Canadian Shipwrecks Episodes

He Solved the Greatest Mystery in Arctic History and Then Was Erased From It

129 men vanished in the Canadian Arctic, 1845-1848.

The wreck of SS Warwick in 1896 provided a night to remember for the residents of Grand Manan, New Brunswick.

The Empress of Ireland sank May 29, 1914, killing 1,014 people.

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

Researchers from the University of Rhode Island have mapped numerous shipwrecks in Lake Ontario

The Princess Sophia was a Canadian passenger steamship that tragically sank on October 25, 1918, after striking Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Alaska. Caught in a severe snowstorm with strong winds and poor visibility, the ship ran aground and was unable to be evacuated due to worsening weather. Despite rescue ships waiting nearby, conditions prevented any safe transfer of passengers. When the storm intensified, the Princess Sophia broke apart and sank, killing all 353 people on boar...

The pleasure yacht Wawinet went down on September 21, 1942 in Georgian Bay, Ontario, killing 25 of the 42 on board.

The Ocean Ranger disaster occurred on February 15, 1982, when the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig sank off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, in the North Atlantic. A severe winter storm caused massive waves and hurricane-force winds, leading to water breaching the rig’s ballast control room. A series of mechanical and human errors in handling the flooding worsened the situation, and eventually, the rig capsized. Tragically, all 84 crew members on board died, marking the worst disaster in...

The Catastrophic Collision that Shattered a City: The Halifax Explosion of 1917.

The Steamboat Victoria Disaster

The SS Atlantic disaster occurred on April 1, 1873, when the British steamship SS Atlantic, carrying over 900 passengers and crew, struck rocks off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The ship was en route from Liverpool, England, to New York City but faced severe weather conditions and navigational errors that led to its tragic demise. The impact caused the vessel to quickly sink, resulting in the loss of around 550 lives, making it one of the deadliest maritime disasters of its time. Despite res...

HMS Terror and Erebus disappeared in Canada in 1845, along with Sir John Franklin and his entire expedition.

The cargo ship Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior in 1958, prompting Gordon Lightfoot's legendary song.

In 1854, the SS Arctic of the Collins Line sank off the coast of Newfoundland after colliding with the French fishing vessel, SS Vesta. As it became clear the ship was sinking, many of the crew ignored chivalry, rushing the lifeboats, and pushing women and children aside. About 300 lost their lives, and not a single woman or child survived. The shameful behavior of the crew and devastating loss of life makes the SS Arctic one of the most notorious and tragic shipwrecks in history. Written, edite...

In the early morning hours of 29 May, 1914, the Empress of Ireland collided with the Norwegian ship Storstad, killing over 1000 passengers.