship. [23] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Reina del Mar | ![]() | scuttled off Kynosoura, Greece. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Charity | ![]() | She collided with Good Captain (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Unknown patrol ship | ![]() | The patrol ship was sunk by South Korean coastal batteries. Nine crewmen killed, one captured and four rescued. [25] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Arctic Explorer | ![]() | The icebreaker sank off St. Anthony, Newfoundland, Canada. Thirteen of her 32 crew were killed. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
USNS Wheeling | ![]() | The inactivated Wheeling-class missile range instrumentation ship was sunk as a target by Harpoon missiles. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Shoshone | ![]() | The 76-foot (23 m) fishing vessel struck a rock and sank 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) north of Egg Island in the Aleutian Islands. The fishing vessel Captain Banjo (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Sir Winston Churchill | ![]() | The schooner ran aground 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Later refloated and returned to service. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Prince Ivanhoe | ![]() | The former ferry struck a rock and sank at Horton, Swansea. All 450 on board rescued but one passenger suffered a heart attack and died. [27] |
Melpo Lemos | ![]() | The tanker ran aground on the Lepe Bank, in the Solent off Southampton, United Kingdom. [27] She was refloated the next day. [28] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Louis G | ![]() | The seiner capsized and sank off Cape Bartolome ( 55°14′N133°37′W / 55.233°N 133.617°W ) in Southeast Alaska. The fishing vessel Delight (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Winterwind | ![]() | After the 43-foot (13 m) fishing vessel began taking on water, she drifted onto the tow line of a passing barge and sank in Cook Inlet 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) off Clam Gulch, Alaska, after the barge collided with her. [14] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Karen E | ![]() | The 35-foot (11 m) cabin cruiser sank with the loss of five lives in eastern Long Island Sound off Rocky Point, Long Island, New York, in waters probably over 100 feet (30 m) deep after colliding with a barge. [30] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Cowboy | ![]() | The fishing vessel was lost in bad weather in the Gulf of Alaska. [31] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Northern King | ![]() | The 96-foot (29.3 m) trawler-processor developed a heavy list in a storm in the Bering Sea off Cape Lieskof ( 55°47′18″N162°03′15″W / 55.7883°N 162.0542°W ), Alaska, then capsized and sank near Nelson Lagoon ( 55°50′N162°05′W / 55.833°N 162.083°W ). Her seven crew members abandoned ship 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) off the Alaska Peninsula; two were lost, but the other five made it to shore in a life raft and were rescued. [32] |
Rocket | ![]() | The 34-foot (10.4 m) vessel capsized in Strawberry Pass ( 60°24′N146°03′W / 60.400°N 146.050°W ) near Montague Island at the entrance to Prince William Sound on the south-central coast of Alaska with the loss of both people on board. [33] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Pushka | ![]() | The vessel was wrecked at Sanak Point ( 54°23′N162°35′W / 54.383°N 162.583°W ), probably off Sanak Island in the Aleutian Islands. The fishing vessel Casade (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Misty | ![]() | The 86-foot (26.2 m) fishing trawler burned and sank in Marmot Bay ( 58°00′N152°06′W / 58.000°N 152.100°W ) off Alaska′s Kodiak Archipelago. The fishing vessel Trailblazer (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Lady Simpson | ![]() | The crabber-trawler sank in the Bering Sea about 72 nautical miles (133 km; 83 mi) north of Dutch Harbor, Alaska. A Japanese fishing trawler rescued her crew of six 28 hours later. [29] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
HMS Rapid | ![]() | The decommissioned Q and R-class destroyer was sunk as a torpedo target in the Western Approaches by the submarine HMS Onyx (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
City of Seattle | ![]() | The 84-foot (25.6 m) crab-fishing vessel burned and sank in the Shelikof Strait 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south of Cape Uganik ( 57°58′N153°30′W / 57.967°N 153.500°W ) on the coast of Uganik Island in Alaska′s Kodiak Archipelago. The medium endurance cutter USCGC Confidence ( ![]() |
Spring | ![]() | The 42-foot (12.8 m) troller sank 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) off Ratz Harbor ( 55°53′15″N132°35′45″W / 55.88750°N 132.59583°W ) on the northeast coast of Prince of Wales Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. [26] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
HDMS MHV 68 | ![]() | The cutter ran aground off Læsø. She sank the next day. [21] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Periphery | ![]() | The 32-foot (9.8 m) fishing vessel broke up and sank in heavy seas while under tow by the vessel Billy Don (![]() |
Sobral Santos II | ![]() | The ferry sank in the harbour of Óbidos, Pará with the loss of an unknown number of people. Estimates range from 50 to 300. [34] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Tungufoss | ![]() | The coaster sank in a storm 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) off Land's End, Cornwall, United Kingdom. All of the crew were rescued, either, by helicopter from RNAS Culdrose or the Sennen Cove lifeboat. [35] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
BRP Datu Kalantiaw | ![]() | ![]() Typhoon Clara: The Datu Kalantiaw-class frigate was driven ashore on Calayan Island in the Philippines with the loss of 79 of her 97 crew. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Dimitris | ![]() | The 963 GRT freighter (formerly known as Harrogate of Associated Humber Lines) flooded, foundered and was lost. [36] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Sea Foam | ![]() | The fishing vessel was wrecked in Summers Bay ( 53°54′45″N166°27′30″W / 53.91250°N 166.45833°W ) on the coast of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands. [26] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
The Faith | ![]() | The barge, a converted landing craft mechanized with three divers aboard, sprang a leak and sank in Shotgun Cove ( 60°48′05″N148°32′30″W / 60.80139°N 148.54167°W ) near Whittier, Alaska. The fishing vessel Tommel (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Chrisoula K | ![]() | Ran aground on the Sha`b Abu Nuhas reef and later sank. [38] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
S-178 | ![]() | The Whiskey-class submarine was rammed and sunk by the refrigerator ship Refrizkerator-13 (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Elusive | ![]() | After a fire broke out in her engine room, the 86-foot (26.2 m) fishing vessel burned and sank near Cape Ikolik ( 57°17′15″N154°47′00″W / 57.28750°N 154.78333°W ) on the coast of Alaska′s Kodiak Island. The fishing vessel Gerry D (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Diane O | ![]() | After her engine broke down, the 26-foot (7.9 m) fishing vessel drifted into the surf and broke up on the south coast of Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea. [17] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
S-363 | ![]() | The Whiskey-class submarine ran aground off Karlskrona, Sweden and was damaged. After a diplomatic incident and military standoff, the submarine was refloated on 5 November and towed into international waters for handover to the Soviet Navy. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Gem | ![]() | The 47-foot (14.3 m) fishing vessel struck a rock and sank in Cape Spencer in Southeast Alaska. Three of her four crewmen survived. [40] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Telamon | ![]() | The cargo ship was beached at Arrecife, Lanzarote, Canary Islands after developing a leak. The wreck later broke in two, the forward part sank, and the after part remained above water. [41] Scrapping began in September 2022. [42] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Aleutian Monarch | ![]() | After she caught fire and burned for five days, the 460-foot (140.2 m) fish processing vessel was towed out to sea and scuttled near Beaver Inlet ( 53°50′N166°15′W / 53.833°N 166.250°W ) on the coast of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands. [43] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
USS Charles R. Ware | ![]() | The decommissioned Gearing-class destroyer was sunk as a target in the Caribbean. |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Globe Asimi | ![]() | The tanker ran aground at Klaipeda, Lithuania and broke in two. [44] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Elma Tres | ![]() | The cargo ship foundered 215 nautical miles (398 km) west of Hamilton, Bermuda with the loss of all but one of her 24 crew. [45] |
Euro Princess | ![]() | The cargo ship ran aground off Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. All 26 crew rescued by helicopter. [45] [46] |
Nannie D | ![]() | The 32-foot (9.8 m) fishing vessel sank southwest of Seward, Alaska, with the loss of her entire crew of three. [32] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Saint Patrick | ![]() | The 458-gross register ton 138.2-foot (42.1 m) scallop-fishing trawler was abandoned in the Gulf of Alaska 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) east of Marmot Island near Kodiak, Alaska, after a large wave laid her over. Only two men of her crew of 11 men and one woman survived. Days later, Saint Patrick was found floating derelict in the outer part of Marmot Bay and was towed to Womens Bay, Alaska, where she sank. [26] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Garnet | ![]() | The reefer collided with Molaventure (![]() |
Molaventure | ![]() | The tanker collided with Garnet (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Bonita | ![]() | The cargo ship capsized when two massive waves struck her in the English Channel 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) north of Guernsey while on a voyage from Hamburg, West Germany, to Panama with a cargo of fertiliser. One member of her crew was lost; the rest were saved by a Royal Navy helicopter and the St Peter’s Lifeboat Sir William Arnold ( ![]() |
Kaliakh | ![]() | The 86-foot (26.2 m) motor scow dragged her anchor, drifted onto the rocks, capsized, and was lost in Iliasik Passage ( 55°02′N161°55′W / 55.033°N 161.917°W ) between Inner Iliasik Island and Outer Iliasik Island in the Shumagin Islands off the south-central coast of Alaska. Her crew survived and was rescued by the tug Jeffrey Foss (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Grain Ville | ![]() | The cargo ship foundered off County Wexford, Ireland. Five of her nine crew were rescued. [51] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Mark | ![]() | The coaster was lost in Mount's Bay, Cornwall while bound for Spezia, Spain with a cargo of china clay from Teignmouth. All six of her crew were lost and the wreck has never been found. [52] |
Solomon Browne | ![]() | Penlee lifeboat disaster: The lifeboat was lost in a gale while attempting to rescue the crew of Union Star (![]() |
Union Star | ![]() | Penlee lifeboat disaster: The coastal cargo ship was lost on her maiden voyage due to engine failure in a gale. She was wrecked off Tater Du, Cornwall, England, ending up capsized on the rocks. All eight people on board – her master, her master's wife and two daughters, and her four crewmen – were lost, either on board Union Star or in the sinking of the rescue lifeboat Solomon Browne ( ![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Dimitrios | ![]() | ![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Unidentified patrol vessel | ![]() | The navy patrol vessel was sunk by three Royal Thai Navy vessels off Koh Kang Province, Cambodia. Of her crew of six Vietnamese and seven Cambodians, eight were killed and five became prisoners-of-war. [56] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Sue | ![]() | The 32-foot (9.8 m) fishing vessel sank in Izhut Bay ( 58°11′N152°15′W / 58.183°N 152.250°W ) on the coast of Afognak Island in the Kodiak Archipelago after striking a log. The fishing vessel Amber Dawn (![]() |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Marina di Equa | ![]() | The bulk carrier sank in the Bay of Biscay with the loss of all thirty crew. [57] |
Ship | Country | Description |
---|---|---|
Aurore | ![]() | The fishing trawler, a former yacht, sank in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel after sriking an unidentified object. she was later refloated and restored to her original configuration as a yacht. |
Holland XXIV | ![]() | The dredger was beached at Cleveleys. [58] |
J. P. Webb | ![]() | The hopper barge sank off Port Lillias. [59] |
USS Ozark | ![]() | ![]() |
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