Disasters at Sea - Episode Guide

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.

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.

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.

Loaded with more than 2,300 shipping containers on January 18, 2007, MSC Napoli is sailing through the English Channel towards South Africa during a violent storm. Suddenly, the engine room begins flooding with water, threatening to tear the ship in half. Through actual footage of the disaster and interviews with those who were there, witness the heroic rescue effort to save the lives of 26 crew members.

Containership SS El Faro is halfway into its run from Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico, carrying 12,000 tons of cargo. The massive 790-foot vessel is built for rough weather, but it's about to meet its match in the form of Category 3 hurricane Joaquin. After the 33-person crew loses a battle against 115-MPH winds and 26-foot swells, the U.S. Coast Guard and NTSB join forces to find out why the ship sailed straight towards the eye of the storm.

Passenger ferry MS Norman Atlantic is fighting its way through a brutal winter storm when, just a few hours into its 20-hour journey from Greece to Italy, the vessel bursts into flames. With a crew poorly trained to handle emergencies and some of the life rafts destroyed by fire or launched too soon, passengers are left to fend for themselves against a growing inferno. Follow the events of the 2014 maritime disaster as they unfold, including the investigation to find out what started the fire and why it spread so quickly.

The Queen of the North is British Columbia Ferry Services' crown jewel, a luxurious, 410-foot ship that cruises the west coast of Canada. But on March 21, 2006, disaster strikes when the passenger ferry strays off course, hits an island, and fills with icy water. Two passengers are never found, and Canada's Transportation Safety Board immediately launches an investigation. Facts are hard to come by, but rumors of an extramarital affair between two of the bridge crew spark a surprising theory about the ship's final moments.

The fishing trawler Arctic Rose is working in the stormy waters of the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. Its crew has travelled more than 2,000 miles from its homeport in Seattle to work these fertile fishing grounds, but rough weather will prevent the ship from returning home. Discover the story behind one of the deadliest commercial fishing accidents in U.S. waters. Then follow a joint investigation between the Coast Guard and the NTSB that resulted in increased safety standards for smaller processor boats operating on the Bering Sea.

The fishing boat Lady Mary and her crew are hauling scallops in near-freezing waters off the shores of New Jersey in 2009. On their final night, something goes wrong, and the vessel suddenly begins to sink. The freezing waters, coupled with a delayed response from the Coast Guard, lead to the death of six of the seven men onboard. It's up to the Coast Guard to find out what happened and why emergency units weren't alerted until 90 minutes after the ship sank.

Just two years after 9/11, the "Andrew J. Barberi," one of the largest ships in the Staten Island Ferry fleet, is on its way back from Manhattan when something goes horribly wrong. As the crew prepares to dock, the ferry slams into a maintenance pier at full speed, tearing its side wide open and killing 11 passengers. In a city still recovering from the devastating attack on the World Trade Center, some speculate that terrorism might have been involved, but interviews with the crew suggest another theory.

Bulk carrier MV Flare is more than halfway on a 3,700-mile voyage across the North Atlantic to pick up a cargo of grain in Montreal. It never arrives. The massive ship gets caught in a violent storm and snaps in two. Miraculously, four of the crew of 25 survive, but the catastrophe greatly troubles investigators. The Flare is one of many active bulk carriers made of the same fracture-resistant steel. If there's a flaw in the design of the material, similar vessels all over the world may be in danger of sinking at any moment.

A massive tanker explodes at sea. The only chance for survival: run through flames to signal for help and then dive into a stew of toxic chemicals. Witness the 2004 sinking of Bow Mariner, from the moments leading up to the fiery blast to the heroic efforts of one officer to save his crew to a Coast Guard rescue effort unlike any attempted before. Then discover the shocking reasons for the catastrophe that claimed the lives of 21 crewmen. Firsthand accounts from survivors, rescuers, and investigators bring this harrowing sea disaster to life.

MSC Flaminia is transporting thousands of containers across the Atlantic, en route to Belgium, when a massive fireball erupts from the cargo hold. With many of the containers full of dangerous goods, the officers, crew, and passengers must abandon ship before another explosion occurs. When investigators struggle to determine the cause of the disaster, they bring in an expert chemist; she discovers traces of a chemical cocktail that turned the ship into a pressure cooker ready to go off. It's a danger that threatens shipping around the world.

On the unforgiving Bering Sea, the 110-foot fishing boat Destination suddenly vanishes. After a three-day air and sea search finds nothing, the captain and all five crew are presumed dead. It's the worst accident in the Alaska crabbing industry in more than a decade. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and U.S. Coast Guard race to find out what doomed the ship and its experienced crew. What they uncover is a string of clues leading up to the final moments of the disaster that would leave a community stunned.

The very modern, 430-foot car ferry Herald of Free Enterprise leaves Zeebrugge Harbor on its 100-mile trip across the English Channel. Less than 25 minutes into the voyage, however, the boat suddenly lurches to the left and within 90 seconds, completely rolls over. Inside the ship, 539 people are trapped as the frigid North Sea pours in. By the time rescue teams arrive, 193 are dead, and investigators are tasked to explain how this state-of-the-art ship came to such a tragic end. What they find will send shockwaves through the ferry industry.

On Scotland's treacherous River Clyde, three tugboats and a massive bulk carrier are blinded by fog during a 17-mile journey from Greenock to Glasgow. When one tugboat is apparently grounded, the other tugs carefully guide the cargo ship safely to its destination...but their relief will be short-lived. Witness the 2007 sinking of the Flying Phantom and follow the Marine Accident Investigation Branch as they race to discover if the disaster was cause by a collision, human error, or by a malfunction that may put other tugboat crews in danger?