Case file · Anomaly hotspot
MV Derbyshire lost in the 'Devil's Sea'
On 9 September 1980 the British bulk carrier Derbyshire, larger than the Titanic, sank in Typhoon Orchid south-east of Okinawa with all 44 aboard, without sending a distress call.
1980 CE · 25.90, 133.60 · status: explained
The account
The loss was cited in books on the 'Dragon's Triangle'. The wreck was found in 1994 at a depth of 4 km, and a 2000 inquiry found that seas had smashed in the forward hatches.
The sceptical view
A design weakness and a typhoon explain the loss; it is the largest British ship ever lost at sea.
Connections in the atlas
- The loss of the Kaiyō Maru No. 5
- Berlitz's 'The Dragon's Triangle'
- The Dragon's Triangle (Devil's Sea)