List of maritime disasters in the 20th century

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. This list covers those disasters where 30 or more lives were lost.

The sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, with 1,517 fatalities, is probably the most famous shipwreck, but not the biggest in terms of life lost. The wartime sinking of the 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 greatest maritime disaster ever. In peacetime, the 1987 loss of the ferry Doña Paz, with an estimated 4,386 dead, is the largest non-military loss recorded.

Many maritime disasters happen outside the realms of war. All ships, including those of the military, are vulnerable to problems from weather conditions, faulty design or human error. Some of the disasters below occurred in periods of conflict, although their losses were unrelated to any military action. The table listings are in descending order of the magnitude of casualties suffered.

Disasters with high losses of life can occur in times of armed conflict. Shown below are some of the known events with major losses.

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