I loved Berlitz back in the days when there was no internet and no way except for a really thorough international research (which nobody but another book author could've taken up) to disprove his numerous outrageous claims.
I think none of the "dissappeared" ships actually stand up to scrutiny.
Aircraft is another story but aircraft do dissappear all the time.
For example, a japanese freighter that was listed as dissappeared actually sank in plain view of a Cunard liner in the middle of a tropical storm, while its dramatic and mysterious distress signal was actually only the first known example of engrish.
("Now very danger!")
The Schooner Ellen Austin was just a 1920s bootlegging case while many other ships actually did not even exist with that name.
Maybe Berlitz's research is an example of what you get when you ask old salts to tell some interesting and scary stories.
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