Concept in Definition ABC

A shipwreck is the loss and sinking in the sea, river, lake or any other body of water, of a boat.

Loss and sinking in the water of a boat that occurs for different causes

The causes that lead to a shipwreck turn out to be the most varied, while we can group them into two categories, on the one hand, the technical or structural problems that appear unexpectedly in the boat while it sails, and on the other hand, the serious climatic situations such as: hurricanes, storms, among the most common.

Either of the two categories mentioned are considered direct causes.
The direct causes that have caused the most shipwrecks in the history of navigation are described below.

The waterway It is caused after drilling the hull, a fact that facilitates the entry of water into the submerged part of the hull Instability, that is, the boat leans towards one end and this prevents it from later recovering the Balance; the meteorological cause that can either produce instability in the ship or lead to impact against a solid structure that could damage the hull, benefiting the waterway;

a navigation failure, an error, whether human or technological, that will cause the boat to collide with submerged rocks, icebergs or even other boats; and finally, intentionally inflicted damage to the ship, which may be motivated by a war confrontation, which resulted in sabotage, the impact of missiles, projectiles and torpedoes, among other powerful weapons.

History contains in its pages countless stories of shipwrecks, more or less resonant, but it is a danger or one threat from which almost no one is exempt, even owning the most important, luxurious and safe boat. Proof of this is the wreck of the English liner Titanic, in 1912, one of the most popular shipwrecks, discussed, documented, investigated and represented throughout history.

Emblematic cases of subsidence

The Titanic was the most luxurious and impressive ship of the 20th century; In April 1912 she made her maiden voyage from the shores of Southampton, England, bound for New York City, but sadly, She never reached that destination because four days after setting sail she collided with an iceberg, a huge piece of floating ice, south of the coast of Newfoundland and she sank. The tragedy left as balance 1,517 missing persons.

The tragedy of the Titanic was even greater because despite all the luxuries and comforts that this vessel had, she did not have the necessary measures. safety enough and not enough elements to deal with an unexpected case.
There were only lifeguards for a little over 1,100 people.
This tragic event revealed a flaw in security matters and served to increase maritime security from then on.

And on the other hand, if we speak of warlike confrontations as the cause of the sinking and shipwrecks of ships, we cannot ignore that of the British liner RMS Lusitania.

In full development of the First World War, the ship was identified and attacked by the Germans who were fighting against the English. It was May 1915 and the ship sank in just 18 minutes.
Almost 1,200 people died of the 1,959 who were traveling.
The event caused a worldwide commotion and of course caused the world to reject the German acts. He also encouraged the United States to ally against Germany.

Travel at sea or in any other water has, since the most remote times of humanity, a relevance tremendous because they were and are a vehicle for commercial activity and also an option for moving from one site to another. other.

Poseidon Greek god of water

For this importance is that for example in ancient times, more precisely in Greece, the mythology so famous of this culture, granted a god the protection and authority on the waters: Poseidon.

Everything that happened in them was by the work and grace of this deity.
The sailors entrusted themselves to him to protect their travels and thus be able to travel without suffering any problems. They also used to offer him some animal sacrifice.
And on the other hand, Poseidon, when something annoyed him, he was directly responsible for the storms and tempests that occurred and that as a consequence produced the shipwrecks.

On the other hand, in common parlance, the word shipwreck is used recurrently as synonymous with misfortune or a big disaster. When a draft It does not materialize as expected or it must be suspended in full development, it is often spoken of a shipwreck, because of course, it implies very serious damage.
“ The shipwreck of me marriage has really split me in two.”

Themes in Shipwreck