These 9 spectacular shipwrecks are now tourist attractions

Ships sail, ships sink - certainly significantly fewer these days than a few hundred years ago. But: Even today, ships are not immune to sinking. And some ran aground in such a way that we can now see them while traveling. A few of theseSchiffswracksare realspectacular.

It's crazy what time and seawater can do to ships left to their own devices. Looks really otherworldly, doesn't it?

The transport ship Mega One Triton, which ran aground near the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy, weighed 700 tons. That in itself isn't that special (at least not there), because researchers assume that there are over a thousand ships in the waters off the coast of the archipelago - the sea there is, well, very rough. Nevertheless, the wreck of the Mega One Triton is something special because it is located on the paradisiacal Governor's Beach and is therefore a very popular photo opportunity. However, the Ministry of the Environment warns urgently against entering the wreck, because everything there is so dilapidated that there is a great risk of getting injured there - or worse.

The shipwreck of the SS Point Reyes is located in the small coastal town of Iverness in the US state of California. Although it has to be said: This is really easy to overlook. It is quite hidden on a sandbank behind the small village's grocery store. Much easier to find is the famous Point Reyes Lighthouse, which was built in the name of the capsized ship to prevent further shipwrecks there.

One of the most popular attractions in Oregon is the wreck of the sailing ship Peter Iredale; a four-master that lies there in Fort Stevens State Park. It has been rotting there for almost 120 years because it was washed up on the American west coast in 1906. The reason for this was also an immense storm, but fortunately the entire 27-person crew was rescued. Today, the best way to view the shipwreck is to wait for low tide.

One of the most spectacular shipwrecks in the world lies near Sydney, Australia. It is the transport ship SS Ayrfield, built in Great Britain in 1911. During World War II, it supplied food to troops stationed in the Pacific. In 1972 the thirty meter long ship was to be “retired” and was transported to Homebush Bay, Australia. However, it didn't take long before mangrove plants began to grow on the wreck and are now taking over the entire ship. No wonder they decided to leave the ship as is. Today the SS Ayrfield is considered a landmark of the bay.

Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point in Africa. The coastal landscape there consists mainly of jagged rocks and is extremely windy - so you can certainly imagine how dangerous the waters there are for shipping. So it's no wonder that there are said to be more than 140 shipwrecks around the Cape that sank due to the difficult weather conditions. However, most of them slumber forever on the seabed, only one lies directly on the coast, as if it were a warning: the front part of the Meisho Maru 38, a Japanese trawler, crashed there during a violent storm in 1982 - just two kilometers from the Cape Lighthouse. Luckily the crew survived the accident, but the ship did not.

The Dimitros lies in the water in the beautiful, wide sandy bay of Valtaki in front of the Greek town of Gythio - and from a distance you could assume that she was only at anchor there for a short time. But the cargo ship, which was once built in Denmark, has now been there for almost 45 years and is rotting in the water. Back in 1980, the ship apparently had technical problems and the captain was said to have been ill, so he anchored in the port of Gythio - and never came back. In 1981 the ship, which is said to have been used primarily for cigarette smuggling, broke away and drifted about five kilometers to Valtaki Bay. It has been lying there on the sand ever since.

The only shipwreck on this list that is completely submerged is the Sweepstakes in Canada's Lake Huron - although close enough to the surface to be clearly visible. It is a so-called schooner sailor from the 19th century that hit a rock near Cove Island in 1885 and suffered so much damage that it was no longer worth repairing. However, the ship is very well preserved and attracts many tourists every year who find it exciting to glide over the wreck in a boat.

The cargo ship MV Plassy has been moored on the coast of Inis Oírr, the smallest inhabited Aran island in Ireland, for almost 65 years. There, on the beach at Carraig na Finise, it has been rusting away year after year since then. In 1960, loaded with whiskey, stained glass and yarn, it was caught in a severe storm and ran aground on Finnis Rock in Inisheer in the Aran Islands. Here too, the entire crew was fortunately rescued. The ship was then left to its fate, and a second storm drove the ship off the rocks to its current location a short time later.

The Fraser Islands off Queensland in Australia are best known for their beautiful beaches and rainforests, but those in the know also know: more than twenty shipwrecks lie at the bottom of the sea in the area, and the most famous of them (because it is also visible) is the 5000-ton steamer SS Maheno. It was originally designed as a luxury ship at the beginning of the 20th century, then used as a hospital ship during the First World War and later used as a passenger ship by a Japanese company. As such, the SS Maheno was caught in a severe storm on its way to Japan in 1935, which ultimately washed the ship onto the beach in the Fraser Islands.