Few things are as terrifying as being aboard a ship as it sinks. The panic, the chaos, and the rising water create a nightmare scenario. In these moments, the best and worst of humanity emerge. Through telegraphs, radio transmissions, and even cell phones, we’ve gained glimpses into these final, harrowing minutes. Here are ten unforgettable distress calls from sinking ships.
10. The RMS Titanic
The RMS Titanic, the most famous ship in history, struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage in 1912. Despite warnings, the ship was traveling at high speed. Chief telegraphist Jack Philips and his assistant, Harold Bride, sent distress signals as the situation grew dire.
The Carpathia, Frankfurt, and Olympic, the Titanic’s sister ship, responded. Philips remained at his post, relaying messages until the very end. His composure never wavered.
Final telegraphs from the Titanic:
Titanic to the Carpathia: “Come at once. We have struck a berg. It’s a CQD, old man.”
Titanic to the Frankfurt: “We have struck an iceberg and sinking by the head.”
Titanic: “We are putting passengers off in small boats. Women and children in boats. Cannot last much longer. Losing power.”
Titanic: “This is Titanic. CQD. Engine room flooded.”
Olympic: “Am lighting up all boilers as fast as we can.”
The last telegraph, sent moments before the ship sank, was chilling:
“Come quick. Engine room nearly full.”
Only 712 of the 2,208 people on board survived.
9. The SS Princess Sophia
The SS Princess Sophia met its end on October 24, 1918, after striking Vanderbilt Reef while sailing from Skagway to Juneau. Captain Locke, keen on staying on schedule, didn’t reduce speed despite a snowstorm. The ship became trapped on the reef.
Rescue attempts were thwarted by severe weather. Locke waited nearly 40 hours, hoping the ship would free itself, but the storm worsened, tearing the ship apart. A tragic oil spill followed.
On October 25, wireless operator David Robinson sent a desperate message:
Robinson: “For God’s sake, hurry, the water is coming into my room.”
Lighthouse tender: “We are coming. Save your batteries.”
Robinson: “Alright, I will. You talk to me, so I know you are coming.”
Only a dog survived.
8. The Thresher
In April 1963, the USS Thresher, the Navy’s newest nuclear-powered submarine, was lost. It sank after dropping to 2,400 feet, crushed by the immense pressure.
A ruptured pipe caused electrical systems to fail, shutting down the reactor. The submarine Seawolf attempted communication.
The Seawolf broadcast:
“We hear your underwater telephone. If you will send 5 dashes we will have positive identification—send 5 dashes.”
No dashes were recorded. The crew reported hearing pings, metal-on-metal banging, and a faint voice over their recorders, though doubts lingered.
All 129 crew members perished.
7. The El Faro
On October 1, 2015, the El Faro, a cargo ship, sailed into Hurricane Joaquin in the Bermuda Triangle. Faulty weather data led the captain to make decisions based on outdated information.
An excerpt from the ship’s audio recording:
8:21 pm
Third Mate: “Maybe I’m just being a Chicken Little. I don’t know.”
11:05 pm
Third Mate to Captain: “[the hurricane with 100 mph winds] advancing toward our trackline—and, uhhhh, puts us real close to it.’”
12:43 am
Second Mate: “Every time we come further south, the storm keeps trying to follow us.”
1:15 am
Second Mate: “Oh, my God.”
6:54 am
Captain Davidson: “miserable right now” and “We’re gonna stay with the ship. We are in dire straits right now.”
7:01 am
Capt. Davidson calls the ship owner:
“This is a marine emergency…we had a hull breach, a scuttle blew open during a storm. We have water down in three hold. We have a heavy list. We’ve lost the main propulsion unit. The engineers can not get it going.”
“No one’s panicking.”
The recording ends at 7:39 am with Capt. Davidson still onboard. None of the 33 crew members survived.
6. The Gulf Livestock 1
The Gulf Livestock 1, carrying nearly 6,000 cattle and 43 crew members, capsized in the face of Typhoon Maysak in August 2020. The ship sent a distress call near Amami Oshima island in Japan.
A large wave struck the ship, causing engine failure and subsequent capsizing. The incident prompted scrutiny of live animal trade practices.
WhatsApp messages sent from the ship:
SM: “Hey Bro can you let me know when you’re through it”
SM: “It’s scaring me”
WM: “Will do Sar! Should be fine – we’re a big boat.”
Only two survivors were found.
5. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a Great Lakes freighter, sank on November 10, 1975. Battling gale-force winds and high waves, the ship struggled against the storm. The Arthur M. Anderson, another ship, maintained contact.
Radio transmission between the Avafors and the Edmund Fitzgerald:
Avafors: “The wind is really howling down here. What are the conditions where you are?”
Fitzgerald: (Indiscernible shouts heard by the Avafors.) “DON’T LET NOBODY ON DECK!”
Avafors: “What’s that, Fitzgerald? Unclear. Over.”
Fitzgerald: “I have a bad list, lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. One of the worst seas I’ve ever been in.”
Avafors: “If I’m correct, you have two radars.”
Fitzgerald: “They’re both gone.”
A radio transmission between the Anderson and the Fitzgerald:
Anderson: “Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problem?”
Fitzgerald: “We are holding our own.”
Anderson: “Okay, fine. I’ll be talking to you later.”
All 29 men on board were lost.
4. The Pacific
The Pacific, a steamship, vanished in January 1856, en route from Liverpool to New York. Its fate remained a mystery until a message in a bottle washed ashore in Scotland in 1861.
The message read:
“On board the Pacific, from L’pool to N. York. Ship going down. (Great) confusion on board. Icebergs around us on every side. I know I cannot escape. I write the cause of our loss, that friends may not live in suspense. The finder of this will please get it published.
Wm. Graham”
All aboard were presumed lost.
3. The Andrea Gail
The Andrea Gail, became a victim of the “perfect storm” in 1991. The fishing trawler encountered a catastrophic wave, devastating both land and sea. The ship likely went down in the same area as the Titanic.
The last radio communication from Captain Billy Tyne to the Coast Guard:
Tyne: “She’s coming on, boys, and she’s coming on strong!”
There were no survivors.
2. The Costa Concordia
The Costa Concordia struck a reef near Giglio Island in January 2012. Captain Schettino altered the ship’s course, bringing it too close to shore. The evacuation was marred by chaos and questionable decisions.
A recorded phone call between Captain Schettino and a crisis coordinator:
Schettino: “I have made a mess and practically the whole ship is flooding…What should I say to the media?…To the port authorities, I have said that we had… a blackout.”
Schettino abandoned ship before everyone else. A coast guard member ordered him to return: “Get back on board, damn it!”
Thirty-two lives were lost. Schettino was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
1. The Oryong 501
The Oryong 501, a trawler, began taking on water in the Bering Sea. Captain Kim Gye-hwan contacted his friend Lee Yang-woo, captain of a nearby tuna fishing vessel.
Despite initial optimism, the ship quickly tilted. Gye-hwan sent a final emergency message, detailing the ship’s dire condition.
Kim: “Yang-woo, I wanted to say goodbye before the end.”
Lee: “Don’t say that! Get all of the crew off the ship safely, and then make sure that you make it out alive as well.”
Kim: “All the lights inside the ship are off. After what I’ve done to the crew, how could I let myself survive?”
Lee: “Don’t say that. Evacuate the crew and get off the ship. All sorts of things happen to people, you know. It doesn’t need to be a big deal. Gye-hwan, get the whole crew off alive, and we’ll get a drink in Busan.”
Only seven crew members were rescued. The remaining are either dead or missing.
These distress calls offer chilling glimpses into the final moments of ships facing disaster. They remind us of the ocean’s power and the human stories intertwined with maritime tragedies.
What are your thoughts on these tragic events? Leave your comment below!
