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[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/titanic_sinking.jpg]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Unsinkable", my ass!]]

Catastrophic damage to a large vehicle (such as a spaceship, or a cruise ship) forces the characters to struggle to survive in a familiar environment that has suddenly become dangerous. Some characters must deal with situations outside of their expertise, because the appropriate person is unavailable. Meanwhile, the senior command personnel may need to make decisions that could mean sacrificing crew to save the vehicle.

Subtrope of FightToSurvive. Can be used as a plot for a BottleEpisode, as it can be used to craft a tense episode without having to craft new sets. Often includes at least one LockedInARoom scenario when the power to the doors fails. May lead to a ColdEquation. While it often goes hand in hand with AbandonShip, [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant it usually has nothing to do with]] ShipSinking unless the shipwreck kills one of the lovers or otherwise separates them. EpicShipOnShipAction can result in this for defeated ships.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
%%* "Toys in the Attic" in ''Anime/CowboyBebop''
* The pirate-themed Doraemon adventure, ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasTreasureIsland'' have the gang running into one such scenario when caught in a nasty storm. And then, their ship's hull gets busted and water starts flowing into the hull, but thankfully Doraemon had his Water Gloves gadgets (which can literally lift water to throw overboard) ready for everyone, while the Mini-Doras are equipped with underwater gadgets for fixing holes. After an intense struggle they manage to make their way out of the storm and survive.
* Both the heroes and Team Rocket trio find themselves in this situation in ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'' when the ''St. Anne'' sinks with them still onboard, forcing them into an EnemyMine to make it out alive.
* ''Cradle of Monsters'' by Sanbe Kei, which follows a handful of survivors from an intercontinental school trip as they struggle to escape a luxury cruise liner that, like in the movie "Poseidon," was capsized and is currently belly-up. As if trying to find a way off a sinking ship wasn't bad enough, they've also got to deal with [[ZombieApocalypse their dead peers coming back to life as crazed, murderous zombies.]] And to make matters worse, a few of the survivors [[BitchInSheepsClothing aren't as nice as they let on,]] and others have decided to [[HeWhoFightsMonsters kill anyone who MIGHT be infected.]] Somehow, FromBadToWorse just ''doesn't'' begin to describe it...
* ''Anime/{{Tamagotchi}}'': Subverted. In ''Yume Kira Dream'' episode 9, when everyone is discussing what kind of things would make them cry, Himespetchi imagines a scenario where she and Mametchi are on a cruise ship re-enacting the famous "I'm flying" scene from ''Film/Titanic1997'' when the ship starts to head right for an iceberg. Instead of the ship hitting the obstacle as in the original film, Mametchi steers everyone safely out of the way, and Himespetchi is very grateful for him saving the boat from destruction.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* In Season 7 episode 32 of ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', Happy S., the leader of Planet Xing, Ambassador Wang, and Ambassador Miao all board a cruise ship to take a relaxing vacation. As one of the episode's thinly-veiled references to ''Film/Titanic1997'', the climax has the cruise ship hit an iceberg and start slowly sinking, forcing the Ambassadors (who are normally bitter enemies with each other) to work together to build a lifeboat and save all the passengers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Jonah'', a comic strip from the [[BritishComics British]] AnthologyComic ''ComicBook/TheBeano''. Each week Jonah would manage to attempt to board a ship and then accidentally cause it to sink.
* ''ComicBook/DeepGravity'' is the spaceship variety; the freighter ''Vanguard'' is damaged, and needs to be escaped before it is destroyed in a planetary atmosphere. Beyond the danger of the damaged ship itself, survivors also have to contend with also escaped alien predators which were being transported.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': The "Journey to the Stars" arc is kicked off by Diana and Natasha getting sent spiraling deep into space on a malfunctioning craft with no navigation system which they try to find a way to survive as they run out of oxygen. Their distress calls end up responded to by the Sangtee Empire when they're just about out of oxygen, which saves their lives but enslaves them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' and its 2006 remake ''Film/{{Poseidon}}'': May be seen as the template for film portrayals of the scenario for decades to follow.
* ''Film/{{U 571}}'', in which the crew of an American submarine must escape to the German sub they just stole a decoding machine from, when their own boat is sunk. Everything is labelled and documented in German, making it next to impossible to use the controls.
* All [[Film/ANightToRemember adaptations]] of the ''UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic'' disaster feature this, but the [[Film/Titanic1997 James Cameron version]] in particular.
* The submarine at the end of ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'' and its [[LicensedGame video game adaptation]].
* Late in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', the ''Enterprise'' is crippled and tumbling into Earth's atmosphere. Kirk and Scotty make their way to Engineering as GravityScrew sends them and their fellow crew members tumbling, with many a RedShirt seen falling to their death.
* In ''Film/LifeOfPi'', a cargo ship sinks in a heavy storm at night with a few people desperately trying to get into the lifeboats. Ultimately, Pi becomes the SoleSurvivor and sets off in his lifeboat, accompanied by an ape, a hyena, a zebra and a tiger.
* ''Film/TheFinestHours'': The crew of the ''Pendelton'' find themselves in one after a welding seam breaks under stress, and the ship breaks in two.
* ''Film/PearlHarbor'' has the USS ''Oklahoma'' capsizing, showing the fates of the sailors both above and below deck. On a lesser note is the USS ''Arizona'', shown exploding and immediately sinking after being hit by an armor-piercing bomb. The ''Oklahoma'''s scenes are equal parts nightmarish and heartbreaking, as they show what happens when you [[CruelAndUnusualDeath don't escape a sinking ship in time]], even in shallow waters like Pearl Harbor.
* ''Film/USSIndianapolisMenOfCourage'' has the titular US Cruiser sunk by a Japanese submarine, with most of the surviving crew members dying of exposure, shark attack, and dehydration in under 5 days.
* ''Film/{{Yamato}}'', where a large portion of the second half of the film is taken up by the Yamato's final mission, where it was eventually sunk by repeated attacks from hundreds of aircraft before it reached its destination.
* In ''Film/MorningDeparture'' the 12 survivors of the explosion and crash are trapped in submarine sitting on the bottom of the sea.
* ''Film/TheLastVoyage'' centers on the sinking of an aged ocean liner in the Pacific Ocean following an explosion in the boiler room.
* ''Film/{{Midway 2019}}'' depicts the sinking of the battleship USS ''Arizona'' during the Pearl Harbor attack for the Americans. Later in the film, the destruction of the Japanese aircraft carriers ''Akagi'', ''Kaga'', ''Soryu'', and ''Hiryu'' are also shown, though only the last ship's sinking is depicted, with the rest KilledOffscreen.
* The climactic battle of ''Film/SinkTheBismarck'' features scenes of the titular ship's crew in their increasingly desperate struggles to initially save the ship and ultimately to escape it before it sinks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/GhostsOfTheTitanic'': When [[TheProtagonist Kevin]] [[spoiler:dreams he]] was sent back to the Titanic, he ended up on it the instant after it hit the iceberg. As a result, he witnesses and experiences the panic and chaos that resulted when the Titanic was sinking.
* One episode of ''Literature/MissionLevity'' deals with the crew having to board a broken space ship and turn off the TractorBeam linking it to the ''Levity'' before both ships burn up in the atmosphere.
* ''Literature/ThePerfectStorm'', based on a true story. In this case, there were no survivors.
* The first chapter of ''Literature/SeaFire'' has Literature/JamesBond and his current girlfriend stopping a takeover of a cruise ship by RuthlessModernPirates. An explosion caused by a [[spoiler:misfired torpedo from BigBad's submarine nearby]] rocks the boat in the next chapter, and it goes bottom of the sea.
* The book ''Star Surgeon'' by James White, after Literature/SectorGeneral was hit by a missile that tore a hole in the hospital and destroyed the translation computer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheExpanse'': The second episode of the show, ''The Big Empty'', forces the survivors of the Canterbury to use their shuttle as a leaky lifeboat. With their oxygen slowly dwindling, they have to repair and power up transponder beacon in order to signal a rescue ship.
* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'':
** ''Marie Gallante'', a French supply ship, is damaged by a cannon ball during her capture by the ''Indefatigable''. Hornblower is assigned to take her to an English port. When he realizes the ship is holed, he tries to do some damage control, but he's unable to save her. The ship sinks and his crew of four men and their French prisoners must abandon the ship and sail in a small boat.
** ''Justinian'', British ship of the line, is destroyed off-screen by ''Papillon'', a French ship of war and sinks. The crew from the "Indy" are sent to pick up survivors.
** Captain "Dreadnought" Foster takes command of a supply ship with two small rail guns and attempts to do battle with a Spanish frigate. He manages to deprive the Spanish of their supplies and he prevents them from taking the British supplies, but their schooner (with said supplied) is wrecked and most of the crew do not survive. Foster does survive and thinks he did the best thing he could.
** Spanish ship ''Almeria'' is chased by "Indy" inshore in a big storm and founders on the rocky shoals. Hornblower persuades his prison guard Don Massaredo to give him his parole and lets him launch a rescue boat to save the crew.
** Captain Bracegirdle loses his ship ''Grasshopper'' in "Duty". He survives, but has lost his ship and his crew and is just a shell of a man he used to be.
---> '''Bracegirdle:''' They were loyal to me to the last. They managed to get ashore. And as those bastard frogs came at us. My men stood by me. And my men died for me. And in amongst their bodies, I was left for dead. I wish I were dead, Horatio. I lost my ship and all my men. And even if a court martial were to acquit me, I'd never get a command again.
%%* "Fire in Space" in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''.
%%** [[ContinuityNod And reworked]] as ''Valley Of Darkness'' in the [[Series/BattlestarGalactica2003 reimagined series]].
%%* "Disaster" in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''
%%* "Out of Gas" in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' (a combination ''Poseidon''[=/=]HowWeGotHere episode)
%%* "Starship Down" in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''
%%* "42" and "Voyage of the Damned" in ''Series/DoctorWho'', which is ''The Poseidon Adventure [-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]-]
* "Inside the Spaceship" (a.k.a. "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E3TheEdgeOfDestruction The Edge of Destruction]]") in ''Series/DoctorWho'', where a malfunctioning switch attempts to send the TARDIS back to Event One--the Big Bang--where the TARDIS and her occupants will be obliterated.
%%* "No Exit" on ''Series/TheFortyFourHundred''.
* In ''Series/MythBusters'', Jamie and Adam tested the power of duct tape in a sinking ship scenario. Turns out, duct tape may be able to keep a small boat from sinking long enough that it can get help.
* ''{{Series/Bones}}'': The Gravedigger traps Booth in a ship that’s being intentionally sunk to become an artificial reef. Water is coming in even before the explosives go off though and Booth fights to escape before it’s too late.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' opens with Shepard struggling to save Joker (the pilot) as the ''Normandy'' burns.
* ''VideoGame/{{SOS}}'', a SNES game which is almost ''Film/ThePoseidonAdventure'' The Game, with a similarly capsized ocean liner that must be evacuated through the bottom of the ship.
* In the first mission of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'', the ship is bombed by enemy planes and you have to run through the flooding and collapsing cargo hold to get topside, where you must make a LeapOfFaith to a helicopter.
* ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'' has Lara entering a boat only to release a demon that results in the ship sinking. Cue a turn through the sinking ship.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' at the start of Ada's story, has her enter a submarine in order to get a PlotCoupon but it turns out to be an elaborate trap and the sub is accidentally scuttled, forcing Ada to escape the now-sinking, horizontal u-boat.
* ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' has Jason sneaking aboard a boat in order to get the location for some lost treasure only the computer is booby-trapped and in the resulting explosion the boat starts to sink; forcing Jason to swim through the ship fighting off the enemies that for some reason are more interested in killing him than escaping with their lives.
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', after completing the seventh Palace, a giant cruise ship, the Phantom Thieves are forced to escape from the sinking ship. It takes [[spoiler:Ryuji performing a HeroicSacrifice and nearly dying in the explosion]] for them to escape.
* Adol Christin, the main character of the ''[[{{VideoGame/Ys}} Ys]]'' games, often begins games just after the boat he is aboard sinks. Or he falls overboard. Or in one notable occasion, falling overboard off a ship that sinks moments later.
* The final round of ''[[VideoGame/TheJackboxPartyPack Jackbox Party Pack 6]]'''s ''Joke Boat'', caused by [[CherryTapping hitting a rubber duck]].
* The latter half of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheForceUnleashed'' begins when Starkiller, having been revived following his betrayal by Darth Vader, attacks one of Vader's secret research facilities to rescue his pilot June Eclipse. Said facility is actually a small Imperial cruiser orbiting a star in a deserted system, and during the course of his one-man attack the ship triggers a mechanism to plunge into the sun to ensure the technology and data aboard remain secret. Starkiller and Juno then have to fight their way out as the ship, having automatically launched all its escape pods due to Vader naturally being a BadBoss who wants to LeaveNoWitnesses, falls into the star.
* The world of Alrest in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' exists entirely on Titans swimming on the Cloud Sea. As a Titan ages, the climate on the creature gets harsher (as seen with Mor Ardain), and once the titans all die out, there will be nowhere left to live. This fact is used as a pretense for dying nations to go to war with others for their titan and resources. The protagonists' goal is to find the mythical Elysium, [[ThePromisedLand which has more than enough livable space for humanity]]. [[spoiler:While the fabled Elysium turned out to be a dud, the events of the story result in the god of the world directing all of the titans to a continent on the Earth's surface, finally giving Alrest the space it needs.]]
* ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'': The climax of the "Arctic Cruise" DLC involves the cruise ship "[[TemptingFate S.S. LITERALLY Can't Sink]]" crashing into an iceberg and sinking. Hat Kid is forced to rescue all the passengers and crew on account of being the only remotely competent person on board.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Happens in ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', though the ship has floodgates to control its sinking. [[spoiler: Of course, it only applies to the Nonary Game 9 years ago on the Gigantic. The one in which the game takes place is just a recreation of the ship, with simulated flooding.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebVideo/BedtimeStoriesYoutubeChannel'' has the SS ''[[GhostShip Ourang Medan]]'', which explodes and sinks not long after being discovered by the crew of an American cargo ship.
* ''Series/TheWeather'': A sinking ship, damaged and drowning in a nasty storm, is the setting of one of the skits. The captain, played by Cricket, spends the entire time ordering the caller to climb the mizzenmast and send a flare, while also openly admitting everyone on the ship is going to die. [[DeterminedDefeatist Despite this, she was focused on trying.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* "The Posei-dam Adventure" in ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'', combined with ChainedHeat to explain why there would be peril in the first place. Beavers can hold their breath for 15 minutes, you know, but ''shrews'' can't.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Naturally, a common training exercise in real world navies. The typical setup is to send the team of trainees into the room and start flooding it, and then they have to use whatever is on hand to devise methods of sealing holes, blocking leaks, and isolating sections that are too far gone. Everyone will be soaked by the end regardless.
[[/folder]]
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