From the ancient times when people went to sea in simple boats to today, when modern ships armed with various technologies are plying the waters, people have always taken risks when they go to sea. Technological advances have dramatically reduced the number of maritime disasters, but they have not disappeared. Along the shores of Klaipėda, a number of sailing ships lie on the seabed, destroyed by storms and taking the lives of their crews of different nationalities with them. Lithuanian sailors have not all returned home either. The last and worst disaster to befall a Lithuanian crew occurred in 2000, south-west of Acapulco, Mexico. The Linkuva, a transport reefer sailing from the South Korean port of Busan, was caught in the epicentre of the powerful hurricane Carlotta. Wind speeds at the time exceeded sixty metres per second. The exact events of that night are still unknown. The ship and eighteen crew members simply disappeared. Rescuers from Mexico and the United States searched for the Linkuva for four days but found nothing.

Rescuing sinking ships and their crews has always been of great importance. In 1978, an oak vehicle with wrought-iron wheels from the early twentieth century was found near the ruins of the Melnrage Life-Saving Station. It is a special exhibit of the Lithuanian Maritime Museum - a rescue wagon. When the news of a ship running aground was received, the crew of the life-saving station (up to nine volunteers) would gather, six horses would be hitched to the carriage, and a special lifeboat would be loaded. In the rush to the scene of the disaster, the wrought-iron wheels of the wagon prevented it from sinking into the sand, the wagon was driven into the water and the lifeboat was lowered, with which the rescuers attempted to reach the wrecked people. If the waves were too strong, the rescuers would use special guns to shoot ropes with hooks at the end towards the ship, and if the rope could be secured, the sailors could be brought off the ship in bags or special life preservers.