This is a partial list of shipwrecks which occurred in the Indian Ocean. The list includes ships that sank, foundered, grounded, or were otherwise lost. The Indian Ocean is here defined in its widest sense, including its marginal seas: the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Great Australian Bight, the Mozambique Channel, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Strait of Malacca, and the Timor Sea.
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom | 9 June 1897 | A P&O steamship that was wrecked on the island of Socotra off the coast of Yemen. | |||
 United States | 2 January 1944 | A Liberty ship torpedoed off the Arabian Peninsula by the Japanese submarine . | 21.35°N 117°W | ||
| 6 September 1920 | A cargo ship that was wrecked near the Khuriya Muriya Islands. | 17.7333°N 94°W | |||
| United States | 22 February 1944 | A tanker that was torpedoed by .[1] | |||
 France | 19 May 1932 | An ocean liner that caught fire and sank near Mukalla, Yemen. | 14.3333°N 75°W | ||
| United States | 28 August 1944 | A Liberty ship that was torpedoed by the German submarine off the coast of Oman. | |||
| PNS Khaibar | 4 December 1971 | A that was sunk by he Indian Navy missile boat south of Karachi, Pakistan. | |||
| 9 December 1971 | A that was torpedoed by the Pakistan Navy submarine off Diu, India. | 20.2772°N 70.9936°W | |||
 Bahamas | 17 June 2013 | A container ship that broke apart in bad weather on 17 June 2013. The stern section took on water and sank on 26 June; the bow was taken under tow, but caught fire and sank on 11 July. | 14.4333°N 92°W, 19.9333°N 90°W | ||
| Montanan | United States | 3 June 1943 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine south of Masirah Island, Oman. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 11 November 1940 | A refrigerated cargo ship sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser northwest of Sumatra. | |||
 Norway | 7 June 1991 | The cargo ship, a 15-year-old vessel, sank east of Sri Lanka. Water began flooding the cargo holds on 6 June. The cargo included ferro silicum and a new Chinese steam locomotive bound for the United States. All 17 crewmen were rescued.[2] [3] [4] | 6.0667°N 139°W | ||
| 9 April 1942 | The world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft about 39nmi northwest of Batticaloa, Ceylon. | 7.5833°N 87°W | |||
| United Kingdom | 10 September 1914 | A steamship captured and scuttled by the Imperial German Navy light cruiser . | 11°N 128°W | ||
| 11 February 1944 | A sunk by the Royal Indian Navy sloop and the Royal Australian Navy corvettes and northeast of Madras, India. | 17.4167°N 104°W | |||
| United States | 7 April 1942 | A cargo ship sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft about off from Vizagapatam (now Vishakhapatnam), India. | 17.1833°N 103°W | ||
| 9 April 1942 | A V-class destroyer sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft off the coast of Ceylon. | 7.5833°N 87°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch East India Company | 12 February 1662 | An East Indiaman that ran aground on the Saint Brandon Rocks. | |||
| United Kingdom | 20 August 1944 | A merchant ship that was torpedoed by .[5] | |||
| United Kingdom | 22 February 1944 | A cargo ship that was sunk by a Japanese submarine. | |||
| United Kingdom | 23 October 1942 | A merchant steamer that was torpedoed by off East London, South Africa. | |||
| United Kingdom | 12 August 1943 | A cargo steamship that was torpedoed by U-181 off Madagascar. | -23°N 53.11°W | ||
| France | 9 September 1940 | A passenger ship that was sunk by the . | -28.4167°N 97°W | ||
| United States | 21 September 1943 | A Liberty ship that was carrying 2,910 tons of steel and 300 tons of gum arabic that was sunk by .[6] | 2.1333°N 60°W | ||
| 5 April 1942 | A heavy cruiser that was sunk by Japanese dive bombers in the Easter Sunday Raid. | 1.9°N 131°W | |||
| 5 April 1942 | A heavy cruiser that was sunk by Japanese dive bombers in the Easter Sunday Raid. | 1.9°N 122°W | |||
| United Kingdom | 17 October 1942 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by about south of Cape Town, South Africa. | -38.2°N 24°W | ||
| United Kingdom | 7 August 1944 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by about east of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. | -7.1°N 42°W | ||
| United States | 2 November 1944 | A T2 tanker that was torpedoed by . | -27.5833°N 94°W | ||
| United Kingdom | 19 September 1943 | A North Sands-class cargo ship that was torpedoed by . 57 out of the 57 onboard died in the sinking with two crew members surviving after being at sea for 143 days before coming ashore to Sumatra where they were taken prisoner by the Japanese.[7] | -10°N 68°W | ||
 South Africa | 27 September 1957 | A cargo ship that ran aground east of East London, Eastern Cape, Africa. | |||
| United Kingdom | 2 July 1943 | A passenger ship that was torpedoed by .[8] | -19.5°N 85°W | ||
| 12 February 1944 | A Type B1 submarine sunk by the British destroyers and . | 1.4167°N 94°W | |||
| 17 January 1942 | A Kaidai 3B-type submarine sunk by the British destroyer south of the Sunda Strait. | -6.325°N 104.8222°W | |||
| United States | 8 March 1943 | A Liberty ship that was torpedoed by about northeast of Durban, South Africa. | -28.8833°N 51°W | ||
| United Kingdom | 12 February 1944 | A steamship that was torpedoed by, with 1,297 deaths. | 1.4167°N 94°W | ||
 Netherlands | 5 October 1881 | An ocean liner that sprang a leak and sank east of the Seychelles. | -5.2333°N 71°W | ||
| 19 November 1941 | A merchant raider that sank off Western Australia near Carnarvon due to damage sustained in combat with the Australian light cruiser . | -26.0961°N 111.0758°W | |||
| 27 February 1942 | A seaplane tender scuttled 75nmi south of Tjilatjap, Java, after sustaining damage in an attack by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft. | -8.8512°N 109.0341°W | |||
| 31 July 1898 | A unprotected cruiser wrecked during a storm on the coast of Madagascar at Anosy. | ||||
| 24 August 1810 | A that ran aground off Mauritius in the Battle of Grand Port. | ||||
| United Kingdom | 4 March 1943 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by . | -31.49°N 31.11°W | ||
| 8 May 1942 | A sunk by the Royal Navy destroyers and off Diego-Suarez, Madagascar, during the Battle of Madagascar. | ||||
 Greece | 4 August 1991 | A cruise ship that sank off Coffee Bay, South Africa. | -32.1208°N 29.1203°W | ||
| 1 March 1942 | A sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft south of Java. | -14.45°N 117°W | |||
| 20 September 1914 | A protected cruiser that sank in the harbor at Zanzibar due to damage sustained earlier in the day in combat with the Imperial German Navy light cruiser during the Battle of Zanzibar. | -6.1483°N 39.1933°W | |||
| 8 May 1941 | An auxiliary cruiser that was sunk by . | 3.5°N 57.8°W | |||
| 3 October 1952 | A obliterated in the Monte Bello Islands off Western Australia by the detonation of an atomic bomb within her hull in Operation Hurricane, a British nuclear test. | ||||
| 27 February 1941 | An auxiliary cruiser that was sunk by in the action of 27 February 1941. | 1°N 98°W | |||
| United States | 9 July 1943 | A Liberty ship that was torpedoed by . Originally it was believed that it was sunk by a Japanese surface raider. There would be no survivors of the ship from the sinking.[9] | -9°N 81°W | ||
| 23 August 1810 | A frigate that ran aground off Mauritius in the Battle of Grand Port. | ||||
| 19 November 1941 | A light cruiser that sank off Western Australia near Carnarvon due to damage sustained in combat with the German merchant raider . | -26.2419°N 111.2133°W | |||
| Texanita |  Liberia | 21 August 1972 | An oil tanker that collided with Oswego-Guardian off Stilbaai, South Africa. | -34.8°N 21.4°W | |
| Netherlands | 26 March 1944 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by . | -2.5°N 118°W | ||
| Royal Indian Marine | 14 January 1897 | A troopship that hit a rock and was wrecked off Réunion. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 20 January 1942 | A motor vessel torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine at Flying Fish Cove. | |||
| Janga ("SIEV-221") |  Indonesia | 15 December 2010 | A fishing boat that hit the rocks at Flying Fish Cove while carrying asylum seekers from Iraq and Iran. | ||
 Panama | 8 January 2012 | A cargo ship wrecked at Flying Fish Cove. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 November 1914 | A collier scuttled while under attack by the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser in the Battle of Cocos. | ||||
| 9 November 1914 | A light cruiser run aground and wrecked while under attack by the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser during the Battle of Cocos. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahomed Shah | United Kingdom | April 1853 | A barque that caught fire on 18 April 1853 and sank several days later. All on board were rescued. | -40.1667°N 119.1667°W | |
| Norway | 29 March 1929 | A cargo ship that collided with the steamship 25nmi southwest of Cape Otway, Victoria, Australia. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 20 June 1817 | An East Indiaman wrecked on a coral reef. | |||
| 5 May 1942 | A sunk by Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm aircraft west of Cap d'Ambre, Madagascar, during the Battle of Madagascar. | ||||
| Norway | 4 July 1943 | A merchant ship that was sunk by .[10] | -21.8333°N 87°W | ||
| United Kingdom | 6 August 1944 | A cargo ship torpedoed by the German submarine off Mocímboa da Praia, Mozambique. | -11.55°N 66°W | ||
| United States | 30 June 1942 | A Type C3-E cargo ship torpedoed by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine . | -23.5°N 67°W | ||
| 7 May 1942 | A sunk by Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm aircraft off Courrier Bay, Madagascar, during the Battle of Madagascar. | -12.0625°N 49.0583°W | |||
 Portugal | 11 July 1943 | A steam merchant ship torpedoed by .[11] | -15.6667°N 85°W | ||
| United States | 14 July 1943 | A Liberty ship torpedoed by the German submarine .[12] | -15.4167°N 54°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iran Ajr | 26 September 1987 | A landing craft that served as a minelayer during the Iran–Iraq War, captured and scuttled by United States Navy forces. | |||
| U-533 | 16 October 1943 | A Type IXC/40 U-boat sunk by British aircraft off Fujairah. | 25.4667°N 106°W |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aida |  Egypt | 15 September 1957 | A supply ship sunk off the coast of Big Brother Island. | 26.3167°N 84°W | |
 Djibouti | 6 April 2006 | A capsized passenger ferry. | |||
| Egypt | 3 February 2006 | Capsized passenger ferry. | 27.033°N 34.883°W | ||
| United Kingdom | 15 September 1869 | Ran aground on a coral reef on 12 September, broke in half and sank three days later. 31 people drowned.[13] | 27.5667°N 88°W | ||
| Chrisoula K | Greece | 31 August 1981 | A cargo ship that ran aground on a reef.[14] | 27.5814°N 33.9319°W | |
| United Kingdom | 22 April 1876 | A merchant ship that hit a reef and sank in the Gulf of Suez, close to the Sinai Peninsula.[15] | 27.4215°N 34.073°W | ||
| 1969 | A bombed and sunk by an Israeli Air Force aircraft near Hurghada.[16] | 27.2319°N 33.8594°W | |||
| Greece | 19 April 1983 | A cargo ship that sank with its cargo of timber at Sha'ab Abu Nuhas, north of Hurghada. | |||
| 4 April 1941 | A torpedo boat sunk in port at Massawa by British aircraft.[17] | ||||
| Panama | 12 December 1978 | A cargo ship which sank on at Sha'ab Abu Nuhas, north of Hurghada, when she ran into the reef of Abu Nuhas.[18] | 27.58°N 33.9333°W | ||
| 15 June 1940 | A that was scuttled southeast of Port Sudan after the crew became "incapacitated" because of fumes leaking out of the submarine's air conditioning system.[19] | 19.2167°N 47°W | |||
| 6 April 1941 | A merchant-passenger ship that was scuttled at Nakura on Dalac Island off Eritrea.[20] | ||||
| Numidia | United Kingdom | 20 July 1901 | A cargo liner that sank at Big Brother Island. | 26.3167°N 84°W | |
| United Kingdom | October 1941 | A cargo ship bombed two days after the supply ship Thistlegorm—– anchored some 20nmi away off the Sinai Peninsula — was sunk. She rests north of Hurghada, north of the reefs of Abu Nuhas, in some 500NaN0 of water.[21] | 27.6508°N 33.7714°W | ||
| Egypt | 17 December 1991 | The passenger ship ran into a shallow reef and sank 57nmi south of Hurghada, after the captain took a shortcut on his trip from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Safaga, Egypt. | |||
| 5 September 1941 | A cargo ship that was sunk by a German plane.[22] | ||||
| United Kingdom | 6 October 1941 | A cargo ship sunk by German bombers near Sharm el-Sheikh.[23] | 27.8142°N 33.92°W | ||
| 9 June 1940 | A cargo ship scuttled by her crew near Port Sudan. | 19.6386°N 37.3272°W | |||
| 8 April 1941 | A torpedo boat scuttled in the harbor entrance at Massawa. | ||||
 Italy | 22 August 1984 | Commonly referred to as Kormoran, a cargo ship that sailed from Aqaba with a cargo of phosphate rock and hit Laguna Reef in the Straits of Tiran. |
| Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | 23 August 1992 | A cruise ship that sank in a collision with the Taiwanese fishing vessel Terfu 51. | |||
| Bahamas | 21 May 1999 | A cruise ship that sank off the coast of Perak following a fire. | 4.6169°N 99.9017°W | ||
| 22 April 1943 | A scuttled off Phuket, Thailand, after Japanese aircraft damaged her the previous day. | 6.5°N 137°W | |||
| 16 May 1945 | A sunk by British forces 48nmi off Penang in the Battle of the Malacca Strait. | ||||
| 13 November 1943 | A Type B1 submarine sunk 30nmi off Penang by the British submarine . | 5.2833°N 105°W | |||
| 17 July 1944 | A Kaidai 5-type submarine that was sunk by the British submarine off One Fathom Bank. | 2.8°N 104°W | |||
 Malaysia | 18 December 1999[24] | ||||
| 11 January 1944 | A that was sunk by the Royal Navy submarine west of Penang. | 5.4333°N 151°W | |||
| 28 October 1914 | An sunk by the Imperial German Navy light cruiser at Penang during the Battle of Penang. | ||||
| 8 June 1946 | A that was scuttled near Port Klang. | 3.0833°N 140°W | |||
| 19 November 1944 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by the 25miles northeast of Bengkalis Islands.[25] | 1.6167°N 155°W | |||
| United States | 6 August 1859 | A clipper that was wrecked on the Pyramid Shoal. | |||
| 22 November 1944 | A that was scuttled by her crew after being damaged by depth charges from the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine chaser . Ten of the crew were captured, three of whom survived.[26] | ||||
| 19 October 1946 | A heavy cruiser that was surrendered to the British and sunk as a target. | 3.0847°N 100.6833°W | |||
| 12 February 1946 | A Type IXD2 U-boat that was scuttled near Port Klang. | 3.0972°N 100.7139°W | |||
| 23 September 1944 | A Type IXD2 U-boat that was sunk by . | 5.767°N 100.067°W | |||
| 13 February 1946 | A Type IXD2 U-boat that was scuttled near Port Klang. | 3.0833°N 138°W | |||
| 14 February 1944 | A, formerly named Reginaldo Giuliani, that was seized by Germany and was torpedoed by the British submarine northwest of Pangkor Island. | 4.45°N 111°W | |||
| 26 July 1945 | An damaged by a kamikaze attack and subsequently scuttled. | 7.0833°N 147°W | |||
| March 28, 1944 | A cargo ship for the Imperial Japanese Army that was torpedoed by the in the Straits of Malacca.[27] | ||||
| 28 October 1914 | An protected cruiser sunk by the Imperial German Navy light cruiser at Penang during the Battle of Penang. |