Shiun Maru disaster

The Siun Maru disaster (紫雲丸事故 Shiun Maru Jiko) was a ship collision in Japan on 11 May 1955, during a school field trip, killing 168 people.

The Shiun Maru ferry sank in the Seto Inland Sea after colliding with another Japanese National Railways (JNR) ferry, the Uko Maru, in thick fog. A lack of radar onboard contributed to the accident. The victims included 100 students from elementary and junior high schools in Shimane, Hiroshima, Ehime and Kochi prefectures who were on school trips.^[1] The sinking of the Siun Maru is credited as having encouraged the Japanese government to go ahead with the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge project, the longest suspension bridge in the world.

References

• List of Major Marine Accidents in the World and Japan
• Japanese Railway Ships

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1955
Shipwrecks	18 Apr: Georgios Matsas 11 May: Shiun Maru 29 May: Goolgwai 16 Jun: HMS Sidon 27 Jul: Empire Claire 28 Jul: Vir Pandian 4 Oct: Fechenheim 6 Oct: Thorodd 11 Oct: Wallsend 16 Oct: Bluebird 29 Oct: Novorossiyisk 23 Nov: Nang Suang Nawa
Other incidents	4 Feb: HMS Wrangler 30 May: HMS Northumbria 8 Jun: Mona's Isle 19 Aug: Argobeam 19 Oct: HNLMS Tijgerhaai 10 Nov: Joyita
1954 1956