A maritime disaster is an event which usually involves a ship or ships and can involve military action. Because of the nature of maritime travel, there is often a substantial loss of life. The term maritime disaster can refer to both commercial ships and military naval ships. A maritime disaster can result in one or more of the following simultaneously;
- Loss of life
- Pollution of marine environment (in case of oil spill, foul discharge of materials, sulphur emitted from fuels, etc.)
- Degradation of the aquatic ecosystem
- Economical loss at a grand scale
- Destruction of onshore properties (accidents at harbor are not only limited to the vessels but also damage the nearest lands)
There are countless incidents reported on marine disasters.
The sinking of the British ocean liner RMS Titanic in 1912, with over 1,500 fatalities, is probably the most famous shipwreck, but not the biggest in terms of lives lost. The wartime sinking of the German Wilhelm Gustloff in January 1945 in World War II by a Soviet Navy submarine,
with an estimated loss of about 9,400 people, remains the deadliest isolated maritime disaster ever, excluding such events as the destruction of entire fleets like the 1274 and 1281 storms that are said to have devastated Kublai Khan’s fleets in his invasions of Japan. The 1987 loss of the Philippine ferry Doña Paz, with an estimated 4,386 dead, is the largest peacetime loss recorded.
