The badly overloaded passenger steamer, packed with over 1,000 refugees fleeing advancing Chinese Communist forces during the Chinese Civil War, sank near the Zhoushan Archipelago after a collision with the cargo vessel Chienyuan during a voyage from Shanghai, China, to Keelung, Taiwan, killing over 1,500 passengers and crew.
Chinese Civil War: The Black Swan-classsloop ran aground on in the Yangtze River at Rose Island, 15 nautical miles (28 km) east of after she was shelled and damaged by the People's Liberation Army with the loss of 22 crew killed and 31 wounded. HMS Consort (Royal Navy) came to her assistance and was also attacked with the loss of 10 crew killed and three injured. On 26 April, HMS London and HMS Black Swan (both Royal Navy) refloated Amethyst. They also came under fire, with three crew killed and 14 wounded. Amethyst made a dash for freedom down the Yangtze on 30 July, reaching Hong Kong on 11 August.[11]
The cargo liner ran aground near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on her maiden voyage. Declared a total loss after breaking in two during attempt to tow her into harbour.
Broke in two whilst under tow of the tugsRifleman and Tradesman (both United Kingdom) whilst being towed from Normandy, France to Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland for scrapping. Both halves sank.
The 40-gross register ton, 58.9-foot (18.0 m) seiner capsized and sank at False Pass, Territory of Alaska, with the loss of five lives. The fishing vessel Johnny B (United States) rescued her four survivors.[32]
The cross-Channelferry struck a mine 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) off Dunquerque, France and sank with the loss of five of her 65 crew. All 60 surviving crew members and all 218 passengers on board were rescued by (France) and various tugs from Dunquerque.[33]
22 June[]
List of shipwrecks: 22 June 1949
Ship
Country
Description
United Kingdom
The cargo ship struck the wreck of the Victory ship (United Kingdom) off Clacton-on-Sea, Essex and ran aground in a sinking state.[34]
Chinese Civil War: The ferry was shelled and sunk in the Yangtze by Red Chinese artillery.[11]
31 July[]
List of shipwrecks: 31 July 1949
Ship
Country
Description
Swan Point
United Kingdom
Stranded in the Karnaphuli River, Chittagong, India and broke in two. Declared a total loss.
August[]
8 August[]
List of shipwrecks: 8 August 1949
Ship
Country
Description
HMNZS Philomel
Royal New Zealand Navy
After being sold out of naval service, deliberately run aground, stripped, and refloated, the decommissioned Pearl-classcruiser was scuttled off Cuvier Island, New Zealand.
Chinese Civil War: The cargo ship loaded with ammunition exploded and sank at Kaohsiung, Formosa with the loss of over 500 lives. Two other ships were sunk and many fires started in Kaohsiung.[39]
The cargo ship caught fire at Hong Kong due to barratry. She sank the next day and was declared a total loss. Raised on 22 March 1950 and subsequently scrapped.[31]
United States
The Liberty ship was driven ashore at Hong Kong in a typhoon. Declared a constructive total loss, she was subsequently scrapped.[44]
The United States Army Transport ran aground at Camp Point on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. She was salvaged, sold, repaired, and placed in commercial service as Island Sovereign.[50]
October[]
4 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 4 October 1949
Ship
Country
Description
Sweden
The cargo ship struck the wreck of the ocean liner Gneisenau (Germany) with the loss of two crew.[51]
The minesweeper sank in the Strait of Magellan while en route from Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia, all hands lost. Worst peacetime maritime disaster in Argentina as of 2018 (77 dead and missing).
6 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 6 October 1949
Ship
Country
Description
Fantree
United Kingdom
The 6,300-ton Elder Dempster Line cargo ship struck the Flemish Ledges on the Seven Stones Reef en route from West Africa to Liverpool via Amsterdam and carrying a cargo of hardwood, , palm oil, cocoa, rubber, cotton, coffee beans and copal The hardwood was still being salvaged in 1992.[52] Her crew of fifty-eight was rescued by launches Kittern and Goldern Spray of the Isles of Scilly.[53]
Chinese Civil War: Battle of Guningtou: A Red Chinese invasion fleet of 200 vessels, mostly junks, were stranded on Kinmen Island and were destroyed by Nationalist troops with hand grenades, flame throwers and burning oil. Some were sunk with 20 mm and 40 mm gunfire from (Republic of China Navy).[58]
31 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 31 October 1949
Ship
Country
Description
West Germany
The cargo ship collided with (Sweden in the Kiel Canal and sank.[59]
The cargo ship foundered in the Bristol Channel off Lundy Island with the loss of twelve of her 37 crew.[61] Survivors were rescued by Richard Silver Oliver, Violet Armstrong and William Cantrell Ashley (all Royal National Lifeboat Institution).[62]
The British motor-schooner, built in 1915, on voyage from Plymouth to Jersey with a cargo of lime, was wrecked off L'Etacq, JerseyChannel islands. Hanna was lost.[64]
The cargo ship ran aground at Oskarshamn, Sweden and was wrecked. All 27 people on board were rescued.[67]
Salmora
United States
The 63-foot (19 m) fishing vessel was reported lost along with her two-man crew after disappearing during a voyage from Kodiak, Territory of Alaska, to Seattle, Washington. She reportedly had been seen at Cordova, Alaska, on 5 October.[32]
The 228-foot (69 m), 1,349-gross register ton four-mastedlumberschooner was abandoned at the on the west side of the Mystic River in Noank, Connecticut, sometime during the 1940s, gradually rotted away, and settled on the river bottom in 10 feet (3.0 m) of water.[73]
^Gardiner, Robert, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships 1947–1982 Part I: The Western Powers, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983, ISBN0870219189, p. 102.
^"Ship Sinks in Thames". The Times (51297). London. 4 February 1949. col E, p. 4.
^"Ship Sunk in Channel Collision". The Times (51305). London. 14 February 1949. col D, p. 4.
^"View Shipwreck - Bombo". Australian National Shipwreck Database. Australian government. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^ Jump up to: abcChesneau, Roger, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, New York: Mayflower Books, 1980, ISBN0-8317-0303-2, p. 413.
^ Jump up to: abcdGray, Randal, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships 1947–1982, Part II: The Warsaw Pact and Non-Aligned Nations, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983, ISBN0-87021-919-7, p. 328.
^"Ship Sinks After Collision". The Times (51373). London. 5 May 1949. col C, p. 4.
^ Jump up to: abcMitchell, W H, and Sawyer, L A (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN1-85044-275-4.
^Gray, Randal, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships 1947–1982, Part II: The Warsaw Pact and Non-Aligned Nations, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983, ISBN0-87021-919-7, p. 348.
^Gray, Randal, ed., Conway′s All the World′s Fighting Ships 1947–1982, Part II: The Warsaw Pact and Non-Aligned Nations, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983, ISBN0-87021-919-7, p. 304.
United Kingdom
United States
Portuguese Navy
Republic of China
Panama) in the English Channel off Dover, Kent and sank with the loss of two of her eleven crew.[5]
Australia
Poland
Brazil
Netherlands
People's Liberation Army Navy
Hong Kong
Republic of Ireland
Greece) in the English Channel and sank east of the . All 29 crew rescued by (
Royal Navy
Denmark
Norway
French Navy
United Kingdom
Belgium
France) and various tugs from Dunquerque.[33]
United States
China
Canada
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Sweden
Germany) with the loss of two crew.[51]
Argentine Navy
West Germany
Spain
Royal National Lifeboat Institution).[62]
Israel
Republic of Korea Navy
Egyptian Navy