American Shipwrecks Episodes

In November 1966, the SS Daniel J. Morrell broke apart in a Lake Huron storm. Of 29 men aboard, only one survived.

In January of 1913, the steamboat James T. Staples—one of the most elegant vessels to travel the Tombigbee River—was torn apart by a sudden boiler explosion near Powe’s Landing in Alabama, killing dozens and leaving the once-proud riverboat a smoldering wreck. Built by respected captain Norman Staples, the ship had only recently been taken from his control after a bitter financial collapse, marking the end of a career shaped by ambition, tragedy, and the fading era of Southern river travel. In ...

In October 2015, the cargo ship El Faro sank in Hurricane Joaquin with 33 people aboard.

Two WWII era converted T2 tankers split in half during a violent nor'easter off Cape Cod on February 18, 1952.

Seven US Navy Destroyers are lost in the US Navy's worst peacetime disaster in its history.

A lighthouse keeper's family heroically aids survivors of a Christmas Eve shipwreck.

The former WW2 era tanker Marine Sulphur Queen disappeared without a trace in 1963.

The Open Boat is a fictional account of four men surviving in a small dinghy following being shipwrecked.

Author Stephen Crane survived the shipwreck of SS Commodore in 1897 and wrote "The Open Boat" based on his expierience.

The luxury Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria sank after colliding with the Swedish vessel Stockholm in 1956.

The SS Eastland capsized in the Chicago River killing 844 people in 1915.

The USCGC Tampa was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1918 and found over 100 years later.

Oliver Hazard Perry scores an unlikely victory over the British for control of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

An American whaleship is wrecked in a storm and its sailors stranded in Palau.

The Glenesslin mysteriously crashed into the cliffs of Oregon in calm weather.

The 5-masted schooner Carroll A. Deering was found mysteriously abandoned in 1921, with no trace of the crew.

The USS Narcissus sank in 1866 during a storm at the mouth of Tampa Bay, Florida.

The Titan submersible imploded on June 18, 2023, killing all 5 people on board.

On June 18, 2023, the Titan submersible imploded during a voyage to the wreck of the Titanic, killing all 5 on board.

The Lac La Belle was lost in 1872 on Lake Michigan and found 150 years later.

20 men struggle to survive after their whaleship is destroyed by a whale in the south Pacific.

The Deadliest Passenger Ship Disaster off the Coast of the United States Since 1934

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975.

The Star of Bengal ran aground in Alaska on Sept 20, 1908 with the loss of 111 people.