© OFF/AFP/Getty Images/FileUndated artist impression showing the April 14, 1912, shipwreck of the British luxury passenger liner Titanic off the Nova-Scotia coasts, during its maiden voyage. The supposedly 'Unsinkable' Titanic set sail down Southampton Water en route to New York on April 10, 1912, and met disaster on April 14, 1912, after hitting an iceberg off Newfoundland shortly before midnight and sinking two hours later, killing 1,503 passengers and ship personnel.
Here's a look at major ferry and ship sinking disasters throughout history.
This timeline is not-all inclusive; various incidents with at least 1,000 fatalities are listed. Death tolls vary by source.
Timeline
April 27, 1865 - The Mississippi River steamer Sultana explodes and sinks near Memphis, Tennessee, killing between 1,450 and 1,700 people.
June 15, 1904 - The General Slocum excursion steamer sinks in the East River in New York, killing 1,021 people.
April 15, 1912 - The Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg on April 14, 1912, killing 1,503 people.
September 28, 1912 - The Japanese steamer Kiche Maru sinks during a typhoon off the coast of Japan, killing more than 1,000 people.
May 29, 1914 - British steamer Empress of Ireland collides with the Norwegian ship Storstad in the St. Lawrence River, killing 1,014 people.
May 7, 1915 - The luxury liner Lusitania sinks off the coast of Ireland killing approximately 1,198 people after being torpedoed by a German submarine.
February 26, 1916 - The French ship Provence is torpedoed and sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 3,100 people.
August 29, 1916 - The Chinese steamer Hsin Yu sinks off the coast of China, killing about 1,000 people.
December 6, 1917 - The French ammunition ship Mont Blanc and Belgian steamer Imo collide in Halifax Harbor, killing about 1,600 people.
March 18, 1921 - A steamer named Hong Kong sinks in the South China Sea, killing approximately 1,000 people.
January 30, 1945 - The Wilhelm Gustloff sinks in the Baltic Sea after being hit by Russian torpedoes, killing more than 9,000 passengers and crew members.
February 10, 1945 - The Steuben, a German transport ship, is torpedoed in the Baltic Sea, killing 3,500 to 4,500 wounded soldiers and civilians.
April 16, 1945 - Between 6,000 and 7,000 people are killed when the German ocean liner Goya is torpedoed by a Russian submarine off the coast of Gdansk, Poland.
November 1, 1948 - A Chinese merchant ship with as many as 6,000 passengers explodes and sinks off southern Manchuria, killing all aboard.
December 3, 1948 - Between 1,100 and 3,920 die when Kiangya, a refugee ship, explodes after hitting a mine and sinking near Shanghai.
September 26, 1954 - The Japanese ferry Toya Maru sinks in Tsugaru Strait, Japan, killing 1,172 people.
April 22, 1980 - About 1,000 people die when inter-island ferry Don Juan sinks off Mindoro Island, Philippines, after colliding with the Tacloban City barge.
December 20, 1987 - About 4,300 people are killed when the ferry Dona Paz collides with the tanker MT Victor in the Philippines.
September 26, 2002 - Joola, a Senegalese state-run ferry, sinks off the coast of Gambia in the Atlantic, killing approximately 1,863. It was carrying around three times its normal capacity.
February 3, 2006 - The Al-Salam Boccaccio 98, an Egyptian passenger ferry, sinks in the Red Sea due to a fire that originated below deck. At least 1,000 people are killed.