What Was the First Cruise Ship That Sank?

By Robert Palmer

The first cruise ship to sink was the SS-Pacific, a paddle-wheel steamer that operated out of San Francisco in 1875. The ship had a capacity of 400 passengers and was known for its luxurious accommodations.

On the night of November 28, 1875, while sailing from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, it struck a rock and quickly began to take on water. Despite the efforts of the crew to save the ship, it eventually sank off the coast of Oregon near Cape Blanco.

The loss of the SS Pacific was particularly tragic due to the fact that two hundred passengers were on board at the time. Many of these passengers were families who were traveling on vacation or for business purposes. It is believed that only twelve people survived the sinking; however, an exact number is unknown due to lack of records from this time period.

The tragedy of SS-Pacific caused a great stir in maritime circles and prompted changes in safety protocols for ships. As a result, improvements were made in navigation methods and rooms called “lifeboats” were added to ships so that if disaster occurred at sea, passengers could be safely evacuated.

Though tragic, lessons learned from this incident have helped make modern cruise ships much safer than their predecessors. Today’s cruise ships are equipped with numerous safety features including lifeboats and satellite tracking systems so they can be monitored at all times while they are at sea.

What Was The First Cruise Ship That Sank?The first cruise ship to sink was the SS Pacific in 1875 near Cape Blanco off the coast of Oregon while sailing from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon. This tragedy resulted in changes being made in safety protocols for ships which have improved today’s cruise ships with numerous safety features such as lifeboats and satellite tracking systems making them much safer than their predecessors.