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.

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1987	PHILIPPINES	Doña Paz – On 20 December 1987, the ferry bound for Manila with more than its capacity of unlisted passengers collided with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait, near Marinduque. The resulting fire and sinking left an estimated 4,386 dead which included all but 24 of Doña Paz's passengers, and all but two of Vector's 13-man crew.[1][2]	4,386

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1948	CHINA	Kiangya – The passenger steamship blew up and sank in the mouth of the Huangpu River 50 mi (80 km) south of Shanghai on 4 December 1948. The suspected cause of the explosion wasKiangya hitting a mine left behind by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The exact death toll is unknown, however, it is thought that between 2,750 and 3,920 died with 700–1,000 survivors being picked up by other vessels.	2,750–3,920

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1917	CANADA	Mont-Blanc and the Halifax Explosion – On 6 December 1917, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada, was devastated by the huge explosion of the fully laden French munitions ship Mont-Blanc. She collided with the Norwegian ship Imo in The Narrows part of Halifax Harbour. The Mont-Blanc '​s 40-man crew all escaped but minutes later she exploded. About 2,000 people on the shore and in Halifax were killed by the explosion, falling debris, fires or collapsing buildings, and over 9,000 were injured, particularly by flying glass.[3] It is still the largest accidental explosion of conventional weapons to date.[4]	2,000 {estimated} 1,950 known dead

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
2002	SENEGAL	Le Joola – On 26 September 2002, the overloaded ferry capsized in rough seas with an estimated death toll of 1,864.[5]	1864

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1865	UNITED STATES	Sultana – On 26 April 1865 this Mississippi riverboat, steaming north with an excessive number of passenger on board, suffered a series of boiler explosions. An estimated 1,800 of her 2,427 passengers died in the ensuing fire or of drowning in the freezing river.	1800+

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1912	UNITED KINGDOM	RMS Titanic – A passenger ocean liner and, at the time, the world's largest ship. On 14 April 1912, on her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg, buckling part of her hull and causing her to sink in the early hours of 15 April. 706 of her 2,223 passengers and crew survived.[7] Her loss was the catalyst for major reforms in shipping safety and is arguably the most famous maritime disaster, being the subject of countless media portrayals.[8]	1517

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1991	SAUDI ARABIA	Salem Express – On 17 December 1991, while on a voyage from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt, with more than 1600 passengers, the ship struck a reef about 0130 hrs and sank within 10 minutes. Official toll is 470 lives lost, but local lore[citation needed] says many more and that the ship was overcrowded with unlisted passengers returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. The ship is a popular scuba dive site. Details	1400

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1707	GREAT BRITAIN	The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 – On 22 October 1707, a Royal Navy fleet en route from Gibraltar to Portsmouth sailed through dangerous reefs west of the Isles of Scilly. Four ships (HMS Association, HMS Eagle, HMS Romney and HMS Firebrand) sank. The exact number of crew lost is unknown. Statements vary between 1,400[9] and over 2,000.[10] It was later determined that the main cause was the navigators' inability to calculate their longitudeaccurately.	1400-2000

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1954	JAPAN	Toya Maru – A Japanese passenger ferry that sank in Typhoon Marie in the Tsugaru Straitbetween the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu on 26 September 1954. It is said[by whom?] that 1,153 people aboard were lost but the exact number of fatalities remains unknown because some victims managed to board without tickets and others cancelled their passage just before sailing.	1153

YEAR	COUNTRY	DESCRIPTION	LIVES LOST
1744	GREAT BRITAIN	HMS Victory – The 100-gun first-rate sank in a storm in the English Channel while returning to England on the night of 4 October 1744. With her were lost Admiral Sir John Balchen and her entire complement of around 1,150 men.	1150

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_maritime_disasters