u/shipwreckspod

The Lamma IV sank on October 1, 2012 after the ferry Sea Smooth smashed into its port bow. The Lamma IV sank by the stern, 13 meters down, off the coast of Lamma Island, Hong Kong. 39 were killed, and over 90 were injured. The coxswain of the Sea Smooth was sentenced to 8 years in prison, and the Lamma IV coxswain served 9 months. The Lamma IV was carrying employees of Hong Kong Electric and their families on an excursion to see fireworks to celebrate National Day.

On April 27, 1865, just days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War, the paddlewheel steamboat Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River in the deadliest maritime disaster in American history. Overloaded with more than 2,000 recently released Union prisoners of war, the vessel’s boilers failed in the early morning hours near Memphis, sending flames and debris into the darkness.

An estimated 1800 lives were lost, but the tragedy remains largely forgotten, overshadowed by the closing days of the war and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

The story of the Sultana is underpinned by shady dealings between the Sultana's captain and Army officers stationed at Vicksburg, Mississippi, which played a significant role in the disaster.