List of shipwrecks in 1968
The list of shipwrecks in 1968 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1968.
January
11 January
- St Romanus (
United Kingdom): The trawler issued a mayday on this date which was heard but not responded to. Lost with all twenty crew.
12 January
- HMS Artemis (
Royal Navy): The Amphion-class submarine ran aground off Bembridge, Isle of Wight. Refloated on 14 January.[1][2]
15 January
- Cessnock ( United Kingdom): The dredger capsized and sank in the River Clyde during a storm. Three crew were killed.[3]
22 January
- Elpis (
Greece): Sank between Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, Netherlands.
23 January
- INS Dakar (
Israeli Navy): The submarine disappeared on her delivery voyage to Israel. Claims that Assyout (
Egyptian Navy) sank her with depth charges are disputed by Israel.
26 January
- Kingston Peridot ( United Kingdom): The trawler was last reported off Iceland on this date, lost with all twenty crew.
February
4 February
- Ross Cleveland ( United Kingdom): The trawler capsized and sank off Isafjordur, Iceland with the loss of eighteen of her nineteen crew.
5 February
- Pacific Fir (
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Hong Kong): The cargo ship sprang a leak in the South China Sea 75 nautical miles (139 km) east of Tai Tung, Taiwan. (22°37′N 121°42′E / 22.617°N 121.700°E) and was abandoned. Beached at Koto Soh but broke in two, a total loss.[4]
19 February
- Capitaine Frangos (
Panama): The cargo ship sank after colliding with an undentified ship at the entrance to the Dardanelles, Turkey. Fifteen of her twenty crew were killed.[5]
25 February
- British Crusader ( United Kingdom): The tanker ran aground in the Panama Canal, blocking it.[6]
26 February
- Shozan Maru (
Japan): the bulk carrier struck a rock in the Panama Canal and sank. Refloated the following day.[7]
March
_with_sunken_tanker_Ocean_Eagle_off_Puerto_Rico_1968.jpg)
USS Preserver with the sunken Ocean Eagle off Puerto Rico, 1968.
3 March
- Ocean Eagle (
Liberia): The tanker rang aground at San Juan, Puerto Rico. Later broke in two, a total loss.[8]
6 March
- Antonios Michalos ( Greece): The cargo ship struck a submerged object at Brăila, Romania and ran aground. Refloated but declared a constructive total loss and scrapped in May 1969.[4]
10 March
- Hi Krooyer (
Denmark): The coaster sank 10 nautical miles (19 km) south of Sule Skerry, Orkney Islands following and on-board explosion. One of her five crew was killed.[9]
20 March
- Elisabethville (
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Belgium): Caught fire at Antwerp, declared a constructive total loss. Scrapped in January 1969.[10]
April
2 April
- Jordaens ( Belgium): Ran aground on North Sand Head, Goodwin Sands. Refloated later that day.[11]
10 April
Salvage of TEV Wahine
- TEV Wahine (
New Zealand): The New Zealand inter-island ro-ro ferry of the Union Company, foundered on Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour and capsized near Steeple Rock. Of the 610 passengers and 123 crew on board, 53 were killed.
30 April
- Brandaris (
Netherlands): The coaster sank in the Bay of Biscay 80 nautical miles (150 km) west of the mouth of the Gironde. All crew rescued by a Spanish trawler.[12]
May
6 May
- Islas Orcadas (
Argentina): The tanker exploded, caught fire and sank at Ensenada. The explosion spread burning oil which set tankers Fray Luis Beltran and Cutral Co (both Argentina) on fire, both ships sank.[13]
10 May
- Gero Miklaos ( Greece): The cargo ship ran aground in a cyclone at Akyab, Burma and broke up, a total loss.[4]
June
14 June
- World Glory ( Greece): The tanker broke in two off the coast of Natal in a storm. Both sections sank.[14]
30 June
- Riachuelo (
Brazilian Navy): The Gato-class submarine was sunk as a target on or about this date.
July
9 July
- Humaitá ( Brazilian Navy): The Gato-class submarine was sunk as a target in the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island, New York, United States by United States Navy vessels.
19 July
- Magsaysay (
Philippines): The cargo ship caught fire in the South China Sea off South Korea and was abandoned. She was towed into Pusan but declared a constructive total loss and consequently scrapped.[4]
August
23 August
- Southern Foster ( United Kingdom): This 438 GRT steam-powered whaler foundered and was lost off South Georgia in the South Atlantic.
September
8 September
- Isabella Baldwin ( United Kingdom): The survey ship struck a wreck in Da Nang harbour, Vietnam and sank. All twelve crew rescued by a United States Navy vessel.[15]
October
10 October
- Dumaguete ( Philippines): The ferry sank near Zamboanga, Mindanao. Only eleven survivors of between 300 and 500 people on board.[16]
15 October
E Evangelica, January 2008
- E Evangelia ( Greece): The cargo ship ran aground in the Black Sea off Constanţa, Romania (43°58′N 28°39′E / 43.967°N 28.650°E). Declared a constructive total loss.[4]
19 October
- USS Archer-Fish (
United States Navy): The Balao-class submarine was sunk as a target in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California by USS Snook ( United States Navy).
21 October
- Sitakund (
Norway): The tanker exploded and sank 17 nautical miles (31 km) south of Eastbourne, East Sussex with the loss of three crew. Thirty-nine crew saved by HMS Mohawk ( Royal Navy).[17]
November
3 November
11 November
- Empire Ace ( United Kingdom) : Ran aground off Campbeltown, Argyllshire declared a constructive total loss.
- Steepholm ( United Kingdom) : She was wrecked off South Wales. Four crewmen of the sand dredger were saved by the Atlantic College lifeboat and the Porthcawl lifeboat in partnership with the Mumbles lifeboat.
24 November
- Dumbo ( Panama) : She was driven ashore at Las Palmas, Spain, and declared a constructive total loss.
December
7 December
- USCGC White Alder (WLM-541) (
United States Coast Guard): The buoy tender was sunk in a collision with the MV Helena (
Taiwan) in the Mississippi River near White Castle, Louisiana. Only 3 of her 20 crewmen survived.[19]
19 December
- Gold Sky ( Panama): The cargo ship sprang a leak and sank in the Mediterranean Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Gibraltar. The crew were rescued by Otto Leonhardt (
West Germany).[4]
22 December
- Helisoma ( United Kingdom): The tanker struck a Vietcong mine in a South Vietnamese port and was damaged.[20]
- Federal Queen ( United Kingdom): The schooner capsized and sank off Canouan Island, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Forty-one of the 79 people on board were killed.[21]
Unknown date
- PL-772 (
Soviet Navy): The Golf 2-class submarine foundered in the Pacific Ocean 90 nautical miles (170 km) south west of Hawaii, United States with the loss of all hands.[22]
References
- ↑ "Submarine all night aground" The Times (London). Saturday, 13 January 1968. (57148), col C, p. 1.
- ↑ "Picture Gallery" The Times (London). Monday, 15 January 1968. (57149), col D-F, p. 1.
- ↑ "20 are killed in Scots hurricane" The Times (London). Tuesday, 16 January 1968. (57170), col D-E, p. 1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Mitchell, W H, and Sawyer, L A (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
- ↑ "15 missing as ship sinks" The Times (London). Tuesday, 29 February 1968. (57180), col G, p. 5.
- ↑ "Panama blockage" The Times (London). Monday, 26 February 1968. (57185), col G, p. 1.
- ↑ "Panama clear" The Times (London). Tuesday, 27 February 1968. (57186), col D, p. 1.
- ↑ "Oil near holiday beaches" The Times (London). Monday, 4 March 1968. (57191), col C, p. 1.
- ↑ "28 hours on a life raft" The Times (London). Monday, 11 March 1968. (57197), col D-F, p. 3.
- ↑ "Belgian Merchant A-G". Belgische Koopvaardij. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
- ↑ "Belgian Merchant H-O". Belgische Koopvaardij. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- ↑ "Dutch crew saved by fishermen" The Times (London). Wednesday, 1 May 1968. (57240), col G, p. 6.
- ↑ "Three tankers in port explosion" The Times (London). Tuesday, 7 May 1968. (57245), col C, p. 5.
- ↑ "Oil menace to Natal coast" The Times (London). Thursday, 20 June 1968. (57282), col G, p. 6.
- ↑ "Wreck sank British ship" The Times (London). Monday, 9 September 1968. (57351), col C, p. 3.
- ↑ "Many lost in ferry" The Times (London). Saturday, 13 October 1968. (57380), col D, p. 1.
- ↑ "30 rescued in Channel tanker blast" The Times (London). Monday, 21 October 1968. (57387), col G, p. 1.
- ↑ "Fears of 200 deaths as floods sweep north Italy" The Times (London). Monday, 4 November 1968. (57399), col D-G, p. 1.
- ↑ http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/White_Alder_1947.asp
- ↑ "vietcong hole a British ship" The Times (London). Monday, 23 December 1968. (57441), col E, p. 1.
- ↑ "41 missing in wreck" The Times (London). Monday, 23 December 1968. (57441), col E, p. 1.
- ↑ "CIA tells Russia of Soviet sea disaster" The Times (London). Saturday, 17 October 1992. (64466), col F-G, p. 10.
See also
| Ship events in 1968 | |||||||||||
| Ship launches: | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
| Ship commissionings: | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
| Ship decommissionings: | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
| Shipwrecks: | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 |
- This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.