SOS Vessel in Distress!

In November 1664, La Lune, sank in Toulon, France, within a few minutes for some mysterious reason, drowning nearly 700 men. A few years earlier, the Vasa had cast off with great pomp for its maiden voyage. A simple gust of wind capsizes the Vasa in Stockholm, Sweden, which sank like a stone into the waters of the harbor of Stockholm before the eyes of the stunned crowd.

Some shipwrecks transform the ships into veritable underwater graveyards. On June 11 1940, the Niobe, was hit by four bombs in Croatia. The ship sank within minutes, taking with her more than 1,000 souls. 62 years later, to the south of Senegal near Gambia, Le Joola, suddenly capsized off the coast. Trapped inside, more than 2,000 passengers met their deaths in the wreck.

Submarines have always held a unique place in maritime history. All mariners acknowledge that it requires a very special courage to dive into the depths of the abyss enclosed in a steel hull. Because, under water, the least incident can quickly turn to tragedy, as it happened with the U-171 in Lorient, France and Le Vendemiaire in the English Channel, UK.