shipwreck news stories on Newser

On a Sinking Ship? Better Save Yourself

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:25:18 CDT

A hundred years after the Titanic sank, two Swedish researchers say today that when it comes to sinking ships, male chivalry is "a myth" and more men generally survive such disasters than women and children. Economists Mikael Elinder and Oscar Erixon of Uppsala University also showed in their 82-page study...

Scientists Create First Full Map of Titanic Wreckage

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:34:41 CST

For the first time ever, researchers have constructed a complete map of the Titanic's underwater shipwreck site. When the Titanic sank in 1912, debris was scattered across an area measuring 3 by 5 miles. To draw a detailed map of the area, scientists dispatched robots to take more than 100,...

Optical Illusion Helped Sink Titanic

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 08:07:22 CST

Why exactly did the Titanic plow into that deadly iceberg? New research argues that an optical illusion played a big role. As the theory goes, atmospheric conditions generated a phenomenon known as "super refraction," explains Smithsonian Magazine . This bending of lights can create mirages, and it had a two-fold effect...

238 Saved, 112 Still Missing in Ferry Wreck

Kevin Spak — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:10:05 CST

Rescuers have managed to find 238 survivors of the ferry that sank off Papua New Guinea yesterday and get them to safety—but that still leaves 112 of the 350 who were aboard the Rabaul Queen unaccounted for, the New York Times reports. Search teams, which are using three ships,...

Treasure Hunter: I Found $3B Shipwreck

Kevin Spak — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:27:39 CST

Treasure hunter Greg Brooks thinks he's hit pay dirt—or pay ocean, as the case may be. Brooks and his colleagues at the Maine-based Sub Sea Research say they've discovered the remains of a British merchant ship that was sunk by German U-boats off Cape Cod during World War II—...

Italy Calls Off Search for Cruise Victims

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:51:17 CST

The 16 passengers of the ill-fated Costa Concordia still listed as missing will likely remain that way: Italy today called off the search for their bodies, saying conditions are too dangerous to allow rescue workers to proceed. The decision was made following technical studies of the ship's damaged hull, reports...

Costa Concordia Wreck Will Take Months to Remove

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:51:25 CST

It could take as long as 10 months to remove the downed Costa Concordia from the reef off the island of Giglio, and residents are starting to worry about the impact the wreck will have on tourism and the environment. Another blast was set off in an underwater compartment, but...

Costa Survivors to Get $14K Each

Matt Cantor — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:06:19 CST

Well, it's better than 30% off your next cruise : Costa Concordia survivors will each walk away with $14,400 in compensation, says an Italian tourism industry group. The payout covers damaged and lost property, as well as psychological distress, and includes reimbursement for the trip plus travel costs, CNN reports;...

Costa Offers Survivors 30% Off... a New Cruise

Mark Russell — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:30:00 CST

The cruise line that operated the doomed Costa Concordia has a strange way of compensating the victims of its shipwreck—30% discounts off a future cruise, provided survivors stick with Costa Cruises, reports the New York Daily News . “The company is not only going to refund everybody, but they will...