List of missing ships

SS Waratah and its 211 crew and passengers were last heard from on 27 July 1909. Its wreck has yet to be found.

This is a list of missing ships and wrecks. If it is known that the ship in question sank, then its wreck has not yet been located.

Ships are usually declared lost and assumed wrecked after a period of disappearance. The disappearance of a ship usually implies all hands lost. Without witnesses or survivors, the mystery surrounding the fate of missing ships has inspired many items of nautical lores and the creation of paranormal zones such as the Bermuda Triangle. In many cases a probable cause has been deduced, such as a known storm or warfare, but it could not be confirmed without witnesses or sufficient documentation.

Many disappearances occurred before wireless telegraphy became available in navigation applications in the late 1890s, which would have allowed crew to send a distress call. Sudden disasters such as military strike, collision, rogue wave, or piracy could also prevent a crew from sending a distress call and reporting a location.

Among the many missing ships on the list are submarines, which have limited communication, and provide the crew almost no chance of survival if struck by disaster under water.

The advancement of radar technology by the end of World War II and today's Global Positioning System make it more likely that a distressed vessel will be located.

Most vessels currently listed as missing disappeared over a vast search area and/or deep water and there is little commercial interest in searching for the vessels and salvaging the contents. Often the search and recovery costs are prohibitive even with today's sonar and wrecking technologies and could not be compensated by salvaged valuables, if indeed there were any on board. The search for these types of missing vessels is usually motivated by historical, legal or actuarial interests requiring the aid of government funding such as in the 2008 discovery of HMAS Sydney and Kormoran.^[1]

The list is organised by the marine region in which the disappearance or sinking occurred, or the closest country to the area. The year of the disappearance, last known location, and possible location of the wreck are included.

Africa

South Africa

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
SS	Waratah	1909	somewhere between Durban and Cape Town^[2]

North America

Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
SS	Arctic	1854	somewhere off Cape Race, Newfoundland^[3] (missing Wreck)

Nova Scotia

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
FV	Andrea Gail	1991	somewhere off Sable Island
	L'Acadien II	2008	somewhere off Cape Breton^[4] (missing wreck)
FV	Jutland	1920	approximately 160 kilometers southeast of Halifax

United States

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
SS	Baychimo	1969	Ghost ship last sighted in 1969 in Beaufort Sea off Alaska.
SS	Marine Sulphur Queen	1963	somewhere in Florida Strait around 25°45′N 86°00′W / 25.750°N 86.000°W / 25.750; -86.000 ^[5] (missing wreck)

Undetermined Area

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	Albany	1854	somewhere in Caribbean Sea ^[6]
USS	Cyclops	1918	somewhere between Barbados and Baltimore, Maryland ^[7]
	Danube	1892	somewhere between Guadeloupe and New York City ^[8]
HMS	Heureux	1800	somewhere between the Caribbean and Halifax ^[9]
USS	Insurgent	1800	somewhere in Caribbean Sea^[10]
USS	Lynx	1820	somewhere between St. Mary's, Georgia and Kingston, Jamaica ^[11]
	Maratonga	2015	somewhere between Norfolk, Virginia and Portugal ^[12]
USS	Nereus	1941	^[13]
USS	Pickering	1800	somewhere between Newcastle, Delaware and Guadeloupe ^[14]
USS	Proteus	1941	somewhere in Caribbean Sea ^[15]
USS	Saratoga	1781	somewhere in Caribbean Sea ^[16]
	Java	1869	en route to Yokohama ^[17]

Antarctica

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
MV	Explorer	2007	Approximately halfway between King George Island and D'Urville Island in the Bransfield Strait^[18] (missing wreck)

Asia

India

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
SS	Vaitarna	1888	somewhere off the coast of Saurashtra in Arabian Sea

Indonesia

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	U-196	1944	somewhere south of Java near Sunda Strait^[19]
USS	Capelin	1943	somewhere near Sulawesi
HMS	Lady Nelson	1825	unconfirmed destruction at Aluta Island or Baba Island^[20]

Japan

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	Kete	1945	somewhere off Ryukyu Islands
USS	Runner	1943	somewhere off Japan^[21]
USS	Swordfish	1945	somewhere off Ryukyu Islands^[22]

Philippines

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	Grayling	1943	somewhere off Manila or in Lingayen Gulf^[23]

Undetermined Area

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	Porpoise	1854	somewhere off the coast of China or Taiwan^[24]
USS	Snook	1945	somewhere between South China Sea and Luzon Strait^[25]

Europe

Greece

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
HMS	Sickle	1944	probably sunk in Antikithera Channel^[26]
HMS	Simoom	1943	somewhere in Aegean Sea^[27]

United Kingdom

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
Unterseeboot	U-47	1941	somewhere near the Rockall Banks around 60°N 19°W / 60°N 19°W / 60; -19^[28]
Unterseeboot	U-246	1945	somewhere in Irish Sea south of Isle of Man around 53°40′0″N 04°53′5″W / 53.66667°N 4.88472°W / 53.66667; -4.88472^[29]

France

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Minerve	1968	Somewhere off the coast of Toulon ^[30]

Undetermined Area

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
Unterseeboot	U-1	1940	somewhere in North Sea^[31]
Unterseeboot	U-22	1940	somewhere in Skagerrak Strait^[32]
Unterseeboot	U-54	1940	somewhere in North Sea^[33]
Unterseeboot	U-122	1940	somewhere between North Sea and Bay of Biscay^[34]
Unterseeboot	U-240	1944	somewhere in North Sea west of Norway^[35]
Unterseeboot	U-337	1943	somewhere around 63°N 12°W / 63°N 12°W / 63; -12^[36]
Unterseeboot	U-376	1943	somewhere in Bay of Biscay^[37]
Unterseeboot	U-398	1945	somewhere in Ligurian Sea^[38]
Unterseeboot	U-455	1944	somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea ^[36]
Unterseeboot	U-479	1944	somewhere in Gulf of Finland ^[39]
Unterseeboot	U-519	1943	somewhere in Bay of Biscay^[40]
Schooner	Cymric	1943	Last seen 24 February 1943 off Dublin en route to Lisbon vanished with crew of 11^[41]
Unterseeboot	U-703	1944	somewhere in Norwegian Sea^[42]
Unterseeboot	U-745	1945	somewhere in Gulf of Finland (missing wreck)^[43]
Unterseeboot	U-703	1944	somewhere in Norwegian Sea^[42]
	Eurydice	1970	somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea
	Gibraltar	1867	reportedly sunk in English Channel^[44] (missing wreck)
HMS	Seahorse	1940	somewhere in Heligoland Bight^[45] (missing wreck)
HMS	Snapper	1941	somewhere in Bay of Biscay^[46]

Oceania

Australia

New South Wales

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Awahou	1952	somewhere between Sydney and Lord Howe Island^[47]
	Whale	1816	somewhere between Sydney and the Hawkesbury^[47]

Northern Territory

Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
Nft West	1989	somewhere in Arafura Sea^[20]
Peron	1948	somewhere near Darwin^[20]
Phoenix	1950	somewhere between Truscott and Darwin^[20]

Queensland

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Douglas Mawson	1923	somewhere between Cairns and Thursday Island^[20]
	Morning Star	1814	somewhere off Booby Island^[48]

South Australia

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location

Tasmania

Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
Albion		somewhere between Table Cape and Circular Head^[49]
Amelia J.	1920	somewhere around the Furneaux Group^[50]
Argo	1814	somewhere off the coast^[49]
Awarau	1891	somewhere off Macquarie Island^[51]
Celestia	1887	somewhere between Russell, New Zealand and Hobart^[49]
Chris	1903	somewhere between Hobart and Adventure Bay^[49]
City of Hobart	1873	somewhere between Hobart and Blackman's Bay^[49]
Despatch	1826	somewhere off Cape Pillar^[49]
Elizabeth Radcliff	1850	^[49]
Fleetwing	1876	^[49]
John Leslie Griffiths	1880	somewhere around King Island^[52]
Louisa	1882	somewhere around Fortescue Bay^[49]
Omega	1921	somewhere between Hobart and Lyttelton, New Zealand^[49]
Reindeer	1862	somewhere around the Kent Group^[53] (missing wreck)
Resolution	1832	somewhere between Launceston and Twofold Bay^[49]
Southern Cross	1908	somewhere around the Furneaux Group^[50] (unconfirmed wreck)
Unity	1813	somewhere off the coast^[49]

Victoria

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Flying Duck	1876	somewhere off Swan Island (unidentified/missing wreck)^[49]

Western Australia

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Patanella	1988	somewhere off Sydney Harbour (Suspected destroyed by a freighter at night, debris was found. )^[49]

Undetermined Area

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Grecian Queen	1863	somewhere between Newcastle and Melbourne (unidentified/missing wreck)^[49]
	John	1806	somewhere between King Island and Sydney^[47]
	Jumna	1881	somewhere between Hobart and Fremantle^[49]
	Lady Franklin	1838	somewhere between Sydney and Hobart^[49]
	Maid of Australia	1834	somewhere between Port Arthur and Port Philip^[49]
	Port Phillip Packet	1838	somewhere between Launceston and Port Phillip Bay^[49]
	Princess Charlotte	1820	somewhere between Hobart and Sydney^[49]
	Raven	1806	^[49]
HMS	Sappho	1858	somewhere in Bass Strait
	Senorita	1854	somewhere between Sydney and Hobart^[49]
	Venus	1803	somewhere between Sydney and southern New Zealand^[49]
	Viscount McDuff	After 8 August 1882	somewhere between Sydney and Madras (unidentified/missing wreck)^[49]
	Vivid	1854	somewhere between Melbourne and Circular Head, Tasmania^[49]
	Yarra Yarra	1838	somewhere between Launceston and Port Phillip Bay^[49]

Northern Mariana Islands

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	Gudgeon	1944	near Maug Islands,^[54] or unconfirmed sinking southeast of Iwo Jima at 22°52′N 143°32′W / 22.867°N 143.533°W / 22.867; -143.533^[55] (missing wreck)

New Zealand

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	General Grant	1866	off western shore of Auckland Island,^[56] (missing wreck)

Papua New Guinea

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
HMAS	AE1	1914	near Duke of York Islands (unconfirmed wreck)^[57]
USS	Amberjack	1943	probably sunk off Rabaul (missing wreck)^[58]
USS	Grampus	1943	probably sunk in Blackett Strait (missing wreck)

Solomon Islands

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	Grampus	1943	probably sunk in Blackett Strait (missing wreck)^[59]

United States

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
USS	S-28	1944	somewhere off Oahu, Hawaii^[60]

Undetermined Area

Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
Independence	1805	somewhere between Sydney and the Antipodes Islands, south east of New Zealand
Active	1810	Tasman Sea^[61]
Booya	1974	somewhere between Darwin to Dili^[20]

High Seas

The following lists contain entries that could not be referenced to an area close to any one particular country or an area definitely in international waters.

Arctic Ocean

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
Unterseeboot	U-355	1944	^[62]
Unterseeboot	U-398	1945	possibly in North Sea as well^[63] (also listed under Europe)

Atlantic Ocean

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	U-116	1942	somewhere around 45°00′N 31°30′W / 45.000°N 31.500°W / 45.000; -31.500^[64]
	U-184	1942	somewhere east of Newfoundland near 49°N 45°W / 49°N 45°W / 49; -45^[65]
	U-192	1943	somewhere southeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland around 53°06′N 45°02′W / 53.100°N 45.033°W / 53.100; -45.033^[66] (missing wreck)
	U-338	1943	somewhere around 57°N 30°W / 57°N 30°W / 57; -30^[67]
	U-381	1943	somewhere south of Greenland ^[68]
	U-420	1943	^[69]
	U-529	1943	^[70]
	U-553	1943	^[71]
	U-1226	1944	^[72]
	Africa	1883	somewhere between New York City and Leith^[73]
	America	1882	somewhere between New York City and Hamburg^[73]
	Apollo	1894	somewhere between New York City and Antwerp^[73]
HMS	Atalanta	1800	somewhere between Bermuda and England^[74]
SS	City of Boston	1870	somewhere between New York City and Liverpool^[73]
SS	City of Glasgow	1854	somewhere between Liverpool and Philadelphia^[73]
	City of Limerick	1882	somewhere between New York City and London^[73]
	City of London	1881	somewhere between London and New York City^[73]
	Colombo	1876	somewhere between Hull and New York City^[73]
USS	Epervier	1815	^[75]
	Erin	1889	somewhere between New York City and London^[73]
	Henry Edye	1881	somewhere between Antwerp and New York City^[73]
	Hermann Ludwig	1878	somewhere between New York City and Antwerp^[73]
	Humber	1885	somewhere between New York City and London^[73]
	Huronian	1902	somewhere between Glasgow and St. John, New Brunswick^[73]
	Ismailia	1873	somewhere between New York City and Glasgow^[73]
FV	Johannes Krüss	1967	somewhere west of Cape Farewell, Greenland^[76]
	København	1928-1929	somewhere between Buenos Aires and Australia (also listed under Indian Ocean)
	Ludwig	1883	somewhere between Antwerp and Montreal^[73]
	Madagascar	1853	somewhere between Port Phillip and London^[77] (also listed under Indian Ocean)
	Mercator	1880	somewhere between Antwerp and New York City^[73]
	Merrimac	1899	somewhere between Quebec City and Belfast^[73]
	Moy	1905	somewhere between British Guiana and Liverpool ^[8]
MS	München	1978	somewhere around 44°N 24°W / 44°N 24°W / 44; -24^[78] (missing wreck)
SS	Naronic	1893	somewhere between Point Lynas, Wales and New York City^[73]
	Neustria	1908	somewhere between New York City and Marseille^[73]
	Neva	1887	somewhere between Banyuwangi and Lisbon^[8] (also listed under Indian Ocean)
	Pacific	1856	somewhere between Liverpool and New York City^[73]
	Pauillac	1900	somewhere between Glasgow and St. John, New Brunswick^[73]
	President	1841	somewhere between New York City and Liverpool^[73]
	De Ruyter	1894	somewhere between Antwerp and New York City^[73]
	Shannon	1872	somewhere between Montreal and Liverpool^[73]
	Shannon	1885	somewhere between London and Calcutta^[8] (also listed under Indian Ocean)
	Spray	1909	somewhere between Vineyard Haven, United States and Venezuela^[79]
	Tempest	1857	somewhere between New York City and Glasgow^[73]
	Titania	1882	somewhere between New York City and Newcastle^[73]
	Trojan	1874	somewhere between Glasgow and Halifax^[73]
	United Kingdom	1869	somewhere between New York City and Glasgow^[73]
	Vorsetzen	1885	somewhere between Halifax and Antwerp^[73]

Indian Ocean

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	København	1928-1929	somewhere between Buenos Aires and Australia (also listed under Atlantic Ocean)
	Madagascar	1853	somewhere between Port Phillip and London^[77] (also listed under Atlantic Ocean)
	Neva	1887	somewhere between Banyuwangi and Lisbon^[8] (also listed under Atlantic Ocean)
	Shannon	1885	somewhere between London and Calcutta^[8] (also listed under Atlantic Ocean)
	Burmah	1859/60	somewhere between London and New Zealand (last seen near 97E 48S)
HMS	Stonehenge	1944	somewhere in Bay of Bengal or Andaman Sea^[80]
MV	MV Kairali	1979	somewhere 500 km off Margoa, India ^[81]

Tasman Sea

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	SS Canastota	1921	somewhere between Sydney and Wellington^[82]

Pacific Ocean

Prefix	Ship	Year	Possible or Last Known Location
	Amelia	1816	somewhere between Sydney and Java^[83]
SY	Aurora	1918	somewhere between Newcastle, Australia and Iquique, Chile^[84]
	Endeavour	1914	somewhere between Macquarie Island and Hobart^[51]
	HMS Integrity	1805	somewhere between Sydney, Australia and Valparaíso, Chile^[85]
	Kakanui	1891	somewhere between Macquarie Island and New Zealand^[51]
USS	Kete	1945	somewhere between Colnett Strait (Tokara Kaikyo) and Midway Island^[86]

References

↑ "PM offers reward to find sunken warship". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 August 2005. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010.
↑ "The Loss of the Waratah. The Times 23 February 1911 p.24
↑ Never heard of - Mysteries of the Atlantic Ferry
↑ L’Acadien II - Update Archived 12 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Marine Sulphur Queen Coast Guard Report Summary of Findings Archived 9 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Albany
↑ Cyclop
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-01. Nourse Line
↑ Grocott, Terence, Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras, Caxton Editions, Great Britain: 2002. ISBN 978-1-84067-164-3
↑ Insurgent
↑ Lynx
↑ "España suspendió el alerta por el Maratonga". Diario Río Negro (in Spanish). Bariloche. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
↑ Nereus
↑ Pickering
↑ Proteus
↑ Saratoga
↑ "The Missing Boston Clipper Ship Java". The New York Times. 5 September 1869.
↑
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-196
1 2 3 4 5 6 Stone, Peter. "Northern territory". Encyclopedia of Australian Shipwrecks. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
↑ Runner
↑ Sword fish
↑ Grayling
↑ Porpoise
↑ Snook
↑ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Submarine HMS Sickle of the S class
↑ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Submarine HMS Simoom of the S class
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-47
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-246
↑ netmarine.net - french
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-1
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-22
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-54
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-122
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-240
1 2 uboat.net - Boats - U-337
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-376
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-455
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-479
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-519
↑ "Remember". Cymric and 11 crew. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
1 2 uboat.net - Boats - U-703
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-745
↑ Semmes, Raphael, The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter, Carleton, 1864, Digitized by Digital Scanning Incorporated, 2001, ISBN 978-1-58218-353-4
↑ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Submarine HMS Seahorse of the S class
↑ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Submarine HMS Snapper of the S class
1 2 3 http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/nsw-main.html Shipwrecks of New South Wales
↑ Australian Shipwrecks - vol 1 1622-1850, Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, ISBN 978-0-589-07112-7 p50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/tas-main.html Shipwrecks of Tasmania
1 2 http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/furneaux-main.html Furneaux Group Shipwrecks
1 2 3 http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/macquarie-main.html Macquarie Island Shipwrecks
↑ King Island - Mainframe
↑ http://oceans1.customer.netspace.net.au/kent-main.html Kent Group Shipwrecks
↑ Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775-1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
↑ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Submarine USS Gudgeon of the Gar class
↑ Eunson, Keith (1974). The wreck of the General Grant. A.H. & A.W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0-589-0080-3-X.
↑ Foreign Correspondent - 27 March 2007: PNG - The Search for the AE1
↑ Amberjack
↑ Grampus
↑ S-28 Archived 11 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Voyage of the Active
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-355
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-398
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-116
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-184
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-192
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-338
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-381
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-420
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-529
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-553
↑ uboat.net - Boats - U-1226
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/Wrecks/nalosses.htm North Atlantic passenger steamship losses 1841 to 1978
↑ Memorials & Monuments in St Ann's Church - HMS Atalanta
↑ Epervier
↑ DER SPIEGEL 13/1967
1 2 The Lost Gold Ship - No 67 Autumn 2001 - La Trobe Journal Archived 9 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Seefunkstelle Lashcarrier München / DEAT
↑ Dudley Dix on seaworthiness
↑ uboat.net - Allied Warships - Submarine HMS Stonehenge of the S class
↑ 25 years since the Kairali sunk
↑ Wrecksite website and Evening Post 1934 article - 2nd column of 'Ships and the Sea'
↑ Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850, Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, ISBN 978-0-589-07112-7 p52
↑ The S Y Aurora...All that Remains
↑ Australian Shipwrecks - vol1 1622-1850, Charles Bateson, AH and AW Reed, Sydney, 1972, ISBN 978-0-589-07112-7 p40
↑ Kete

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List of missing ships

Africa

North America

Antarctica

Asia

Europe

Oceania

High Seas

See also

References