List of shipwrecks of South America

This is a list of shipwrecks located in or around South America.

Argentina[]

Ship	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
Crown of Italy	23 December 1891	A British sailing ship that ran aground at Cabo San Diego.[1] Abandoned early the next morning and using the ship's boats, her crew of 33 made landfall on Staten Island on Christmas Day. The crew were stranded there for 83 days before being picked up by H.M.S. Cleopatra. All were saved.	54°38′S 65°07′W / 54.633°S 65.117°W / -54.633; -65.117 (Crown of Italy)
Desdemona	9 September 1985	A cargo ship that ran aground at Cabo San Pablo.[2]	54°17′51.34″S 66°41′58.82″W / 54.2975944°S 66.6996722°W / -54.2975944; -66.6996722 (Desdemona)
Duchess of Albany	13 July 1893	A sailing ship that sank off Tierra del Fuego.[3]	54°38′S 65°31′W / 54.633°S 65.517°W / -54.633; -65.517 (Duchess of Albany)
ARA General Belgrano	2 April 1982	A Brooklyn-class light cruiser that was torpedoed by HMS Conqueror during the Falklands/Malvinas War. The ship was outside the Total Exclusion Zone at the time, leading to controversy over whether the attack was justified.	55°24′S 61°32′W / 55.400°S 61.533°W / -55.400; -61.533 (ARA General Belgrano)
HMS Justice	1957	A salvage tug that was beached an abandoned at Ushuaia.	54°48′35″S 68°18′29″W / 54.809694°S 68.308117°W / -54.809694; -68.308117 (HMS Justice (W140))
USS Perkins	15 January 1973	A Gearing-class destroyer that was sunk as a target in Samborombón Bay.	36°15′00″S 57°00′00″W / 36.250°S 57.000°W / -36.250; -57.000 (USS Perkins (DD-877))
Potosi	19 October 1925	A barque that caught fire and was scuttled near Comodoro Rivadavia.	45°2.5′S 66°2.5′W / 45.0417°S 66.0417°W / -45.0417; -66.0417 (Potosi (ship))
Sarmiento	2 April 1912	A passenger and cargo ship that sank in the Beagle Channel.[4]	54°51′40.49″S 67°51′22.39″W / 54.8612472°S 67.8562194°W / -54.8612472; -67.8562194 (Sarmiento)
Usurbil	March 1993	A fishing trawler that was destroyed by fire while at port at Ingeniero White, Buenos Aires. The wreck was moved to Bahía Blanca in 1999.[5]	38°49′36″S 62°15′55″W / 38.82667°S 62.26528°W / -38.82667; -62.26528 (Usurbil)

Brazil[]

Ship	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
Aquidabã	21 January 1906	A Brazilian ironclad warship that sank after exploding near the Jacuacanga strait, in Angra dos Reis bay.
	1891	Cargo ship that sunk after a collision.
California	1866	Rare 1806 "direct acting engine" steamer, with a centered propulsion wheel, carrying personal care articles. Sunk after a pirate raid at Ilha Grande, Angra dos reis.
Campos	23 October 1943	Torpedoed by a U-170.
Trafalgar	14 September 1914	Sunk by British HMS Carmania off the coast of the Island of Trindade, Brazil, South Atlantic Ocean -WWI].	20°29′S 29°18′W / 20.483°S 29.300°W / -20.483; -29.300 (SMS Cap Trafalgar (1914)}
Elihu B. Washburne	1943	Sunk in Santos Bay.
Kapunda	20 January 1887	An emigrant ship that was travelling from London to Australia when it collided with the barque , with 299 lives lost.
Kestrel	11 February 1895
RMS Magdalena	26 April 1949	A refrigerator ship that ran aground and then split in two in the Guanabara Bay while under tow.	22°57′05″S 43°7′30″W / 22.95139°S 43.12500°W / -22.95139; -43.12500 (RMS Magdalena (1948))
	6 January 1981	Capsized in the Amazon River, at Cajari, Macapá.[6]
	1967	A grain cargo ship that sunk after a fire aboard. A popular dive site at Ilha Grande.
Príncipe de Asturias	5 March 1916	An ocean liner that ran aground on a shoal near Ilhabela, São Paulo, resulting in at least 445 deaths.
Sir Foxwell Buxton (ship)	1853	An emigrant ship that ran aground off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte.
Sobral Santos II	19 September 1981	Capsized in the Amazon River, at Óbidos, Pará. Around 250 to 300 people are killed, 178 people survive.[7]
Stag Hound	2 August 1861	An extreme clipper that caught fire and sank near Pernambuco.
Tocantins	1933	Sunk at the Queimada Grande Island, due to heavy fog.
U-128	16 May 1943	Attacked by US Navy aircraft and destroyers off the coast of Recife. After considerable shelling and aerial bombing that rendered her dead in the water, the crew scuttled her the next day.	11°0′S 35°43′W / 11.000°S 35.717°W / -11.000; -35.717 (U-128)

Chile[]

Ship	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
Almirante Latorre	2005	Sank in the South Pacific while under tow to be broken up.
Ambassador	1940s	A clipper that was beached at San Gregorio.	52°34′03″S 70°04′07″W / 52.567529°S 70.068537°W / -52.567529; -70.068537 (Ambassador (clipper))
Angamos	1928	Sank after striking rocks near Lebu. Second biggest single-incident maritime losses of life in the history of Chile.
Blanco Encalada	1891	Destroyed by a torpedo gunboat in the port of Caldera during the 1891 Chilean Civil War.
Casma	1916	Ran aground in Picton Channel.
Cazador	1856	A steamboat that was driven aground off Point Carranza, 10 km south of Constitución, resulting in the loss of 300-400 lives. The biggest single-incident maritime losses of life in the history of Chile.
HMS Challenger	1835	Wrecked off Mocha Island.
County of Peebles	1960s	A windjammer that was beached as a breakwater at Punta Arenas.
HMS Doterel	1881	A Doterel-class sloop that exploded while anchored at Punta Arenas.[8]
SMS Dresden	1915	A Dresden-class light cruiser that was scuttled near Robinson Crusoe Island.	33°36′6″S 78°49′30″W / 33.60167°S 78.82500°W / -33.60167; -78.82500 (SMS Dresden (1907))
El Canelo	1960	Sank in the mouth of Valdivia River after the 1960 Valdivia earthquake in 1960.
Esmeralda	1879	Sank during the Battle of Iquique.
ARA Fournier	1949	Sank in at the Dawson Island. 72 men were lost.[2]
HMS Good Hope	1914	A Drake-class armored cruiser that was destroyed in the Battle of Coronel.	36°59′1″S 73°48′49″W / 36.98361°S 73.81361°W / -36.98361; -73.81361 (HMS Good Hope (1901))
ARA Guaraní	1958	Sank off Nueva Island. 38 men lost.[3]
Independencia	1879	Ran aground and was burnt during the Battle of Punta Gruesa.
	1965	Sank with the loss of 65 men.[9]
John Elder	1892	Sank near Punta Carranza.[10]
[11]	1878
MV Logos	1988	A missionary ship owned by Operation Mobilisation, that ran aground on rocks in the Beagle Channel.	54°58′12.84″S 67°7′25.71″W / 54.9702333°S 67.1238083°W / -54.9702333; -67.1238083 (MV Logos)
BAP Manco Cápac	1880	Scuttled to prevent her capture by the Chilean military after the Battle of Arica.
HMS Monmouth	1914	A Monmouth-class armored cruiser that was destroyed in the Battle of Coronel.	36°53′53″S 73°50′45″W / 36.89806°S 73.84583°W / -36.89806; -73.84583 (HMS Monmouth (1901))
Monteagudo	1839	Sank off Valparaíso.
O'Higgins	1826	Sank off Cape Horn. Probably the biggest single-incident maritime loss of life in the history of Chile.
Olympian	1906	A steamboat that was wrecked at Possession Bay while under tow.	52°14′51.67″S 69°1′55.46″W / 52.2476861°S 69.0320722°W / -52.2476861; -69.0320722 (Olympian (sidewheeler))
Oriflamme	1770	Sank near the mouth of the Huenchullami River.
Sancti Espiritus	1526	First European ship to run aground in the Strait of Magellan.
SS Santa Leonor	1966	Ran aground in Smyth Channel.
HMS Wager	1741	Ran aground at .	47°40′43″S 75°02′57″W / 47.67861°S 75.04917°W / -47.67861; -75.04917

Ecuador[]

Falkland Islands[]

Ship	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
HMS Antelope	24 May 1982	A Type 21 frigate that was sunk by Argentine bombers during the Falklands War.	51°33′3″S 59°3′30″W / 51.55083°S 59.05833°W / -51.55083; -59.05833 (HMS Antelope (F170))
HMS Ardent (F184)	22 May 1982	A Type 21 frigate that was sunk by Argentine bombers during the Falklands War.	51°39′38″S 59°8′12″W / 51.66056°S 59.13667°W / -51.66056; -59.13667 (HMS Ardent (F184))
HMS Coventry	25 May 1982	A Type 42 destroyer that was sunk by Argentine aircraft during the Falklands War.	51°3′36″S 59°42′12″W / 51.06000°S 59.70333°W / -51.06000; -59.70333 (HMS Coventry (D118))
SS Imo	30 November 1921	A whaling supply ship known for her involvement in the Halifax Explosion, after which she was repaired and ran aground three years later off East Falkland.
ARA Isla de los Estados	11 May 1982	A naval supply ship that was sunk by HMS Alacrity during the Falklands War.	51°42′3″S 59°29′22″W / 51.70083°S 59.48944°W / -51.70083; -59.48944 (ARA Isla de los Estados)

Galápagos Islands[]

Peru[]

Uruguay[]

Ship	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
Admiral Graf Spee	17 December 1939	A German battleship scuttled during the Battle of the River Plate.	34°58′S 56°17′W / 34.967°S 56.283°W / -34.967; -56.283 (German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee)
HMS Agamemnon	20 June 1809	A Royal Navy warship ran aground and sank north of Gorriti Island in Maldonado Bay.	34°55′59″S 54°58′52″W / 34.93306°S 54.98111°W / -34.93306; -54.98111 (HMS Agamemnon)

Venezuela[]

Ship	Sunk date	Notes	Coordinates
Sesostris	31 March 1941	A German cargo ship torched by her own crew out of fear of being seized by U.S. or local authorities.	10°29′21″N 67°56′57″W / 10.48917°N 67.94917°W / 10.48917; -67.94917 (Sesostris)

References[]

Further reading[]

• Marx, Robert F. (1987). Shipwrecks in the Americas. New York: Dover. pp. 426–444. ISBN 0-486-25514-X.

External links[]

• the wreck of the San José. Royal Geographical Society of South Australia
• WRECKSITE Worldwide database of + 65,000 wrecks with history, maritime charts and GPS positions (subscription required)