Disasters at Sea

Massive cargo ship MV Derbyshire, carrying nearly 160,000 tons of iron ore, is passing through the Northwest Pacific en route to Japan. Just a few days from her destination, a raging typhoon swallows up the ship and all 44 people on board. Witness the investigation launched by the family of the doomed ship's crew members, and see how their dogged determination for the truth uncovered a shocking problem potentially affecting an entire fleet of bulk carriers. https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/disasters-at-sea/trapped-in-typhoon-alley/1005669/3467453

Thirty miles off the coast of Virginia on February 11, 1983, bulk carrier Marine Electric struggles to stay afloat in a savage winter storm and sinks into the Atlantic. 31 of its 34 crewmembers are dead, leaving the Coast Guard and the NTSB scrambling for answers. Revisit the harrowing final moments of the 40-year-old vessel and follow the investigation that found dozens of other carriers and their crews at risk. https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/disasters-at-sea/deadly-neglect/1005669/3467454

Cargo ship MV Rocknes travels through the winding shipping channels of Norway in January 2004, loaded with 23,000 tons of gravel. Suddenly, the ship begins rolling dangerously to starboard, and within four minutes, it's completely upside down. After a desperate search for survivors and a heroic rescue of three crewmen trapped near the engine room, only 12 of the 30 crewmembers make it out alive. What follows is one of the most challenging investigations in Norwegian history--one that involved a stunning chain of oversights and errors.

Passengers on an adventure cruise in Antarctica watch on as their ship, the MV Explorer, plows through nine miles of ice. The vessel was built for polar sightseeing, but on this voyage, it springs a leak, and its lower deck is flooded with freezing seawater. All 154 aboard must abandon ship and spend five terrifying hours adrift in lifeboats before they are finally rescued. With the ship now at the bottom of the Southern Ocean, investigators turn to eyewitness accounts to understand what went wrong.

Bering Sea fishermen have some of the highest mortality rates of any job in the country, but the sinking of Alaska Ranger on Easter Sunday in 2008 was particularly stunning. Major flooding in the rudder room forced 47 crew members into the icy sea, setting off one of the most daring rescue missions in Coast Guard history. Follow the two-year investigation, which uncovered weaknesses not only in the Alaska Ranger's structure but in the maintenance of many of the fishing trawlers riding these deadly, unforgiving waters.

A violent crack tears the MSC Napoli apart and leaves the crew stranded. As the investigators dig into the cause of the wreck, they discover an alarming design flaw.