The cargo ship sank off Vancouver Island, with the loss of all 42 crew.[3]
21 January[]
List of shipwrecks: 21 January 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Netherlands
The coaster caught fire off Northern Ireland, driving the crew to the bow area, unable to stop the ship's engine. The ship eventually ran aground at Bangor, County Down. The nine crew were rescued by HMS Bronington (Royal Navy).[4]
The wreck of Igara's bow section, photographed on 1 May 2007
The ore-oil carrier hit a rock and was holed in the South China Sea. She later sank by the bow 70 nautical miles (130 km) off Singapore. Broke in two at № 1 hold on 19 March. The stern section was refloated and fitted with a new bow section, and returned to service as Eraclide.
The ferry ran aground on Sleit Rock in the Sound of Gunna, between Tiree and Coll. All on board took to the lifeboats. Loch Seaforth was refloated but declared a constructive total loss and scrapped.
The cargo ship collided with the fishing vessel Dany Gérard (France), which sank in the English Channel. Juzenny Burgh was escorted into Brest by the minesweeper (Marine Nationale).[13] All five crew on board Dany Gérard were killed.[14]
19 April[]
List of shipwrecks: 19 April 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Point Chicot
United States
The tugboat sank in the Gulf of Mexico 120 miles (190 km) west of mouth of Tampa Bay, Florida.[15]
The cargo ship ran aground on the Nyali Reef, off Mombasa, Kenya. Five people were killed during salvage operations in November 1973, the ship was later scrapped in situ.
West Germany
The coaster ship collided with (Panama) in the English Channel and sank. All eight crew were rescued by (West Germany).[16]
May[]
3 May[]
List of shipwrecks: 3 May 1973
Ship
Country
Description
USS Boyle
United States Navy
The decommissioned Benson-classdestroyer was sunk as a target off the coast of Florida.
5 May[]
List of shipwrecks: 5 May 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Somalia
The ship was sailing from Rotterdam to Alexandria with cargo fertilizer. In heavy seas the cargo shifted. The ship was taken in tow, but the list increased and the ship sank 3 miles north of GuernseyChannel Islands.[17][18]
The tanker was struck by the container shipSea Witch (United States), which had lost her steering in New York Harbor. Esso Brussels caught fire, killing thirteen crew; two crew were lost from Sea Witch. Esso Brussels was later repaired and returned to service.
The cargo ship was sunk by a mine 5 miles off Tripoli, Libya.[27][28]
22 June[]
List of shipwrecks: 22 June 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Pacific Pearl
United States
The 64-foot (19.5 m) shrimper sank only four minutes after she began to flood in heavy seas in the Shelikof Strait between the Kodiak Archipelago and mainland Alaska. Two of her four crewmen perished.[19]
25 June[]
List of shipwrecks: 25 June 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Liberia
The supertanker ran aground off Immingham, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom,[29] and was holed when her anchor pierced the hull. She was refloated the next day.[30]
The cargo ship caught fire at Port Kelang, Malaya when a fork-lift truck fell into her cargo whilst working in a hold. The ship was towed out of port and beached. Refloated in August, she was declared a constructive total loss and consequently scrapped.[37]
The submarine sank in the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Ireland in 1,375 feet (419 m) of water.[41] Both of her crew members survived for 76 hours in the vessel, which was raised after a multi-agency rescue effort.[42][43]
The 45-foot (13.7 m) crab-fishing vessel struck a rock and sank near Kodiak, Alaska. Her crew of three reached shore in a skiff and were rescued by a passing crab-fishing vessel.[25]
The cargo ship sank off IJmuiden with the loss of five of her eleven crew.[48]
29 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 29 September 1973
Ship
Country
Description
West Germany
The coaster foundered off Öland, Sweden. Both crew survived.[49]
October[]
1 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 1 October 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Growler
United States
The 160-foot (48.8 m) cargo shipcapsized and sank in the Bering Strait 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) north of Wales, Alaska, with the loss of her entire crew of three.[50]
4 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 4 October 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Cuba
The fishing boat was attacked and sunk by a Cuban-exile-operated boat. One militia member was killed in the attack on Cayo Largo 17 and the fishing boat Cayo Largo 34. Cuban helicopters rescued the survivors.[51]
Cuba
The fishing boat was attacked and sunk by a Cuban-exile-operated boat. One militia member was killed in the attack on Cayo Largo 34 and the fishing boat Cayo Largo 17. Cuban helicopters rescued the survivors.[51]
Yom Kippur War: Battle of Marsa Talamat: Both Dabur-classpatrol boats ran aground temporarily during the battle. One killed and seven wounded during the battle.[27]
Unknown Egyptian assault boat
Egyptian Navy
Yom Kippur War: Battle of Marsa Talamat: The armed Bertram-built cabin cruiser was sunk at anchor at Telma, along with two rubber boats tied to it by and (both Israeli Navy).[27]
Yom Kippur War: Battle of Baltim: The ran aground during a battle with Israeli missile boats. Later refloated, repaired and returned to service.[56][58]
10 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 11 October 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Lebanon
The cargo ship was sunk by a mine off Tripoli, Libya.[27][59]
The coaster foundered off Hobart, Tasmania. Nine crew took to a liferaft, but one died at sea and two others died of exposure when the liferaft landed near Dunalley nine days later.[64]
14 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 14 October 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Egypt
Yom Kippur War: The survey vessel was sunk near Ras Gharib, Egypt, by missiles fired by Israeli Air Force aircraft .[65]
16 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 14 October 1973
Ship
Country
Description
United States
Yom Kippur War: The blocked in cargo ship was sunk by Israeli Air Force aircraft in the Suez Canal, Egypt in the Bitter Lakes. Two Egyptian soldiers were killed.[66][67]
Dauntless
United States
The 91-foot (27.7 m) crab- and halibut-fishing vessel departed Ketchikan, Alaska, bound for Kodiak on Kodiak Island and was never heard from again. The bodies of the four people aboard were never found.[1]
Yom Kippur War: : Battle of Port Said: The Hazir submersible was lost during the operation. Two frogmen killed, one missing.[68]
17 October[]
List of shipwrecks: 17 October 1973
Ship
Country
Description
Whitney
United States
The crabfishing vessel sank in 180 feet (55 m) of water in rough weather in the Gulf of Alaska off the southwest coast of Kodiak Island about 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) southwest of Cape Alitak. Her entire crew survived and was rescued by the fishing vessel Lourie Lynn (United States).[69]
Yom Kippur War: The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk by an Egyptian submarine 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) north of Alexandria, Egypt. 14 crew killed.[27][70]
The crab-fishing vessel was wrecked in the Shelikof Strait between the Kodiak Archipelago and mainland Alaska while operating in 40-foot (12.2-meter) seas. Her entire crew of three was rescued by a United States Coast Guard helicopter.[24]
The supertanker exploded and sank in the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of one of the 44 people on board. The survivors were rescued by the ocean liner (Spain).[74]
The cargo ship sprang a leak and sank 50 nautical miles (93 km) off the coast of Northumberland. All eleven crew were rescued by the trawler Kingston Emerald (United Kingdom).[77]
The Guilvinec, France-based fishing vessel dragged her anchor whilst sheltering from a southerly gale and went ashore at Chyandour 100 metres (110 yd) west of Penzance railway station, Cornwall, United Kingdom.[80]
The bulk carrier ran aground on her maiden voyage off Guernsey, Channel Islands. She was refloated on 24 February 1974[82] despite having sustained a hurricane a month before.[83]