Often, water offers ships typical abnormal situations such as fire, water, deterioration in visibility or the general situation. Well-coordinated crews deployed by experienced captains deal with problems quickly. Otherwise, marine disasters occur that take human lives with them and leave their black mark on history.
There are a lot of similar disasters and tragedies. However, some of them deserve special attention.
Torpedoing the mysterious ship "Armenia"
The largest marine disasters happened in the 20th century, mainly during the war years. The most massive tragedy in the history of the Russian fleet is the loss of the “Armenia” motor ship. The ship was used to transport the wounded from the Crimea during the German offensive. After thousands of wounded were loaded on board the ship in Sevastopol, the ship arrived in Yalta. It was believed that this city was doomed, so the NKVD officers placed several heavy boxes on the ship. There were rumors that they had gold. This attracted many adventurers afterwards.
On November 7, 1941, the Heinkel He-111 torpedo bomber attacked the ship, after which the ship sank quickly. It is still unknown how many people it transported. Only a rough estimate is given of the number of victims (7-10 thousand people).
It should also be noted that the vessel has not yet been found. Since it sailed from the coast of Yalta at a time when the Germans had already entered the city, the ship's captain did not inform anyone about his future route. Therefore, it is not known exactly which way “Armenia” moved.
Tragedy on the Baltic Sea
In the Baltic Sea, wrecks are often encountered by scuba divers and divers. But the collapse of the Cap Arkona liner and the Tilbek freighter is a tragedy that claimed nearly 8,000 lives. It is considered one of the largest marine disasters.
Both ships were attacked by the
British Air Force. They transported prisoners from concentration camps. Also on board were SS fighters and a German crew. The latter, by the way, managed to escape. All the rest, mainly those wearing a striped robe, were shot by German ships.
So the British aviation allowed a massive catastrophe, which did not bring absolutely any benefit in the war. In their defense, the British Air Force spoke out that the bombing occurred by accident, by mistake.
The legendary Titanic
Everyone who studies wrecks or has heard something about them will invariably connect the story with the Titanic. However, there is nothing mysterious or unique in it. The captain of the ship was informed about the threat of icebergs, but decided to ignore this data. Soon he received a message that there was a huge block of ice ahead. There was no time left to change course. Therefore, the captain decided to put the right side under attack.
The ship still in the port received the nickname "unsinkable". I must say that he corresponded a little to him. Despite the large injuries sustained, the ship was kept in the water for a long time. During this period, the nearest ship "Carpathia" managed to come to the rescue. That is why more than 700 passengers were saved. There were about 1,000 dead.
Thus, if we consider the most “hyped” marine disasters of the 20th century, the death of the Titanic will come first. This is not due at all to the number of human victims and touching stories of salvation, but to the fact that the ship traveled to know.
Liner "Lusitania"
In 1915, marine disasters replenished their list with the collapse of the British passenger liner. On May 7, the Lusitania was attacked by a German submarine. The torpedo hit the starboard side, causing a series of explosions. As a result, the ship sank in a matter of moments.
The disaster occurred near Kinsale (Ireland), 13 kilometers from it. Probably, such proximity to the mainland allowed a sufficient number of people to be saved.
The complete crash of the liner occurred in 18 minutes. On board were about 2,000 people, more than 700 of whom managed to escape. 1198 passengers and crew went down with the wreckage of a former large airliner.
By the way, it is with this tragedy that the Anglo-German confrontation begins on the expanses of water. Both countries are trying to cause damage, sometimes even "by accident", to each other regarding the navy.
Nuclear-powered ship "Kursk"
The freshest catastrophe in the memories of the Russians is the death of Kursk. This tragedy brought misfortune and grief to many families who did not expect to leave their loved ones forever. After all, the atomic ship did just a training swim.
Sunken submarines have always been of interest. On August 12, 2000, Kursk added to their list. At the moment, there are 2 reasons for what happened. In the first case, it is believed that a shell exploded in the torpedo compartment. However, no one can say why this happened. In the second case - an attack by the
US Navy, more specifically, the Memphis submarine. As for hiding the real cause of the death of Kursk, the government decided to avoid an international conflict. One way or another, at the moment there is no exact information as to why the nuclear ship sank.
118 people became victims of the tragedy. It turned out to be impossible to help dying people at the bottom of the Barents Sea. Therefore, no one managed to survive.
The most paradoxical death
The largest maritime disasters are distinguished not only by large-scale human casualties, but also by their uniqueness. Many of them happen under such conditions that at first glance seem completely impossible. A paradoxical catastrophe is the death of the Don Pas ferry and oil tanker at the end of 1987.
The fact is that the captain of the ferry sat in his cabin and watched TV, while the ship was controlled by an inexperienced sailor. An oil tanker was floating towards him, with which a collision occurred a few minutes later. As a result, almost all passengers were burned alive, as a global fire started. It was impossible to get out of the arising fire trap. More than 80 tons of oil spilled into the sea, and then immediately ignited. Who would have thought that on the water you could die from fire?
Both ships went completely under water in less than half an hour. There were no surviving people, the disaster took 4375 people.
Conclusion
All marine disasters are tragedies that plunge into grief and break the fate of people. Physical damage is caused to the fleet, especially if a warship is lost. But moral damage is also observed, because no one wants to lose colleagues and brothers in their specialty.
But any disaster at sea is also a kind of experiment, only unplanned. After the incident, the fleet needs to analyze the situation from all sides, identify circumstances and causes. Further, measures should be worked out to exclude the possibility of a particular disaster recurring.