8.4 /10 1 Votes
Country of origin United States Executive producer(s) Julian P Hobbs Original network Discovery Channel First episode date 29 July 2007 Narrated by Richard Dreyfuss | 4.2/5 Vudu Original language(s) English Running time 120 minutes Original release July 29, 2007 Network Discovery Channel Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Blood in the Water, Coast to Coast, Eaten Alive, Shark Week, Oliver Twist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever is a television program that launched the 20th anniversary of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week of 2007. It recounts the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The show initially aired on July 29, 2007, on the eve of the anniversary of the ship’s sinking in 1945.
Contents
The show investigated the shark attacks that occurred when the USS Indianapolis sank. Hundreds of crew that survived were stranded in the water for four days before rescue. In that time many of the survivors endured constant shark attacks. The Discovery Channel hired George H. Burgess, a renowned investigator in shark attacks, to determine, "why the sharks attacked the way they did," and to "investigate the survival strategies of the men in the water, including those who fought the sharks."
Ocean of fear
Cast and crew
The cast and crew of Ocean of Fear included these people:
Historical Basis
Ocean of Fear is centered on the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, which had been torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-58 on July 30, 1945 in the Philippine Sea. Of the estimated 900 men who survived the attack, only 317 were rescued after four days in shark infested waters. The Discovery Channel describes the event as "the worst shark attack in history." Surviving members of the crew attended a special screening in New York City on 18 July 2007. According to the accounts of the surviving crew, most of the men died of either exhaustion, exposure to the elements, or drinking the ocean water, not from shark attacks. However, this incident is still one of the worst cases of sharks feeding on humans.