#11.
SRI LANKA CHEMICAL SHIPWRECK
MV X-PRESS PEARL, a chemical ship carrying 81 containers of hazardous chemicals, caught
fire and caused environmental carnage on the Sri Lanka coast of Colombo.
The disaster was destructive in every way.
Hundreds of tons of chemicals and plastics leaked into the sea until they caught fire.
Roughly 1,200 tons of plastic pellets filled the shores.
The burning lasted for two weeks before the ship finally sank.
The accident was described as Sri Lanka's worst marine disaster by authorities.
The Sri Lankan government claimed $40 million in damages for operational costs incurred
in handling the shipwreck.
The Singapore-based company that owned the ship said in late December 2021 that they
had hired a salvage company to remove the ship's remains.
#10.
CUBA SHIP SINKING A migrant ship sank off the coast of Havana,
Cuba, on December 11, 2021.
The speedboat was overloaded with 23 migrants in bad weather as it made its way into the
United States.
Two men were recovered dead when the sinking happened, with two minors, twelve men, and
seven women rescued.
Coastguards near the Santa Cruz del Norte in Mayabque, a province on the border of Havana,
found the castaways of a half-sunk speedboat and its occupants scattered in the sea.
Since there is no documentation on the number of people in the boat, a search for possible
missing people was immediately commissioned.
This incident came after two other migrants died and 10 went out attempting to get to
Florida in the United States illegally.
#9.
BALTIC FOG COLLISION Two cargo ships collided during foggy conditions
on the Baltic seas.
The incident occurred between Bornholm and Ystad.
The rescue mission took five hours and included a mix of divers and official rescue teams.
There were civilian vessels in the vicinity who also jumped in and helped with the rescue.
There were 9 vessels on a rescue mission, including one Danish helicopter.
The collision left two people on the Danish ship missing, and the rescue team has not
found any traces of them since December 13, 2021.
The Karin Hoej, a 55-meter ship, which was empty during the accident, had capsized when
authorities reached it, its two people aboard missing.
The 90-meter Scot Carrier that it collided with was functional, and its crew was all
safe.
#8.
27 KILLED IN CHANNEL BOAT DISASTER Many people who migrate between France and
England use the Channel.
The incident occurred in November 2021 when the 27 were moving across to England.
16 Iraqis, 4 Afghans, 3 Ethiopians, 1 Iranian, 1 Somali, and 1 Egyptian were on the vessel
when the disaster hit.
The French Interior Ministry later issued a statement noting that only 2 people survived
the boat capsizes, 1 Somali and the Iraqi.
The Iraqi survivor suggested that they were 33 on the ship, which means that there are
6 people still missing.
Their remains were sent to their various hometowns on December 26, 2021.
#7.
34 LOST AT SEA Officials report an attempt to smuggle migrants
into the United States from the Bahamas through the Florida coasts.
The boat had 40 people onboard and capsized on January 27, 2022, but the 3-day search
did not answer where they could be.
The rescue mission discovered 5 dead bodies and a lone survivor, who confirmed that nobody
wore a life jacket on the ship.
The Miami officials halted their search and confirmed that they had no cause to believe
that anyone else survived the accident.
Meanwhile, a probe to prosecute anyone who organized or profited off the dangerous and
now-grossly fatal venture is in place.
#6.
CANADA SINKING On February 15, 2021, news from Montreal is
that at least 10 fishermen died and 11 are still missing when a 50-meter trawler from
Spain, Villa de Pitanxo, sank in rough seas off the Canadian waters.
The Spanish vessel had 24 people aboard when it fell.
Poor weather conditions also limited the efforts of rescuers.
The joint rescue coordination center retrieved 7 bodies and 3 survivors at first.
Later, they found additional 3 deceased people in the hunt.
The 3 survivors were in a state of hypothermic shock due to the very low temperature of the
water in Eastern Canada.
Madrid received 2 distress calls when the incident happened.
#5.
BURNING PORSCHES Devastating news from Portugal on February
17 shows that a cargo ship carrying thousands of luxury cars caught fire and started drifting
offshore on the coast of Azores.
The vessel departed from Germany and was scheduled to arrive at Rhode Island.
The ship carried over 1,100 Porsches and other highly-priced luxury vehicles like 189 Bentleys.
Altogether, there were 4,000 vehicles on board.
The inventory in the vessel did not burn down, and there is no proof of how much remains
now.
All 22 crew members were rescued before the ship drifted further away.
#4.
GREECE FIRE Euroferry Olympia was headed to Brindisi,
Italy when it caught fire.
Most of the passengers were evacuated, but some truck drivers onboard were unaccounted
for.
Among the 281 survivors, there have been two unregistered survivors on the vessel.
That could only mean that the numbers could be more than officials quoted, with unregistered
travelers.
The survivors so far include 250 passengers, including the 2 unregistered Afghans and 51
crewmembers.
As of now, 3 onboard truck drivers are still suffering from breathing difficulties from
the fire.
Recently, 2 more unidentified bodies have been discovered.
That brings the number to 3 dead bodies and 8 missing people.
#3.
BANGLADESH ACCIDENT CLAIMS 21 LIVES A boat was reportedly carrying 60 people collided
in August 2021.
At least 21 people, including 9 women and 6 children, died, and 7 people were critical.
The search included local civilians and a joint rescue team.
Some of the survivors also swam to the banks of the lake; however, their families remain
missing.
The authorities blame poor maintenance for the accident.
Overcrowding caused 78 people to die on a cargo ship in 2015.
There have been sanctions and an open investigation into the circumstances leading to the collision.
This brought the tally to 3 in the South Asian country.
In April and May, 2 capsizing accidents also killed 54 people.
In 2020, a significant ferry accident also killed 32 people.
#2.
ODESA EXPLOSION An Estonian cargo ship sank on the Ukrainian
port of Odesa after an explosion on March 3.
Out of 6 crewmembers, only 2 were rescued.
The 2 were in the water raft while the 4 remained missing.
Vista Shipping Agency, who is responsible for the ship, grew worried, as the situation
in Ukraine got worse by the minute.
Igor Ilves, manager of the agency, spoke to London reporters and seemed devastated by
the incident.
Igor answered the query of the missing crewmembers with a painful, "I don't know where they are
at the moment."
#1.
WOMAN JUMPS FROM CRUISE SHIP A woman jumped from the 10th floor of the
Carnival Valor on February 15 after an arrest while aboard the ship.
The unidentified woman was seen in a video held with hands at the back by officials,
uncuffed, and led away on a flight of stairs.
The 32-year-old woman was heard screaming Alicia's name before officials led her upstairs.
The video then cuts to moments after she jumped into the Gulf of Mexico.
The ship circled for hours, and rescuers tried to find her but to no avail.
Eyewitnesses claim that she hit her head on the edge of the vessel before she fell into
the water, face first.
The incident occurred in New Orleans.
The coast guards suspended the search for the woman after their attempts proved futile.
Which of these accidents was most shocking to you?