Cruise Ships That Went Down in Flames

Going on a cruise is a great way to see the world. For those who love an adventure, it’s an opportunity to have the time of their lives while enjoying beautiful sceneries, feeling the fresh ocean breeze on their faces and visiting several countries. Passengers expect to relax and have a good time. Well, all that’s possible until disaster strikes. While the demise of the RMS Titanic might be the most popular cruise ship passenger disaster, there have been quite a few others. Here are five cruise ships that met unfortunate fates and went down in flames.\r \r 1. The Mighty, Costa Concordia\r \r The Might, Costa Concordia was an enormous passenger ship with seventeen decks, a three-story theater, swimming pools, gyms, restaurants, and other amenities. This luxury ship could accommodate 4,000 passengers. Due to an error on the part of the captain, this cruise ship sank on January 13, 2012. Captain Francesco Schettino turned off the computer navigation alarm and wasn’t wearing his glasses. The ship struck an undersea rock as it approached the shore of the island of Isola del Giglio. The ship overturned and sank close to Tuscany. Thirty-four people lost their lives. In 2017, Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter and received a sixteen-year prison term.\r \r 2. SS Andrea Doria\r \r In July 1956, this Italian cruise liner was sailing to New York when it collided with the Stockholm, another passenger vessel, off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. This accident occurred as a result of misreading the radar coupled with low visibility. It’s regarded as the largest radar-related collision in history. Nearby vessels responded to the SOS call before the ship was engulfed by waves. Over fifty of the 2,000 persons onboard lost their lives mainly due to the impact. \r \r 3. Orient Queen\r \r Lebanese company Abou Merhi Group owned the cruise liner, Orient Queen. It provided cruises to the eastern Med that left from Beirut and stopped at ports in Turkey and Greece. The ship sank in 2020 following a significant ammonium nitrate explosion at Beirut port in Lebanon where it was berthed. Although there were no passengers on the ship, two crew members who were onboard at the time perished when the ship sank and seven others were injured.\r \r 4. Eastern Star\r \r Eastern Star, officially known as the "Dongfang zhi Xing," was a Chinese river cruise ship that would frequently travel the Yangtze River. This ship was caught in a storm in 2015 while sailing from Nanjing to Chongqing and perished in waters only fifteen meters deep. It was noted that there was a lack of communication about the severe weather which contributed to this unfortunate accident. Of the 456 people on the ship, only twelve survived.  The ship swiftly capsized and sank quickly leaving no time for the passengers who were mostly in their sixties and seventies to escape.\r \r 5. MTS Oceanos\r \r The MTS Oceanos was a Greek owned cruise ship that operated from Piraeus. The ship was in a poor condition and was in need of several repairs. On August 3, 1991, this ship left East London, South Africa and was heading to Durban when it sank. This was caused by excessive, uncontrolled flooding. The vessel was not seaworthy enough to withstand the gale-force winds and the massive swells. The captain and many of the crew abandoned the passengers. The entertainers on board the ship raised the alarm and assisted in guiding all 581 passengers and the remaining crew to safety.