The list of shipwrecks in May 1855 includes ships sunk, wrecked or otherwise lost during May 1855.
1 May
2 May
3 May
4 May
List of shipwrecks: 4 May 1855 | Ship | State | Description |
| Dover | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore and wrecked at Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium.[16] |
| Hanover | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground at the mouth of the Bassein River. She was on a voyage from Rangoon, Burma to a British port. She was refloated.[17] |
| John | United Kingdom | The ship struck The Manacles and consequently sank in Godrevy Cove, Cornwall with the loss of 194 lives. Her crew and about 60 passengers were rescued. She was on a voyage from Plymouth, Devon to Quebec City, Province of Canada, British North America.[16][18] |
| Minerva | United Kingdom | The ship struck the Willow Shoal and sank. Her crew were rescued She was on a voyage from Plymouth to Newport, Monmouthshire.[16] |
| Samuel Bakker | Danzig | The ship was in collision with Westmoreland ( United Kingdom) and sank in the River Thames. She was refloated and taken in to the West India Docks, London, United Kingdom.[9] |
| HMS Weser | Royal Navy | The paddle gunboat ran aground in the Dardanelles as she was passing Robert ( United Kingdom). She was refloated and taken in to Constantinople, Ottoman Empire for repairs.[15] |
5 May
6 May
7 May
List of shipwrecks: 7 May 1855 | Ship | State | Description |
| Adeline | France | The ship was driven ashore and wrecked at Land's End, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Her crew survived. She was on a voyage from Cette, Hérault to Dunkirk, Nord.[26] |
| Empire | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground on the Bridge Rocks. She was on a voyage form Limerick to Glasgow, Renfrewshire. She was refloated and put back to Limerick.[27] |
| Gram Para | Portugal | The brig was driven ashore and wrecked in Freshwater Bay, Pembrokeshire, United Kingdom.[28] She was on a voyage from Pará, Brazil to Liverpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom.[10] |
| Pelham | United Kingdom | The ship departed from Tralee, County Kerry for Liverpool. No further trace, presumed foundered with the loss of all hands.[29] |
8 May
9 May
List of shipwrecks: 9 May 1855 | Ship | State | Description |
| Anna Elizabeth | United Kingdom | The ship was wrecked on a reef off the coast of the Courland Governorate.[30] |
| Egham | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground on the Cardiff Flats, in the Bristol Channel. She was refloated and beached at Penarth, Glamorgan, where she was severely damaged.[31] |
| Jemima | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore and severely damaged at "Wornpoer", Denmark. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Hull, Yorkshire to Helsingør, Denmark.[21][30] |
| Jessie Mitchell | United Kingdom | The brig was driven ashore and wrecked at Bonchurch, Isle of Wight. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Hartlepool, County Durham to Alexandria, Egypt.[32] |
| Leon Victoire | France | The sloop ran aground on the Steel Sand, in the North Sea. She was on a voyage from London, United Kingdom to Hamburg.[19] |
| Spark | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground at Waterford. She was on a voyage from Waterford to Swansea, Glamorgan. She was refloated the next day and resumed her voyage.[19] |
| Thetis | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground on the Hinder Bank, in the North Sea. She was refloated and taken in to Hellevoetsluis, Zeeland, Netherlands.[33] |
10 May
11 May
12 May
List of shipwrecks: 12 May 1855 | Ship | State | Description |
| Ophelia and Mary | United Kingdom | The ship was lost at "Toreko". Her crew were rescued.[34] |
13 May
14 May
15 May
16 May
17 May
18 May
20 May
List of shipwrecks: 20 May 1855 | Ship | State | Description |
| Abberton | United Kingdom | The barque foundered in the South Atlantic 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km) off the mouth of the River Plate. Her crew were rescued by the barque Cypress ( United Kingdom). Abberton was on a voyage from Callao, Peru to a British port[51][52] |
| Brothers | United Kingdom | The schooner was driven ashore at Höganäs, Sweden. She was on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to Pillau, Prussia.[53][54] |
| Kitty and Lucy | United Kingdom | The sloop was wrecked at the Mull of Kintyre, Argyllshire. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Sligo to Liverpool, Lancashire.[22][55] |
| Lily | British North America | The schooner was wrecked on Entry Island, Nova Scotia with the loss of all six crew.[56] |
| Morrison | United Kingdom | The brig ran aground on the Longsand, in the North Sea off the coast of Essex and was abandoned by her crew, who were rescued by the schooner Hero ( United Kingdom). Morrison was on a voyage from South Shields, County Durham to Constantinople, Ottoman Empire.[53][39] |
21 May
22 May
24 May
25 May
26 May
28 May
29 May
30 May
31 May
Unknown date
List of shipwrecks: Unknown date in May 1855 | Ship | State | Description |
| Charles Horsfall | United Kingdom | The ship foundered in the Irish Sea between 12 and 23 May. She was on a voyage from Liverpool, Lancashire to Africa.[14] |
| Comer | United States | The barque was severely damaged by fire and abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean before 31 May.[46] |
| Cortes | United States | The ship ran aground on the Florida Reef. She was on a voyage from Havana, Cuba to Trieste. She was refloated and put in to Charleston, South Carolina in a leaky condition, arriving on 26 May.[23] |
| HMS Dapper | Royal Navy | The Dapper-class gunboat ran aground on the Gunfleet Sand, in the North Sea off the coast of Essex. She was refloated and towed in to Sheerness, Kent in a severely leaky condition.[16] |
| Earl of Derby | United Kingdom | The ship ran aground in the Hooghly River downstream of Fultah Point. She was on a voyage from Bristol, Gloucestershire to Calcutta, India.[41] She was refloated and taken in to Calcutta, where she arrived on 22 May.[29] |
| Eliptic | United Kingdom | The ship was wrecked at Cape San Antonio, Cuba. She was on a voyage from Jamaica to New York, United States.[70] |
| Gustave | France | The barque was wrecked at "Millacoree", Africa.[71] |
| Happy Return | United Kingdom | The schooner was driven ashore at Sunderland, County Durham in late May. She was refloated by was condemned.[59] |
| Immanuel | Hamburg | The ship was abandoned in the North Sea before 6 May. She was on a voyage from Altona to Guernsey, Channel Islands. She was taken in to Portsmouth Hampshire by Elidee ( United Kingdom).[16] |
| Maria Catharina | Lübeck | The ship was wrecked on the Kunkel, in the Baltic Sea before 31 May. She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom to Lübeck.[66] |
| Martin | United Kingdom | The sloop foundered in Loch Indaal with the loss of all five people on board. She was on a voyage from Glasgow, Renfrewshire to Islay, Inner Hebrides.[72] |
| Musquash | Cape Colony | The ketch was wrecked in the Knysna River before 19 May.[73] |
| Orbit | United Kingdom | The ship was lost off Scatarie Island, Nova Scotia, British North America before 18 May. Her crew were rescued. She was on a voyage from Liverpool to Quebec City, Province of Canada.[54] |
| HMS Princess Alice | Royal Navy | The paddle steamer ran aground off Fårö, Sweden before 20 May and was damaged. She was refloated.[74] |
| Rubens | United Kingdom | The ship was driven ashore at Kessingland, Suffolk. She was refloated on 16 May and taken in to Lowestoft, Suffolk in a leaky condition.[34] |
| Senator | United Kingdom | The barque ran aground at South Shields. She was on a voyage from "Pallas" to South Shields. She was refloated on 30 May.[54] |
| Wolga | Russia | Crimean War: The transport ship ran aground between "Kuorsalo Island" and "Hamo Island", in the Baltic Sea in late May. Attempts to refloat her with the assistance of the steamship Nadjoschnij ( Russia) were unsuccessful and she was burnt to prevent capture by the Royal Navy.[75] |
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Shipwrecks 1850–59, by month |
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| 1850 | |
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| 1851 | |
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| 1852 | |
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| 1853 | |
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| 1854 | |
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| 1855 | |
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| 1856 | |
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| 1857 | |
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| 1858 | |
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| 1859 | |
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