Ask anyone the biggest maritime disaster in modern history, and most people would immediately say Titanic. With a loss of more than 1,500 lives, that was indeed terrible. But in terms of loss of life, the Titanic doesn't even make the top 20.

What follows is an incomplete but engrossing list, compiled from a host of books and credible Internet databases, with which to impress your friends when the onboard conversation turns – academically, we hope – to maritime disasters. Because – let's face it – while we all go out on the water in search of a good time, it is the bad times that become the stuff of stories. The worse the problem, the bigger the story.

SMITHSONIANThe Titanic, before an iceberg caused her demise.Of course, boats sink all the time. Few are the weeks that go by in which some vessel, be it ferry or freighter, does not kiss the ocean floor, and it may seem morbid to dwell on them. But many of these disasters have led directly to improved safety requirements at sea, including mandates such as life boats, floatation and safety drills, or new and better environmental practices.

And some tragedies simply stand above the rest, owing the loss of life, the circumstances of the sinking or even the heroics involved. Much of this history has been embedded in the public consciousness, cataloged by the names of the ships. Titanic. Lusitania. Andria Doria. Exxon Valdez. And there are many more cases – some far more deadly – that have not.

WILHELM GUSTLOFF, LUSITANIA

Unsurprisingly, many of the worst events occurred during wartime. Large ships loaded with troops or refugees were targeted by submarines on both sides of the conflict during World War II. The worst disaster ever in terms of loss of life – one that beats out Titanic many times over – was the German steamer Wilhelm Gustloff. It was torpedoed by a Russian sub on Jan. 30, 1945, with a loss of 5,900 to 7,000 lives.

Another well-known World War II disaster was the British transport Laconia, which was sunk on Sept. 12, 1942, by a German sub. The U-156 crew didn't realize that the Laconia was carrying 1,800 Italian prisoners of war. A total of 1,649 people were lost in that disaster.

ASSOCIATED PRESSThe bow of the Titanic, as she sits now on the bottom of the ocean.The Titanic made everyone familiar with the concept of "women and children first." Until then, there was no such custom.On May 7, 1915, the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a torpedo fired from the German submarine U-20. England and Germany were at war at the time, but the United States was not involved. However, this action, in which 1,198 people lost their lives – including 128 of the 139 Americans aboard – helped push the United States into World War I.

DONA PAZ, TITANIC

The worst peacetime maritime disaster was the loss of the Philippine ferry Doña Paz, which collided with the oil tanker Vector south of Manila on Dec. 20, 1987. Some of the tanker's 8,800-barrel cargo caught fire. The fire quickly spread to the Doña Paz, which sank in minutes. The official death toll on the overcrowded ferry was put at 1,565 (plus 11 crew members from the Vector), though there are reports that claim the total was more than 4,000.

The story of Titanic striking an iceberg off Newfoundland on April 14, 1912, is perhaps the best known of maritime disasters – even before Hollywood got hold of it – owing to its status as the maiden voyage of a luxury liner with a passenger manifest that included some of society's upper crust. The story captured imaginations and continues to do so. Just last year, a life vest from the Titanic was auctioned for more than $100,000.

Over the years, people have pointed to several weaknesses in Titanic: a more brittle form of iron used in its construction and substandard rivets, to name two. But the real reason for its demise was human error – it was proceeding too fast, too far north, in an effort to set a record. Titanic set a record, but not the kind the owners wanted. This disaster led to creation of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, commonly referred to as SOLAS, which, among other things, specified how many lifeboats must be carried, mandated safety drills and contained several provisions concerning distress signals. It also resulted in the establishment of the International Ice Patrol, which is carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard. (For a story on the ice patrol, see link.)