Famous Ships and Boats in History

In history, movies, books, on exhibit

War ships, ship tragedies, steam ships, yachts, and more

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Chinese Ships with Tragic Loss

Kiangya, SS — Chinese steamship, passenger
Blew up, probably after hitting a World War II Japanese mine, resulting in over 3000 killed. She was packed with refugees from the Chinese Civil War fleeing the advancing Communist army when she sank. LAUNCHED: 1939 → FATE: Sank December 4, 1948 in the mouth of the Huangpu River 50 miles south of Shanghai.

Taiping — Chinese steamship
Tragically collided with another vessel killing over 1,500 people. A memorial to the ship and those who died aboard her was established at Port Keeling naval base on Taiwan. The 2014 movie The Crossing is based on the sinking. LAUNCHED: 1920, probably → FATE: Sank January 27, 1949.

Tek Sin — Chinese ocean-going junk
Called the "Titanic of the East" when it sank taking with it over 1,600 people. Only about 200 people survived, being rescued by another ship the next day. LAUNCHED: 1820, circa → FATE: Grounded on a reef, then sank on February 6, 1822.

The number of Chinese Ships with Tragic Loss listed is 3

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For a full list of all ships, select HERE

First Ship on each page
Page	Ship Name (Country and Type)
1.	Taiping (Chinese steamship)

Chinese Ships with Tragic Loss
1.	Taiping Chinese steamship
2.	Tek Sin Chinese ocean-going junk

About the Data

There are more than 400 ships in this database, but the initial list is only for famous ships names that begin with letters "A-B". For other listings, use the country and type tabs.

Touching (or cursor over) a ship image produces an enlargement. Touch anywhere else (or move the cursor off the image) to close the larger image. Touching (or clicking on) any underlined name will link to a page with more information.

Although submarines are usually called boats, they are grouped with ships here.

Most of the information comes from Wikipedia.