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SS Waratah and its 221 crew and passengers were never heard from after 27 July 1909. Its wreck has yet to be found.

This is a list of missing ships and wrecks. If it is known that the ship in question sank, then its wreck has not yet been located.

Ships are usually declared lost and assumed wrecked after a period of disappearance. The disappearance of a ship usually implies all hands lost. Without witnesses or survivors, the mystery surrounding the fate of missing ships has inspired many items of nautical lores and the creation of paranormal zones such as the Bermuda Triangle. In many cases a probable cause has been deduced, such as a known storm or warfare, but it could not be confirmed without witnesses or sufficient documentation.

Many disappearances occurred before wireless telegraphy became available in navigation applications in the late 1890s which would allow crew to send a distress call. Sudden disasters such as military strike, collision, rogue wave, or piracy could also prevent a crew from sending a distress call and reporting a location.

Among the many missing ships on the list are submarines, which have limited communication, and provide the crew almost no chance of survival if struck by disaster underwater.

The advancement of radar technology by the end of World War II and today's Global Positioning System make it more likely that a distressed vessel will be located.

Most vessels currently listed as missing disappeared over a vast search area and/or deep water and there is little commercial interest in searching for the vessels and salvaging the contents. Often the search and recovery costs are prohibitive even with today's sonar and wrecking technologies and could not be compensated by salvaged valuables, if indeed there were any onboard. The search for these types of missing vessels is usually motivated by historical, legal or acturial interests requiring the aide of government funding such as in the 2008 discovery of HMAS Sydney and Kormoran^[1].

The list is organised by the marine region in which the disappearance or sinking occurred, or the closest country to the area. The year of the disappearance, last known location, and possible location of the wreck are included.

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Africa

South Africa
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location SS Waratah 1909 somewhere between Durban and Cape Town[2]

North America

Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location SS Arctic 1854 somewhere off Cape Race, Newfoundland[3]  Nova Scotia Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location L'Acadien II 2008 somewhere off Cape Breton[4] (missing wreck)

United States
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Baychimo 1969 Ghost ship last sighted in 1969 in Beaufort Sea off Alaska. Iron Mountain 1872 somewhere between Vicksburg, Mississippi and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [5] SS Marine Sulphur Queen 1963 somewhere in Florida Strait around 25°45′N 86°00′W / 25.75°N 86°W / 25.75; -86 [6] (missing wreck)

South America

Antarctica

Asia

Indonesia
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Unterseeboot 196 1944 somewhere south of Java near Sunda Strait[17] USS Capelin 1943 somewhere near Sulawesi Lady Nelson 1825 unconfirmed destruction at Aluta Island or Baba Island[18]

Japan
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location USS Kete 1945 somewhere off Ryukyu Islands USS Runner 1943 somewhere off Japan[19] USS Swordfish 1945 somewhere off Ryukyu Islands[20]

Philippines
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location USS Grayling 1943 somewhere off Manila or in Lingayen Gulf[21]

Europe

Greece
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location HMS Sickle 1944 probably sunk in Antikithera Channel[24] HMS Simoom 1943 somewhere in Aegean Sea[25]

United Kingdom
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Unterseeboot U-47 1941 somewhere near the Rockall Banks around 60°N 19°W / 60°N 19°W / 60; -19[26] Unterseeboot U-246 1945 somewhere in Irish Sea south of Isle of Man around 53°40′0″N 04°53′5″W / 53.666667°N 4.88472°W / 53.666667; -4.88472[27]

Oceania

Australia

New South Wales Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Awahou 1952 somewhere between Sydney and Lord Howe Island[43] Whale 1816 somewhere between Sydney and the Hawkesbury[43]  Northern Territory Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Nft West 1989 somewhere in Arafura Sea[18] Peron 1948 somewhere near Darwin[18] Phoenix 1950 somewhere between Truscott and Darwin[18]  Queensland Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Douglas Mawson 1923 somewhere between Cairns and Thursday Island[18] Morning Star 1814 somewhere off Booby Island[44]  South Australia Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location  Tasmania Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Albion somewhere between Table Cape and Circular Head[45] Amelia J. 1920 somewhere around the Furneaux Group[46] Argo 1814 somewhere off the coast[45] Awarau 1891 somewhere off Macquarie Island[47] Celestia 1887 somewhere between Russell, New Zealand and Hobart[45] Chris 1903 somewhere between Hobart and Adventure Bay[45] City of Hobart 1873 somewhere between Hobart and Blackman's Bay[45] Despatch 1826 somewhere off Cape Pillar[45] Elizabeth Radcliff 1850 [45] Fleetwing 1876 [45] John Leslie Griffiths 1880 somewhere around King Island[48] Louisa 1882 somewhere around Fortescue Bay[45] Omega 1921 somewhere between Hobart and Lyttelton, New Zealand[45] Reindeer 1862 somewhere around the Kent Group[49] (missing wreck) Resolution 1832 somewhere between Launceston and Twofold Bay[45] Southern Cross 1908 somewhere around the Furneaux Group[46] (unconfirmed wreck) Unity 1813 somewhere off the coast[45]  Victoria Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Flying Duck 1876 somewhere off Swan Island (unidentified/missing wreck)[45]  Western Australia Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Patanella 1977 somewhere off Sydney Harbour (Suspected Pirate Attack)[45] Indeterminant Area Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location Grecian Queen 1863 somewhere between Newcastle and Melbourne (unidentified/missing wreck)[45] John 1806 somewhere between King Island and Sydney[43] Jumna 1881 somewhere between Hobart and Fremantle[45] Lady Franklin 1838 somewhere between Sydney and Hobart[45] Maid of Australia 1834 somewhere between Port Arthur and Port Philip[45] Port Phillip Packet 1838 somewhere between Launceston and Port Phillip Bay[45] Princess Charlotte 1820 somewhere between Hobart and Sydney[45] Raven 1806 [45] HMS Sappho 1858 somewhere in Bass Strait Senorita 1854 somewhere between Sydney and Hobart[45] Venus 1803 somewhere between Sydney and southern New Zealand[45] Vivid 1854 somewhere between Melbourne and Circular Head, Tasmania[45] Yarra Yarra 1838 somewhere between Launceston and Port Phillip Bay[45]

Northern Mariana Islands
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location USS Gudgeon 1944 near Maug Islands[50], or unconfirmed sinking southeast of Iwo Jima at 22°52′N 143°32′W / 22.867°N 143.533°W / 22.867; -143.533[51] (missing wreck)

New Zealand
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location General Grant 1866 off western shore of Auckland Island[52], (missing wreck)

Papua New Guinea
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location HMAS AE1 1914 near Duke of York Islands (unconfirmed wreck)[53] USS Amberjack 1943 probably sunk off Rabaul (missing wreck)[54] USS Grampus 1943 probably sunk in Blackett Strait (missing wreck)

Solomon Islands
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location USS Grampus 1943 probably sunk in Blackett Strait (missing wreck)[55]

United States
Prefix Ship Year Possible or Last Known Location USS S-28 1944 somewhere off Oahu, Hawaii[56]

High Seas

The following lists contain entries that could not be referenced to an area close to any one particular country or an area definitely in international waters.

References