Daily Mail. Poignant pictures capture tragic beauty of world's most haunting shipwrecks (photos)

The history of humanity is filled with stories of tragic naval catastrophes that took a heavy tool in both blood and treasure, leaving behind only wooden or steel carcasses exposed to the elements.

According to a United Nations report, there are more than three million shipwrecks on the ocean floor alone, most of which will forever remain out of view to rust away and be consumed by living organisms.

While no longer serving any obvious purpose, the ships continue to write their tragic narrative in rust, fighting a losing battle against nature that will inevitably win in the end.

Lying on their side in the water, or proudly thrusting their decaying, corroded bows in the air, shipwrecks are assaulted by wind and water day and night, their hulls and keels wasting away under the abrasive touch of currents and squalls.

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