How Many Ships Besides the Titanic Broke in Half While Sinking?

While the Titanic is a well-known example of a ship breaking in half while sinking, several other large vessels have experienced the same fate. The SS Pendleton and various large tankers like the SS Fort Mercer split in two during sinking incidents, making the Titanic not the only ship to break in half while going down.

The Great Sinking Stories

Even though the Titanic is often thought of as the epitome of Promethean Hubris, the unsinkable ship sank only 4 days after its maiden voyage, 350 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. No other ship could have survived the damage she suffered, and no other ship could have remained afloat as long as the Titanic. The combination of not capsize and the lack of multi-water-tight buckling ruptures saved the most amount of lives. The Ro-Pax ferry MS Estonia capsized in 30 minutes and took 8-15 minutes to fully sink, with 852 out of 989 individuals aboard dying, along with 69 more non-listed passengers. Only 137 survived.

SS Edmund Fitzgerald: 29 Fatalities

The Great Lakes iron ore freighter sank during a heavy storm. The ship was listing and in a state of cautious distress when a crewman made the final radio contact just before a series of heavy waves crashed over the front portion of the deck. This caused the cargo holds 3-4 to implode, filling with water. The final wave and water torque led to structural failure of the mid-keel. The bow rested upright and reached the bottom in under 30 seconds, while the stern sank in oscillations, with no time to float, plunging under at the same time as the bow. The midsection, where the failure occurred, was crushed into small debris.

SS Daniel J. Morrell: 28/29 Fatalities

This other Great Lakes ore freighter had a very long keel. The severe weather was only part of the equation. The Morrell had rivets missing, and faulty replacement rivets had started micro-fractures over a 10-year period. The ship separated in an extremely calm manner. The men attempting to abandon ship at the stern raft were surprised to see their own bow approaching them, as it had floated irregularly before sinking. Only 3 men managed to get into the deployed raft, with one dying within an hour and another within 3 hours, leaving only a single survivor. The stern stayed afloat for 90 minutes before finally sinking. Eventually, the bow was found approximately 5 miles away.

SS Carl D. Bradley: 33/35 Fatalities

The large ore-bulk-oil combination carrier entered a typhoon when waves were breaking over the bow. Over 12 hours, water entered through open vents, causing the bow to sit lower and lower. The ship took a turn for the worse when waves implosion caused the bow to become even deeper, allowing the next hold to implose. The bow eventually detached, leading to the ship splitting in two.

RMS Lusitania: 1197/1960 Fatalities

The RMS Lusitania, a passenger liner, sank after being torpedoed by a German U-boat during World War I. Even though it is not a case of breaking in half, it is worth mentioning due to the tremendous loss of life. The ship took 1 hour and 20 minutes to sink, with 1197 out of 1960 passengers and crew dying.

MV Derbyshire: 422/42 Fatalities

The large ore-bulk-oil combination carrier suffered a transverse rapid brittle fracture off the coast of Newfoundland in unfavorable seas. The bow ended up detaching, and the stern sank in 30 minutes, while the bow stayed afloat for 4 days. Only 2 crewmen, along with their wives, survived.

MV Flare: 21/25 Fatalities

The bulk carrier suffered a transverse rapid brittle fracture off the coast of Newfoundland. The crew members attempting to abandon ship at the stern raft station were surprised to see a bow approaching them, only to realize it was the Flare's own bow. The stern sank in 30 minutes, but the bow stayed afloat for 4 days. The fracture delineation diagram of the Flare shows the exact point of failure.

These stories reveal the dangers of the sea and the structural weaknesses that can lead to catastrophic failures. History and engineering continue to teach us valuable lessons to ensure safer vessel designs and operations.