The Ship Iceberg Collision Database

Introduction

The Ship Iceberg Collision Database is a Microsoft Access 2000 database that catalogues 200 years of ship iceberg collisions in the North Atlantic. Many of these collisions occurred on or near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland but others occurred further afield; in the Arctic, off Greenland, and in the fjords of Alaska. Collision details have been culled from a huge variety of sources; two of the more notable being Lloyd’s List and The New York Maritime Register. If references to information sources are missing for some events then it is likely that these two cited newspapers are the original sources. The collision database was initially conceived during a study of sea ice extents off Newfoundland and has continued to evolve. Much of the original information has been augmented by further research, and where possible, the database includes information about the nature of the damage, the weather and sea state, the ice conditions, the vessel route and location at the time, and vessel characteristics. In addition, photographs of the vessel, vessel damage, and images of charts showing ice conditions are included.

Screen shot of Title Page.

This database was compiled by myself over many years. While care has been taken to ensure the data therein are as accurate as possible, much have been taken from a variety of secondary sources which are unverified. The user is cautioned to use the database with discretion. It should also be noted that this version is dated 2006 so does not contain recent events nor some older events that have been recently researched. An online listing of all known events is also available with links below. The main parameters are presented in table form with links to pdf files containing all information and links to any ship images and ice charts being added as time permits.

Just as an aside, 20 years ago when this database first got underway finding images of vessels, and in particular, ones showing iceberg damage was somewhat of a challenge. It is interesting to note just how simple it is these days to find many fine examples on the web.

The Guion Liner SS Arizona in St. John’s harbour, Newfoundland after striking an iceberg in November 1879

Download Database and Manuals

The Ship Iceberg Collision Database Manual describes the database and will help the user in performing searches. The PDF file can also be downloaded here.

Some statistics and trends revealed from analysis of the contents of the database are described and illustrated here.

There are two versions of the Ship Iceberg Collision Database. One is for those who already have Microsoft Access 2000 or better installed on their device, and the other is for those who do not already have Access installed. Unfortunately, it appears that WordPress does not allow files of these types to be downloaded and made available from here. However, they are still available at the archived version of the original website and please read the notes that describe them:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110827064222/http://www.icedata.ca/Pages/ShipCollisions/ShipCol_Down.php

List of iceberg casualties

Ship Names starting with “A”

Ship Names starting with “B”

Ship Names starting with “C”

Ship Names starting with “D & E”

Ship Names starting with “F & G”

Ship Names starting with “H, I & J”

Ship Names starting with “K & L”

Ship Names starting with “M”

Ship Names starting with “N & O”

Ship Names starting with “P”

Ship Names starting with “Q & R”

Ship Names starting with “S”

Ship Names starting with “T & U”

Ship Names starting with “V to Z”