Reports of the sinking of a Soviet passenger ship in the Black Sea with up to 1,000 people aboard indicated substantial loss of life. Here are some notable maritime disasters of the last three decades. July 26, 1956 - The Italian liner Andrea Doria sinks, a day after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm off Cape Cod. Fifty-two people are killed, most of them on the Italian vessel.
July 14, 1957 - The Soviet ship Eshghabad sinks in the Caspian Sea and 270 people are killed. April 10, 1961 - The British liner Dara sinks in the Persian Gulf with a reported loss of 212 lives, two days after a bomb explosion aboard. July 8, 1961 - The Portuguese ship Save runs aground and breaks up off Mozambique; 259 killed. April 10, 1963 - The American nuclear submarine Thresher sinks in the North Atlantic; 129 killed. Feb. 10, 1964 - The Australian destroyer Voyager sinks after colliding with the aircraft carrier Melbourne off New South Wales; 82 killed. April 10, 1964 - An Iranian motor launch burns and sinks in the Persian Gulf; 113 dead. Nov. 13, 1965 - The cruise ship Yarmouth Castle burns and sinks en route from Miami to the Bahamas; 90 dead. Dec. 8, 1966 - A Greek ferry sinks in the Aegean; 241 killed. Jan. 25, 1968 - The Israeli submarine Dakar vanishes; 69 lost. Jan. 27, 1968 - The French submarine Minerve vanishes in the Mediterranean; 52 dead. May 21, 1968 - The American nuclear submarine Scorpion sinks southwest of the Azores; 99 dead. June 2, 1969 - The United States destroyer Evans is cut in half by the Australian carrier Melbourne in the South China Sea; 74 dead. March 4, 1970 - The French submarine Eurydice sinks off Toulon; 57 dead. Dec. 15, 1970 - A South Korean ferry sinks in the Korea Strait; more than 260 dead. Feb. 1, 1973 - A ferry sinks in the harbor of Rangoon, Burma; more than 200 dead. Dec. 24, 1973 - A ferry sinks off Guayaquil, Ecuador; 109 dead. May 1, 1974 - A motor launch capsizes off Bangladesh; 250 dead. Sept. 26, 1974 - A Soviet destroyer burns and sinks in the Black Sea; about 200 dead. Dec. 25, 1976 - The Egyptian liner Patra burns and sinks in the Red Sea; about 100 dead. Jan. 27, 1981 - The Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas II catches fire and sinks in the Java Sea; 580 dead. Aug. 10, 1983 - The United States reports that a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine sank in the North Pacific two months earlier with the loss of most or all of the 90-member crew.