# List of shipwrecks in 1961

The list of shipwrecks in 1961 includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1961.
table of contents :
| ← 1960 1961 1962 → ||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
| May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
| Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Unknown date ||||
| References ||||

## January
### 1 January

List of shipwrecks: 1 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Sadie | United States | The 10-gross register ton, 34.8-foot (10.6 m) fishing vessel sank at Tee Harbor (also known as "The Harbor"), Alaska. |

### 3 January

List of shipwrecks: 3 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Indian Navigator | India | The cargo ship sank 60 nautical miles (110 km) off the Isles of Scilly. Thirteen crew of Indian Success ( India) that were put on board to salvage the ship after it caught fire were lost. One of her 67 crew was also reported lost. |

### 5 January

List of shipwrecks: 5 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Arcadia | United Kingdom | The ocean liner ran aground off Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Refloated after two hours. |
| Harry R. Jones | United States | The cargo ship ran aground off Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland whilst under tow to Troon for scrapping. |

### 9 January

List of shipwrecks: 9 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| El Pensativo | Cuba | The motor sailer was intercepted and sunk at sea by an armed boat. Four Cuban intelligence agents were killed. |

### 10 January

List of shipwrecks: 10 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Egoz | Israel | The passenger ship foundered in the Mediterranean Sea with the loss of 46 of the 49 people on board. She was on a voyage from Al Hoceima, Morocco to Gibraltar. |

### 11 January

List of shipwrecks: 12 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| HDMS Egenæs | Royal Danish Navy | The patrol vessel ran aground off Odden. She was consequently scrapped. |
| Vega | United States | While under tow from New York City to Jacksonville, Florida, the 75-foot (22.9 m) motor automobile ferry capsized and sank without loss of life in 55 feet (17 m) of water in the North Atlantic Ocean off Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey, at 40°11.646′N 073°56.787′W﻿ / ﻿40.194100°N 73.946450°W﻿ / 40.194100; -73.946450﻿ (Vega) after her tow line parted during a storm. |

### 12 January

List of shipwrecks: 12 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| HMS Oberon | Royal Navy | The Oberon-class submarine ran aground at Rothesay Bay in the Firth of Clyde. Refloated the next day with the assistance of three tugs and two boom defence vessels. |
| USCGC Triumph | United States Coast Guard | The motor lifeboat sank in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Oregon during a rescue with the loss of five of her six crew members. |

### 18 January

List of shipwrecks: 18 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Oco | United Kingdom | The TID-class tug collided with Henfield ( United Kingdom) in the River Ouse at Swinefleet, Yorkshire. Oco capsized and sank. She was towing barges from Hull to Selby. She was refloated on 1 February and beached, the refloated on 14 February and taken in to Goole. Subsequently repaired and returned to service as Selby Olympia. |

### 20 January

List of shipwrecks: 20 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Caribbean Queen | United Kingdom | The cargo ship sank between Cuba and Florida, United States. All crew rescued. |

### 21 January

List of shipwrecks: 21 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Yewmount | United Kingdom | The coaster collided with Stamatios M. Embiricos ( Greece) and sank. She was on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to Glasgow, Renfrewshire. Yewmount was refloated on 30 March 1961 and was scrapped in 1964. |

### 25 January

List of shipwrecks: 25 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Yarasli | Turkey | The cargo ship was sighted off Cephalonia, Greece whilst on a voyage from Istanbul to Bagnoli, Italy. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands. |

### 26 January

List of shipwrecks: 26 January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| S-80 | Soviet Navy | The Whiskey-class submarine sank in the Barents Sea with the loss of her entire crew of 68. Her wreck remained undiscovered until 23 June 1968. |
| Vrmac | Yugoslavia | The cargo ship capsized and sank off Venice, Italy with the loss of five of her 22 crew. |

### Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date January 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Yarasli | Turkey | The coaster foundered in the Ionian Sea. She was last heard from on 25 January. |

## February
### 3 February

List of shipwrecks: 3 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| De Vilhena | Malta | The tug foundered 40 nautical miles (74 km) north west of Calvi, Corsica, France. |

### 5 February

List of shipwrecks: 5 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Kupreanoff | United States | The 10-gross register ton motor vessel sank at Port Williams (58°29′30″N 152°35′00″W﻿ / ﻿58.49167°N 152.58333°W﻿ / 58.49167; -152.58333﻿ (Port Williams)) on the southern coast of Afognak Island in Alaska's Kodiak Archipelago. |

### 8 February

List of shipwrecks: 8 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Braga | Norway | The cargo ship foundered in the English Channel. All 27 crew and both passengers rescued by the tug Rennes and cargo ship Banora (both France) and landed at Newhaven, Sussex or Dieppe, France respectively. |

### 17 February

List of shipwrecks: 17 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| BP Explorer | United Kingdom | The coastal tanker capsized and sank in the River Severn at Awre, Gloucestershire with the loss of all five crew. |
| C 632 | Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service | The auxiliary vessel ran aground at Dungeness, Kent and was holed. A pump was put on board and the ship was escorted to Dover. |
| Eminence | United Kingdom | The coaster collided with American Farmer ( United States) off Thames Haven, Essex and was holed, with her steering gear destroyed. |
| ex-USS Huron | Canada | The floating breakwater, formerly the armored cruiser USS South Dakota (later renamed USS Huron) ( United States Navy), sank at Powell River, British Columbia, Canada, due to flooding of her hull during a storm. |
| Parcorali | Liberia | The cargo ship ran aground on the Rosslyn Rock whilst on a voyage from Bangkok, Thailand to Japan. She was refloated the next day but was consequently declared a constructive total loss and scrapped. |

### 19 February

List of shipwrecks: 19 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Petromar Buenos Aires | Argentina | The tanker collided with Pennsylvania ( Denmark) in the Paraná River 217 kilometres (135 mi) from river mouth. The ship and caught fire and was declared a constructive total loss. |
| Lapwing | United Kingdom | The coastal tanker capsized in the River Humber with the loss of three lives. |
| Runic | United Kingdom | The cargo ship ran aground on Middleton Rock, 400 nautical miles (740 km) north west of Sydney, Australia. Her crew were rescued by Arabic ( United Kingdom). Declared a constructive total loss in March 1961. |
| Scaldis | Belgium | The tug capsized and sank at the mouth of the Scheldt. Two of the fourteen crew were reported missing. |

### 20 February

List of shipwrecks: 20 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Hilda Garston | United States | The 86-foot (26 m), 159-gross register ton scallop-fishing dragger struck a reef and sank without loss of life in up to 45 feet (14 m) of water in Buzzards Bay off Gooseberry Neck, Westport, Massachusetts, 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) south of Old Cock Rock at 41°16.4′N 071°02.1′W﻿ / ﻿41.2733°N 71.0350°W﻿ / 41.2733; -71.0350﻿ (Hilda Garston). |

### 26 February

List of shipwrecks: 26 February 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Yoshiura Maru No. 5 | Japan | The cargo ship sank southeast of Hong Kong. All 15 crew were rescued. |

### Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Parks No. 11 | United States | The 12-gross register ton, 31.2-foot (9.5 m) fishing vessel was wrecked on Sitkalidak Island in the Kodiak Archipelago. |

## March
### 1 March

List of shipwrecks: 1 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Western | United States | The 25-gross register ton, 41.5-foot (12.6 m) fishing vessel sank near Russian Harbor (56°44′N 154°05′W﻿ / ﻿56.733°N 154.083°W﻿ / 56.733; -154.083﻿ (Russian Harbor)) at the southern end of Kodiak Island, Alaska. |

### 11 March

List of shipwrecks: 11 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Newfoundland | United Kingdom | The ocean liner ran aground off Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Refloated after six hours. |
| Tundra | United States | The 13-gross register ton, 36.9-foot (11.2 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Seward, Alaska. |

### 15 March

List of shipwrecks: 15 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Nicolaos Epiphaniades | Greece | The Liberty ship caught fire, exploded and ran aground at Odessa, Soviet Union. She was refloated in October and detained by Soviet authorties seeking recompense for damage caused to port facilities Reported to have been scrapped in September 1964. |

### 16 March

List of shipwrecks: 16 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Dominator | Panama | Dominator in May 1965The Greek-owned, Panamanian-flagged Liberty ship ran aground off California, United States in dense fog and was wrecked, breaking in half. All 31 crew were rescued. |
| Lizzonia | United Kingdom | The Channel tanker collided with Arctic Ocean ( Sweden) and sank in the English Channel 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) west north west of the Varne Lightvessel ( Trinity House). Lizzonia was on a voyage from Antwerp, Belgium to Plymouth, Devon. |
| Martin Lutjens | West Germany | The coaster collided with Schelde Lloyd ( Netherlands) off the coast of the Netherlands and sank. All crew were rescued. |

### 17 March

List of shipwrecks: 17 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Arietta | Greece | The cargo ship ran aground near Novorossiysk, Soviet Union. She was on a voyage from Novorossiysk to Liverpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom. She was refloated on 1 April and towed in to Novorossiysk, where she was declared a constructive total loss. |

### 19 March

List of shipwrecks: 19 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Verao | Fiji | The cargo ship foundered off the coast of Queensland, Australia. All fifteen crew rescued by Iron Flinders ( Australia). |

### 21 March

List of shipwrecks: 21 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Mary P Cooper | United Kingdom | The cargo ship collided with the coaster Foamville and sank in the Manchester Ship Canal, blocking it completely. All eight crew were rescued. |

### 22 March

List of shipwrecks: 22 March 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Chresten | Denmark | The CHANT struck a submerged object and sank near Stubbekøbing. She was on a voyage from Nyborg to Copenhagen. She was refloated on 16 May and taken in to Copenhagen, but was declared a constructive total loss and consequently scrapped. |
| Mary P. Cooper | United Kingdom | The sand hopper collided with another vessel and sank in the Manchester Ship Canal. |

## April
### 3 April

List of shipwrecks: 3 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Clupea | Norway | The factory ship, a converted tank landing ship, caught fire at Port Étienne, Mauritania. The fire was extinguished. |

### 6 April

List of shipwrecks: 3 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Clupea | Norway | The factory ship, a converted tank landing ship, caught fire at Port Étienne, Mauritania. She sank on 8 April (at 20°53′N 17°03′W﻿ / ﻿20.883°N 17.050°W﻿ / 20.883; -17.050) with her superstructure above water. The fire was extinguished on 14 April. She was a total loss. |

### 8 April

List of shipwrecks: 8 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Dara | United Kingdom | The passenger ship suffered an onboard explosion and fire off Dubai, with 238 of the 819 people on board killed. The ship was taken under tow, but sank on 10 April. |

### 14 April

List of shipwrecks: 14 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Marine Merchant | Greece | The bulk carrier broke in two and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) south east of Portland, Maine. |
| Theia Maria | Greece | The Liberty ship ran aground near Punta Galera, Mexico (15°53′N 97°46′W﻿ / ﻿15.883°N 97.767°W﻿ / 15.883; -97.767) and broke in two. She was scrapped in situ. |

### 16 April

List of shipwrecks: 16 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USS Baldwin | United States Navy | Baldwin (extreme right) being refloated on 28 April 1961While under tow, the decommissioned Gleaves-class destroyer ran aground two nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) southwest of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, when her tow line parted. She was later refloated and scuttled. |
| Comedian | United States | The 12-gross register ton, 38.5-foot (11.7 m) fishing vessel sank off the coast of Mary Island in Alaska. The wreck report does not specify off which of several islands of the name the sinking took place. |

### 17 April

List of shipwrecks: 17 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| El Baire | Cuban Revolutionary Navy | Bay of Pigs Invasion: The El Baire-class submarine chaser was bombed and sunk at the Isle of Pines by Cuban Exile-operated Martin B-26 Marauder aircraft. |
| Houston | Liberia | Bay of Pigs Invasion: The CIA-chartered N3-S-A1 type coaster was bombed and damaged by a Cuban Air Force Hawker Sea Fury and Lockheed T-33 aircraft in the Bay of Cochinas. The ship was beached and later burned out. |
| Olsen | United States | The retired wooden-hulled fishing trawler and clam dredger was scuttled as an artificial reef in the North Atlantic Ocean off Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, in 65 feet (20 m) of water. |
| Rio Escondido | Liberia | Bay of Pigs Invasion: The CIA-chartered cargo ship, a converted landing craft tank, was rocketed and damaged by Cuban Air Force Hawker Sea Fury and Lockheed T-33 aircraft 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Playa Girón. The ship blew up and sank. |
| Seagarden | United States | The Liberty ship ran aground off Tobago. She was refloated but declared a constructive total loss. |
| SV-3 | Cuban Revolutionary Navy | Bay of Pigs Invasion: The auxiliary patrol ship was sunk, or damaged and grounded, by ground fire. |

### 19 April

List of shipwrecks: 19 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Larsen Bay No. 3 | United States | The 61-gross register ton, 70.2-foot (21.4 m) scow was wrecked at Swikshak Beach near Kodiak, Alaska. |
| Tuskar | Netherlands | The coaster struck a rock and sank 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) south west of Chicken Rock, Isle of Man. All five crew saved by the cable layer Ariel ( United Kingdom). |

### 25 April

List of shipwrecks: 25 April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Ivernia | United Kingdom | The ocean liner ran aground off Southampton, Hampshire. Refloated after five hours. |
| White Cap | United States | The 31-gross register ton, 44-foot (13.4 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire near Fox Island in the Aleutian Islands. |

### Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date April 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USS Makassar Strait | United States Navy | The wreck of USS Makassar Strait on 22 January 1963.The Casablanca-class escort carrier ran aground on San Nicolas Island, Channel Islands, California. The wreck broke up in January 1963. |

## May
### 3 May

List of shipwrecks: 3 May 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Albatross | United States | The brigantine foundered in the Gulf of Mexico during a squall. Six of the nineteen people on board were killed. |

### 7 May

List of shipwrecks: 7 May 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| R-43 | Cuban Revolutionary Navy | The auxiliary patrol ship went missing on this date, lost with all 17 hands. |

### 25 May

List of shipwrecks: 25 May 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Pinebranch | Canada | The tanker was sunk for use as a wharf at Malignant Cove, Nova Scotia. |

### 28 May

List of shipwrecks: 28 May 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Madura | Liberia | Typhoon Viola: The cargo ship ran aground at Hong Kong. Refloated on 10 August but declared a constructive total loss and consequently scrapped. |

### 31 May

List of shipwrecks: 31 May 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Marie Kerk | Netherlands | The cargo ship ran aground on the Varne Shoal in the English Channel. She was refloated with the aid of the tugs Diligent, Dominant (both United Kingdom) and Jean Bart ( France). |
| Vercharmian | United Kingdom | The heavy lift ship ran aground in Mormugao Bay, India, She was refloated on 7 July but found to be leaky and was beached. Refloated on 5 October, she was towed to Karachi, Pakistan. Vercharmian was scrapped in 1962. |

## June
### 1 June

List of shipwrecks: 1 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Josephine I | United States | The 14-gross register ton, 38-foot (11.6 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Juneau, Alaska. |

### 6 June

List of shipwrecks: 6 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USS Baldwin | United States Navy | The decommissioned Gleaves-class destroyer was scuttled near Montauk Point, Long Island, New York. |

### 8 June

List of shipwrecks: 8 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Tien Hsiang | Taiwan | The passenger ship sank 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) south west of Kaohsiung. Two survivors reported of her eleven crew and 33 passengers. |

### 14 June

List of shipwrecks: 14 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Malina | United States | The 165-gross register ton, 82-foot (25.0 m) fishing vessel was wrecked in Bristol Bay off the coast of Alaska near the Black Hills (55°41′N 162°05′W﻿ / ﻿55.683°N 162.083°W﻿ / 55.683; -162.083﻿ (Black Hills)) on the Alaska Peninsula. |

### 18 June

List of shipwrecks: 18 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Southern Author | South Africa | The 439 GRT steam whaler was wrecked after running aground on Dassen Island, 50 nautical miles (93 km) north of Cape Town, South Africa. |

### 25 June

List of shipwrecks: 25 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Evertsen | Netherlands | The coaster collided with Favoriet ( Netherlands) and sank 17 nautical miles (31 km) south of Portland Bill, Dorset, United Kingdom. All twelve crew rescued by Favoriet and landed at Weymouth. Evertsen was only five weeks old at the time of her loss. |

### 26 June

List of shipwrecks: 26 June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| CL-54 | Soviet Navy | The target ship, a Storozhevoy-class destroyer foundered in the Sea of Okhotsk off Cape Taran. |

### Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date June 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Johnny E | United States | The 24-gross register ton, 44.5-foot (13.6 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at the Icy Straits Cannery in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. |

## July
### 1 July

List of shipwrecks: 1 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| A R 4 | United States | The 8-gross register ton, 27.5-foot (8.4 m) fishing vessel was lost in the vicinity of the Egegik River Buoy near Egegik, Alaska, after she became caught between a fish brailer and the motor vessel Alaska Reefer ( United States). |

### 2 July

List of shipwrecks: 2 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Stoyky | Soviet Navy | The Storozhevoy-class destroyer sank in a storm off Cape Taran, Kaliningrad Oblast. |

### 4 July

List of shipwrecks: 4 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Lilly | United States | The 18-gross register ton, 40.1-foot (12.2 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Cordova, Alaska. |

### 8 July

List of shipwrecks: 8 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Dupont | United States | The 71-gross register ton, 51.8-foot (15.8 m) motor cargo vessel sank off the south-central coast of Alaska approximately 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) south of Cape Suckling (59°59′30″N 143°53′00″W﻿ / ﻿59.99167°N 143.88333°W﻿ / 59.99167; -143.88333﻿ (Cape Suckling)). The tug Barbara Foss ( United States) rescued her crew of three. |

### 9 July

List of shipwrecks: 9 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Save | Portugal | The cargo liner ran aground at Quelimane, Mozambique and caught fire. Of the 549 passengers and crew, 259 were killed. |

### 15 July

List of shipwrecks: 15 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Dora | Panama | The ship ran aground on the Bitto Bank (10°30′N 107°42′E﻿ / ﻿10.500°N 107.700°E﻿ / 10.500; 107.700) and was abandoned. She was on a voyage from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Hong Kong. Subsequently damaged and declared a total loss. |
| Welcome | United States | The 12-gross register ton, 42.3-foot (12.9 m) fishing vessel became stranded and was lost in Gambier Bay (57°28′N 133°55′W﻿ / ﻿57.467°N 133.917°W﻿ / 57.467; -133.917﻿ (Gambier Bay)) on Admiralty Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. |

### 18 July

List of shipwrecks: 18 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Kathi J | United States | The 8-gross register ton, 29.2-foot (8.9 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Naknek, Alaska. |

### 19 July

List of shipwrecks: 19 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Pen 12 | United States | The 8-gross register ton 28.6-foot (8.7 m) fishing vessel sank on the coast of Alaska between King Salmon and Bear River. |

### 21 July

List of shipwrecks: 21 July 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Fort Hearne | Canada | The supply vessel was trapped in ice and sank in the Canadian Arctic. |

## August
### 4 August

List of shipwrecks: 4 August 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Mist | United States | The 17-gross register ton, 39.6-foot (12.1 m) fishing vessel sank at Mount Edgecumbe Dock in Sitka, Alaska. |

### 18 August

List of shipwrecks: 18 August 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Exhibit | United States | The 21-gross register ton, 40.8-foot (12.4 m) motor cargo vessel was destroyed by fire at Hydaburg, Alaska. |

### 23 August

List of shipwrecks: 23 August 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Merka | United States | The 8-gross register ton, 34-foot (10.4 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire in Controller Bay (60°05′N 144°15′W﻿ / ﻿60.083°N 144.250°W﻿ / 60.083; -144.250﻿ (Controller Bay)) on the south-central coast of Alaska. |
| Peary | United Kingdom | The coaster sank off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. All eight crew rescued by Fergus ( United Kingdom). Ship was built in 1918 as Bautzen, a Navarin-class minesweeper of the French Navy. |

### 24 August

List of shipwrecks: 24 August 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| World Jury | Greece | The tanker ran aground off Masirah Island, Oman and broke up. Twenty-eight of her crew were rescued by HMS Llandaff ( Royal Navy). |

## September
### 4 September

List of shipwrecks: 4 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Vencedor | Colombia | The passenger ship capsized and sank off Buenaventura with the loss of 50 lives. |

### 9 September

List of shipwrecks: 9 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Denia M | United States | The 19-gross register ton, 38.9-foot (11.9 m) fishing vessel sank off Bold Cape (55°01′30″N 162°15′00″W﻿ / ﻿55.02500°N 162.25000°W﻿ / 55.02500; -162.25000﻿ (Bold Cape)) near King Cove, Alaska. |

### 11 September

List of shipwrecks: 11 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Smile | United States | The 8-gross register ton, 31.5-foot (9.6 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire north of Wrangell Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. |

### 12 September

List of shipwrecks: 12 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Alf and Jim | United States | The 12-gross register ton, 34.6-foot (10.5 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Port Wakefield, Alaska. |

### 13 September

List of shipwrecks: 13 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Pafco No. 9 | United States | The 14-gross register ton, 33.1-foot (10.1 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at King Cove, Alaska. |

### 16 September

List of shipwrecks: 16 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Heron | Netherlands | The coaster sank off Jersey, Channel Islands. Of her eleven crew, six were rescued by Cranborne ( United Kingdom) and two by Port du Bouc ( France). |

### 17 September

List of shipwrecks: 17 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| L'Opiniatre | French Navy | The frigate ran aground at Dales Voe, Shetland Islands, United Kingdom. Refloated by Haakon VII ( Norway) and towed to Lerwick. |

### 21 September

List of shipwrecks: 21 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Irma Belle | United States | The 9-gross register ton, 27.9-foot (8.5 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Meyers Chuck, Alaska. |
| Juno | United States | The 30-gross register ton, 47.7-foot (14.5 m) fishing vessel sank in Japanese Bay (56°56′N 153°41′W﻿ / ﻿56.933°N 153.683°W﻿ / 56.933; -153.683﻿ (Japanese Bay)) on the coast of Alaska's Kodiak Island. |

### 23 September

List of shipwrecks: 23 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Hyperien | United States | The 18-gross register ton, 43.2-foot (13.2 m) fishing vessel sank in Bartlett Cove (58°27′N 135°55′W﻿ / ﻿58.450°N 135.917°W﻿ / 58.450; -135.917﻿ (Bartlett Cove)) in Glacier Bay in Southeast Alaska. |

### 24 September

List of shipwrecks: 24 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Virgie K | United States | The 13-gross register ton, 39.4-foot (12.0 m) fishing vessel foundered in Sitka Sound in Southeast Alaska. |

### 26 September

List of shipwrecks: 26 September 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USNS Potomac | United States Navy | The Maumee-class oiler caught fire and was wracked by a series of explosions while moored at a pier at Morehead City, North Carolina, killing two men. Her bow section was declared a constructive total loss, but her 200-foot (61 m) stern section was cut away and combined with a new bow section to create the oiler SS Shenandoah, later renamed USNS Potomac. |

## October
### 1 October

List of shipwrecks: 1 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Hess Mariner | United States | The tanker suffered an explosion and fire 110 nautical miles (200 km) east of Jacksonville, Florida. She was on a voyage from Houston, Texas to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Hess Mariner sank the next day. |

### 2 October

List of shipwrecks: 2 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Pioneer II | United States | The 17-gross register ton 36.9-foot (11.2 m) fishing vessel sank off Driest Point (55°10′40″N 131°36′15″W﻿ / ﻿55.17778°N 131.60417°W﻿ / 55.17778; -131.60417﻿ (Driest Point)) on Annette Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. |
| Richard K | United States | The 10-gross register ton, 34-foot (10.4 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Cold Bay, Alaska. |
| Sheikh | Greece | The cargo ship was driven ashore on Kito Daito Jiwa, Japan in a typhoon. She was on a voyage from Osaka, Japan to the Philippines. She broke in two and was a total loss. |
| Simferapol | Soviet Union | The depot ship ran aground between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, South-West Africa and was wrecked. |

### 3 October

List of shipwrecks: 3 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Chignik Pride | United States | The 7-gross register ton, 27.8-foot (8.5 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Chignik Lagoon, Alaska. |
| KFC-7 | United States | The 7-gross register ton, 31.5-foot (9.6 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Chignik Lagoon, Alaska. |

### 4 October

List of shipwrecks: 4 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| San John | Lebanon | The cargo ship ran aground in Hudson Bay 20 nautical miles (37 km) north west of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. She was on a voyage from the River Tyne to Churchill. Refloated the next day, she was declared a constructive total loss but was repaired and returned to service. |

### 8 October

List of shipwrecks: 8 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Partner | United States | The 16-gross register ton, 37.5-foot (11.4 m) troller sank off Lemesurier Island in Icy Strait in Southeast Alaska. All five people aboard – a husband and wife and their three children – perished. |

### 10 October

List of shipwrecks: 10 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| USS Guardfish | United States Navy | The decommissioned Gato-class submarine was sunk as a torpedo target in Long Island Sound off New London, Connecticut, by the submarines USS Apogon and USS Blenny (both United States Navy). |

### 13 October

List of shipwrecks: 13 October 1861 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Husky | United States | The 50-gross register ton, 55.2-foot (16.8 m) fishing vessel was wrecked on Amak Island in the Aleutian Islands. |

### 15 October

List of shipwrecks: 15 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Vibex | United Kingdom | The tanker ran aground in the St. Lawrence River in Canada. She later was refloated and returned to service. |

### 16 October

List of shipwrecks: 16 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| B B P 14 | United States | The 8-gross register ton, 30-foot (9.1 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by fire at Dillingham, Alaska. |

### 17 October

List of shipwrecks: 17 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Peggy L | United States | The 11-gross register ton, 32-foot (9.8 m) fishing vessel sank near Homer, Alaska. |

### 18 October

List of shipwrecks: 18 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Arctic Viking | United Kingdom | The 501-gross register ton, 167-foot (50.9 m) fishing vessel sank off Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, with the loss of five of her crew. |

### 19 October

List of shipwrecks: 19 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| HMS Barmouth | Royal Navy | The Bar-class boom defence vessel was in danger of running aground between Bempton and Speeton, Yorkshire after her tow line parted. All nine crew rescued by a helicopter from RAF Leconfield. |

### 22 October

List of shipwrecks: 22 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Bianca C. | Italy | The passenger ship suffered an explosion and fire off Grenada. Although taken in tow by HMS Londonderry ( Royal Navy), she sank on 24 October. One crew member was killed and eight were injured. Over 700 people were rescued. |
| Bascobel | United States | The tug sank at Mariners Harbor, New York. She was declared a constructive total loss, and scrapped in December 1963. |
| Halronell | Ireland | The collier ran aground on the Black Rock, off Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford. She was on a voyage from Newport, Monmouthshire, United Kingdom to Haulbowline, County Cork. She broke in two the next day and sank. |

### 23 October

List of shipwrecks: 23 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Halronell | Ireland | The cargo ship struck Black Rock, off Rosslare County Wexford coast and broke in two. Three of her six crew were killed, the other three were rescued by a helicopter from RAF Brawdy, Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom. |

### 27 October

List of shipwrecks: 27 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Ruby S | United States | The 8-gross register ton, 31.8-foot (9.7 m) fishing vessel sank near Duke Island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. |

### 30 October

List of shipwrecks: 30 October 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Hwei Sung | Taiwan | The Liberty ship ran aground at Naoyetsu, Japan. She was later refloated but declared a constructive total loss and scrapped. |

### Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Guy Junior | United States | The 50-gross register ton, 58.6-foot (17.9 m) fishing vessel sank off Montague Island on the south-central coast of Alaska. |
| Silver Star | United States | The 37-gross register ton, 43.9-foot (13.4 m) fishing vessel sank near Sukoi Bay on the south-central coast of Alaska sometime on or after 8 October with the loss of her entire crew of three. Her wreckage was found on a beach near Cape Douglas (58°52′N 153°16′W﻿ / ﻿58.867°N 153.267°W﻿ / 58.867; -153.267﻿ (Sukoi Bay)) on 14 October. |
| VIC 48 | United Kingdom | Approval was given for the VIC-type lighter to be sunk as a target. She was based at Singapore at the time. |

## November
### 1 November

List of shipwrecks: 1 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Brant | United States | The 44-foot (13.4 m) fishing vessel disappeared off the north coast of Alaska's Kodiak Island with the loss of her entire crew of three. |

### 5 November

List of shipwrecks: 5 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Clan Keith | United Kingdom | The Ocean ship struck rocks and sank off Cape Bon, Tunisia. |

### 6 November

List of shipwrecks: 6 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Carmella J | United States | The 35-gross register ton, 44.3-foot (13.5 m) fishing vessel was destroyed by a storm off Ugak Bay (57°25′N 152°35′W﻿ / ﻿57.417°N 152.583°W﻿ / 57.417; -152.583﻿ (Ugak Bay)) on the coast of Alaska's Kodiak Island. |
| Clan Keith | United Kingdom | The cargo ship hit rocks (initially thought to have exploded but later disproved) and sank off the coast of Tunisia with the loss of 62 of her 68 crew. |

### 7 November

List of shipwrecks: 7 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Union Reliance | Taiwan | The cargo ship collided with Berea ( Norway) in the Houston Ship Channel, Texas, United States, killing twelve people on board Berea. Union Reliance subsequently caught fire and grounded and was abandoned by her owners. She was scrapped in March 1962. |

### 10 November

List of shipwrecks: 10 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Freshfield | United Kingdom | In a fog, the coaster was struck by the Guinness ship Lady Gwendolen ( Ireland) and sank in the Crosby Channel, River Mersey. All nine crew rescued after taking to the liferafts. |

### 12 November

List of shipwrecks: 10 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Bluebelle | United States | The ketch was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean by her captain after he murdered five of the other six people on board. |

### 16 November

List of shipwrecks: 16 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Sparky | United States | The 7-gross register ton, 28.7-foot (8.7 m) fishing vessel was wrecked on the Copper River Flats in south-central Alaska. |

### 21 November

List of shipwrecks: 21 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Ruth L | United States | The 55-gross register ton, 60.4-foot (18.4 m) motor vessel sank with the loss of three lives near Cape Douglas (58°51′N 153°15′W﻿ / ﻿58.850°N 153.250°W﻿ / 58.850; -153.250﻿ (Cape Douglas)) on the south-central coast of Alaska. |

### 24 November

List of shipwrecks: 24 November 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Peggy Foss | United States | The 32-gross register ton, 51.9-foot (15.8 m) tug was destroyed by ice at Anchor Point, Alaska. |

## December
### 4 December

List of shipwrecks: 4 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Stientje Mensinga | Netherlands | The coaster struck a rock off Eagle Island, County Mayo, Ireland and sank. Four crew took to a lifeboat. An attempt to rescue them was made by Maria Schulte ( West Germany), which resulted in the loss of five crew from that ship too. Six crew were rescued by an Irish Navy helicopter. |

### 6 December

List of shipwrecks: 6 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Antonakis | Panama | The cargo ship ran aground at Cape Spartel, Morocco (35°43′N 5°57′W﻿ / ﻿35.717°N 5.950°W﻿ / 35.717; -5.950) and broke in two. Declared a total loss. She was on a voyage from Santiago de Cuba, Cuba to Shanghai, China. |
| Montsoreau | France | The T2 tanker collided with Isidora ( France) off Cape Spartel, Morocco and was beached. She was on a voyage from La Skhirra, Tunisia to Port-de-Bouc, Bouches-du-Rhône. Montsoreau was refloated on 19 December and consequently sold for scrapping. |
| Ondo | United Kingdom | The cargo ship ran aground on a sandbank near the Elbe No.2 Lightship ( West Germany). She was abandoned as a total loss. She was on a voyage from Sapele, Nigeria to Riga, Soviet Union. |

### 8 December

List of shipwrecks: 8 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Thorsheimer | Norway | The tanker ran aground on the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Kent, United Kingdom. |

### 9 December

List of shipwrecks: 9 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Sofia T | Greece | The cargo ship sank off Marmara Island, Turkey (40°35′N 27°34′E﻿ / ﻿40.583°N 27.567°E﻿ / 40.583; 27.567) with the loss of three crew. |
| Wiema | Netherlands | The coaster sank 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) north of the South Bishop Lighthouse, Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom. Her cargo had shifted in a storm and she attempted to make for Pembroke. Assistance was offered by the Admiralty tug Empire Netta ( United Kingdom) but refused. She sank following engine failure, all five crew were rescued by the Trinity House vessel Argus ( United Kingdom). |

### 10 December

List of shipwrecks: 10 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Combine I | Panama | The cargo ship foundered 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) north east of Singapore. Only five of her 29 crew were rescued. |
| Ondo | United Kingdom | The cargo ship ran aground in the Elbe and was abandoned after attempts to salvage her were abandoned. |

### 12 December

List of shipwrecks: 12 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Streatham Hill | United Kingdom | The cargo ship ran aground in the Schelde at Westkapelle, Belgium. Later refloated and returned to service. |

### 13 December

List of shipwrecks: 13 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Allegrity | United Kingdom | The Empire Cadet-class coastal tanker ran aground at St Anthony Head, Cornwall. She was on a voyage from Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France to the Stanlow Oil Refiner, Cheshire. She was refloated but ran aground at Veryan. Allegrity capsized on 22 December and was declared a total loss. |
| Spartan | Lebanon | The Liberty ship, ex-Henry Watterson, ran aground at Pasa Buenavista, Cuba. She was refloated on 29 May 1962, and towed to Havana. Declared a constructive total loss and scrapped. |

### 18 December

List of shipwrecks: 18 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| NRP Afonso de Albuquerque | Portuguese Navy | Annexation of Portuguese India: The Afonso de Albuquerque-class aviso's crew ran her aground after she suffered serious damage in combat with the frigates INS Betwa and INS Beas and a minesweeper (all Indian Navy) in the harbor at Goa, India. 5 killed and 13 wounded. Captured by Indian forces the next day, she was refloated in 1962 and scrapped. |
| Bascobel | United States | The tug sank at Mariners Harbor, New York, United States. She was refloated but declared a constructive total loss and consequently scrapped. |
| NRP Sirius | Portuguese Navy | Annexation of Portuguese India: The Antares-class patrol ship was scuttled at Goa, India to prevent capture. |
| NRP Vega | Portuguese Navy | Annexation of Portuguese India: The Antares-class patrol ship was strafed and sunk off Diu, India by Indian Air Force De Havilland Vampire aircraft. Her captain and one crewman were killed. |

### 22 December

List of shipwrecks: 22 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Allegrity | United Kingdom | The coaster capsized and sank on Veryan beach, Cornwall. Her fourteen crew were saved by the Falmouth lifeboat. |

### 25 December

List of shipwrecks: 25 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Maria | Greece | The cargo ship ran aground at Maizuru, Japan. She was declared a constructive total loss. |

### 29 December

List of shipwrecks: 29 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Malgomaj | Sweden | The bulk carrier collided with the tanker Esso Berlin ( West Germany) in the Westerschelde and caught fire. Rondefjell ( Norway) ran aground trying to avoid the two ships. |

### 30 December

List of shipwrecks: 30 December 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Klyuchevsky | Soviet Union | The fishing trawler disappeared in the Bering Sea 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) west of Saint Paul Island. |

## Unknown date

List of shipwrecks: Unknown date 1961 :
| Ship | State | Description |
| Jubilee | United States | The 30-foot (9.1 m) fishing vessel sank in Prince William Sound on the south-central coast of Alaska. |