The cargo ship capsized during a cyclone en route from Sulawesi to Kalimantan. The ship had over 300 people on board when it happened. There were 42 survivors including the captain, and at least 200 people were missing.[5][6][7][8][9]
The Ticonderoga-classguided-missile cruiserran aground off Oahu, Hawaii. The ship was refloated on 9 February and returned to service after repairs were carried out.
10 February[]
List of shipwrecks: 10 February 2009
Ship
Country
Description
Malta
The tanker carrying condensate, and (Singapore), a container ship, collided near Jebel Ali, Dubai; both ships caught fire. The fire on Kashimir was extinguished, but ship badly damaged.[12]
The ship was fired upon by a Russian Coast Guard vessel after leaving Nakhodka without permission. All sixteen crewmembers took to liferafts, but eight were later washed out to sea. New Star later sank.[14]
After her engine room began flooding during a gale, the 58-foot (17.7 m) fishing vessel was wrecked without loss of life on the northwestern coast of Akutan Island in the Aleutian Islands, 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km; 0.6 mi) from Hog Island and Unalaska Island. Her crew of four abandoned ship, reached the beach, and was rescued by a United States Coast Guard helicopter.[18]
26 February[]
List of shipwrecks: 26 February 2009
Ship
Country
Description
Maxim Gorkiy
Bahamas
The retired cruise ship was beached at Alang, India, for scrapping. She was scrapped where she lay over the next seven months.
March[]
10 March[]
List of shipwrecks: 10 March 2009
Ship
Country
Description
South Korea
The cargo ship carrying iron coils, sank after colliding with (Panama), a car carrier, 120 kilometres (65 nmi) south of Tokyo. Sixteen crewmembers missing.[19]
An unnamed fishing vessel carrying 250 migrants capsized and sank; 21 survivors were rescued. Two other boats with a similar number of migrants aboard were also reported as missing.
The boat, carrying illegal immigrants and designated "Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel 36" (SIEV 36) by Australian authorities, exploded and sank off Ashmore Reef off Australia after the patrol vesselHMAS Albany (Royal Australian Navy) intercepted her. Five people were killed.
The crane barge was beached at Kingsdown after developing a leak and being refused permission to dock at Dover Harbour.[27] The barge was refloated on 9 May.[28]
The ferry sank 86 kilometres (46 nmi) north west of Nuku'alofa. Official figures released by Operation Ashika on 19 August 2009, confirmed that 54 men were rescued, and 74 persons were lost at sea. These include two bodies recovered and 72 missing (68 passengers and 4 crew), including five foreign nationals. Two of the missing passengers remain unidentified.[39][40]
The 58-foot (17.7 m) fishingtender was stranded and lost near the southwest entrance to , Alaska. After efforts to refloat her failed, the fishing vesselNorth Star (United States) transported her two-man crew to Homer, Alaska.[43]
The tanker was involved in a collision with a Greek ship in the Malacca Strait and set afire. Nine crew were reported missing. The fire was extinguished.[45]
The tourist ferryIlinden capsized and sank on Lake Ohrid to the border of Albania and Macedonia. The boat had 70 people on board when it happened. The ferry turned sharply and went down in 30 seconds and decreased visibility at a depth of 20 metres (66 ft) near the beach. 22 were reported dead, including the captain.[48]
6 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 6 September 2009
Ship
Country
Description
Canada
The cargo ship broke in half and sank in heavy seas while under tow to China for conversion. the tow encountered rough seas from Tropical Storm Dujuan. There were no injuries, loss of life or environmental issues reported from the foundering.
The ferry sank off the Zamboanga peninsula, of 866 people on board, at least 10 lives were lost.
8 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 8 September 2009
Ship
Country
Description
Panama
The Turkish bulk carrier, operated by TEB Maritime of Istanbul, was en route to Gibraltar when it was driven aground off Bloubergstrand near Table Bay in South Africa by strong westerly winds shortly after midnight on 8 September 2009, having reported engine failure and a snapped anchor chain.
The ferry sank with at least 260 people on board and a majority of these were young people going back to school after school holidays. At least 40 people have been rescued by the police[49] and 120 bodies were recovered until 12 September, most of them were found on the shoreline.[50] About 100 people was listed missing. The accident took place 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) outside Sierra Leone's capital Freetown. The cause of the accident was that the ship's engines stopped during a severe storm and the boat capsized.[51][52]
10 September[]
List of shipwrecks: 10 September 2009
Ship
Country
Description
River ferry
Sierra Leone
A ferry suddenly sank off the coastal village of Longsheng southeast of the capital, Freetown in a Sierra Leone river. It was reported that 300 people were on board. At least 40 people were rescued and at least 16 deceased were recovered on Thursday. Others were still missing, most schoolchildren on their way to school. The accident occurred on Wednesday and was reported to have been very rapid. The boat sank in a few minutes in strong winds and heavy rain and there were no life jackets on board. Relatives gathered at the accident site, mostly parents of children who drowned.[53]
The 69-gross ton, 59.2-foot (18.0 m) cod-fishing vesselcapsized in the Aleutian Islands approximately 22 nautical miles (41 km; 25 mi) east of Unalaska Island. Wearing survival suits, all four members of her crew abandoned ship in a life raft and were rescued by the fishing vessel Guardian (United States). The overturned Carley Renee grounded on Egg Island. During salvage efforts, she sank in 720 feet (220 m) of water near .[58]
A ferry operating between and Dumai capsized and sank with 291 people on board, comprising 251 adult passengers, 25 children and 15 crew members,[63] killing at least 30 people.[64] The waves were up to 6 metres (20 ft) high and washed over the deck so water ran down and sunk the vessel.
The motorferry, part of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry fleet, ran aground on a sandbar in the Delaware Bay off the coast of New Jersey near the mouth of the Cape May Canal during an unusually low tide. She suffered no structural damage and a rising tide refloated her.[69]
16 December[]
List of shipwrecks: 16 December 2009
Ship
Country
Description
Togo
The cargo ship came ashore in a storm at Tenes, Algeria and broke in two with the loss of eight of her nine crew.[70]
17 December[]
List of shipwrecks: 17 December 2009
Ship
Country
Description
Danny F II
Panama
The cargo ship capsized and sank 11 nautical miles (20 km) off Tripoli, Lebanon.[71]
The fishing vessel sank after a collision with (Singapore) resulting in the death of one crew member. Nearby ships did not respond to distress signals issued by the crew of Etoile des Ondes.[72]