The steamer ran aground and was wrecked at Benisaf, Algeria.[1]
9 February[]
List of shipwrecks: 9 February 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Harvest Home
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The schooner ran aground at Cardigan. Her four crew were rescued by Lizzie & Charles Leigh Clare (Royal National Lifeboat Institution). She was on a voyage from Fowey, Cornwall to Runcorn, Cheshire. Harvest Home was refloated on 13 February and taken in to Pwllcam, Cardiganshire.[2]
March[]
7 March[]
List of shipwrecks: 7 March 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Duke of Buccleugh
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The Eastern Steamship Company 3,099 grt sail and steam cargo ship was wrecked following a collision with the 1,478 ton sailing ship Vandalia (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) in the English Channel. She was en route from Antwerp to Madras. All forty-seven crew of Duke of Buccleugh were lost.[3]
8 March[]
List of shipwrecks: 8 March 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Vega
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The steamship was driven ashore and wrecked near Langton Matravers, Dorset. All 29 people on board were rescued.[4]
Wrecked ships in Apia Harbor, Upolu, Samoa soon after the storm. The view looks northwestward, with the shattered bow of the German gunboat Eber on the beach in the foreground. The stern of USS Trenton is at right, with the sunken USS Vandalia alongside. The German gunboat Adler is on her side in the center distance. USS Trenton's starboard quarter gallery has been largely ripped away.
1889 Apia cyclone: The gunboat was forced against the harbor reef at Apia, Samoa, by large waves and sank quickly with the loss of 73 lives.
The wreck of USS Nipsic is at left; the wreck of USS Trenton is at center, with the wreck of USS Vandalia alongside in the center.
1889 Apia cyclone: The gunboat was driven ashore in the harbor at Apia, Samoa, with heavy damage and the loss of eight lives. She was refloated, repaired, and returned to service.
The wreck of USS Vandalia, seen from the wreck of USS Trenton.
1889 Apia cyclone: The sloop-of-war was wrecked in the harbor at Apia, Samoa, with the loss of 43 lives.
30 March[]
List of shipwrecks: 30 March 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Stella
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
On her way from Southampton, England, to Guernsey and Jersey in the Channel Islands in thick fog, the steamer ran at full speed onto Les Casquets reef near Alderney in the Channel Islands and sank within minutes with the loss of over 80 lives.[5]
April[]
6 April[]
List of shipwrecks: 6 April 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Danmark
Denmark
The passenger steamer foundered in the North Atlantic after her propellor shaft snapped. A total of 721 passengers and crew saved by the cargo steamer Missouri (United States). Abandoned and almost submerged, the wreck of Danmark was found on 8 April by the passenger steamer City of Chester (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) at 45°55′N37°16′W / 45.917°N 37.267°W / 45.917; -37.267.
May[]
12 May[]
List of shipwrecks: 12 May 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Alaskan
USA
Painting of Alaskan sinking.
The sidewheel paddle steamer sank in a storm in the Pacific Ocean off Cape Blanco, Oregon, killing at least 21 people.
24 May[]
List of shipwrecks: 24 May 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Steelfield
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The full-rigged ship was sighted on this date whilst on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to Callao, Peru. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands.[6]
August[]
17 August[]
List of shipwrecks: 17 August 1889
Ship
Country
Description
A. E. Vickery
USA
The wooden three-masted schooner sank after striking a shoal while entering the American Narrows in the St. Lawrence River near Alexandria Bay, New York.
The tramp steamer sank in a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of the Greater Antilles with the loss of 17 lives. The seven survivors floated in an open lifeboat for 21 days before the schoonerMosquito (United States) rescued them off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
The cargo steamer struck a reef at the south end of the Sound of Mull between the Isle of Mull and Scotland off Inninmore Point and sank four hours later. Her crew of 11 abandoned ship safely.
The wooden brigantine was wrecked approximately 15 miles (24 km) south of Crowdy Head, New South Wales, Australia, when she sprang a leak while carrying a cargo of coal between Wollongong and the Richmond River in New South Wales.
25 December[]
List of shipwrecks: 25 December 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Wide West
USA
The screw steamer was wrecked on Destruction Island off Washington, United States, after losing her propeller and auxiliary sailing rig in high winds and heavy seas. Her crew abandoned ship safely.
Unknown date[]
List of shipwrecks: Unknown date in 1889
Ship
Country
Description
Queensmore
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The cargo ship caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean whilst on the return leg of her maiden voyage. An attempt was made to beach her in Dunmanus Bay but she struck the Bullig Reef and sank.[9]