10 worst ferry disasters worldwide

Storms and overcrowding are often blamed for ferry disasters. Following are 10 ferry disasters that had some of the highest numbers of casualties worldwide:

1987: Dona Paz ferry collided Dec. 20 in Philippines with oil tanker Vector; resulting fire and sinking killed 4,341 in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster.

2002: Overloaded Le Joola ferry capsized Sept. 26 in Senegal, killing 1,863.

1954:Toya Maru ferry sank Sept. 26 off Japan during a typhoon, killing more than 1,000 passengers and crew members.

2006: Al Salaam Boccaccio 98 ferry sank Feb. 3 in the Red Sea, killing more than 1,000.

1996: Bukoba ferry hit a rock and capsized May 21 in Lake Victoria in Tanzania, killing up to 1,000 people aboard a ship certified to carry 430.

2008: Princess of the Stars ferry capsized and sank June 21 in a typhoon off the Philippines, killing about 700.

1986: Shamia ferry capsized and sank May 27 in a storm on a river in Bangladesh, killing an estimated 500.

2003: Nazreen-1 ferry sank July 8 in a Bangladesh river, killing about 500.

1993: Neptune ferry sank Feb. 16 in Haiti, killing at least 500.

2000: Overcrowded Cahaya Bahari ferry sank June 29 in a storm off Indonesia, killing nearly 500.

Sources: Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, World Almanac