Can a cruise ship sink?

[Gingee]

How about how many ships tipped over to one side or anything like that?

[RMILLER4292]

Lets not for get the Greek liner Oceanos that sank due to a problem with the raw sewer discharge system that compromised the watertight integrity of the compartments....once it began to flood, there was no stopping it. And to top it all off, the Capt. and crew departed the vessel prior to the passengers. This happened off the coast of Durban, South Africa. If anybody is interested, PM me and I'll find you some links to more info.

[SoCalCruiseguy]

I have a few suggestions for those who seemed most concerned about this topic; this discussion is akin to one on the likihood of being struck by lightening. I am sure that over the next century or three, there might be "A" case of a cruise ship sinking with loss of life. If those odds scare you, then you might want to stay in bed and not risk it. Because lord knows its those who expect the worst but don't find it who generate those marvelous "reviews from hell". ;)

[tomc]

Hey... we all gotta go sometime, and this is one way to get your name on Page 1 of the New York Times.

[MICruizers]

BruceBuzz....sorry, but you are so far from the truth. I can recall several accounts of fires aboard cruise ships that have killed hundreds of people, as well as a ferry that sank near Sweden (though I can't remember the name of the ship) but several hundred people drowned in that accident. The Morro Castle in the 60's....I know there were casualties from that fire...there was also another ship fire in the 60's, though I don't remember the name, caught fire off the coast of South Africa, killing a few hundred people. Then there was the Scandinavian Star, which caught fire, killing 350 some odd persons. A sinking ship is not very likely....but a burning one is a much more real possibility.

[tomc]

Not disputing anything, but the Morro Castle was in 1934 and resulted in a massive rewriting of Cole Porter's in-rehearsal musical, "Anything Goes," which made mention of a fire on a ship. It opened with the changes made but, when asked what the new name would be, someone said, "Let's just call it Anything Goes."

[MrsPete]

The world's only unsinkable boat was the small fishing boat that carried Jesus and his disciples across the sea of Galilee. Since none of us have access to that boat, and since we are not likely to walk on water like Jesus and Peter did on that evening, we'll have to stick to modern cruise ships.

 

Even without divine intervention, it is highly unlikely that a cruise ship will sink. Many safety features are in place to prevent such a catastrophe. And if the ship did sink, lifeboats, lifejackets, and required safety drills would -- hopefully -- minimize the death toll.

 

You'll also see that cruise ships aren't really alone out there in the ocean. In port, you'll often see 2-4 other ships "next door", and on days at sea you'll sometimes see other ships in the distance. If a modern cruise ship sank, another ship would be there quickly to help recover victims.

 

Could it happen? Sure. We do share this world with terrorists, and they're probably the biggest threat to ships. Is it likely to happen? No.

[GCurry]

Please correct me:

Achilles Laurel comes to mind!!

"Yarmouth Castle was too old to be sailing" - Gordon Lightfoot

Titanic; there were ships that could have helped, but didn't.

[tomc]

The Californian was the closest ship to the Titanic and it was in no position to aid in the rescue efforts. Even if it had responded to the SOS calls, or the distress rockets, it was itself mired in pack ice and would have had to maneuver slowly to avoid the same fate. By the time it reached Titanic, the big ship would have been tilting so much that there would have been no way to launch boats or even to ferry people over to the rescue vessel.

 

When the Andrea Doria sank, rescue vessels had to wait around for lifeboats to reach them, as it was not possible for the ships to get close enough to be of assistance.

 

REF: "The Last Log of the Titanic," by David G. Brown (McGraw-Hill)

[SoCalCruiseguy]

O.k. I guess somebody will now put up a post saying something to the effect that Noah's Ark nearly went down due to a rogue wave... The Titanic issues are all woulda, coulda, shoulda things. You can nitpick all known history involving bad things occuring to and on cruise ships, but as it pertains to this discussion, it does not mean a thing. If you are going to pay to go on a cruise, then just don't worry about it and focus on having fun. Otherwise, why bother?.....

 

Virtually all machines, especially sailing vessels are better today than only a short time ago thanks to better materials and technology. Still, there are no guarantees in life, period. Gotta go, got to work on this other bucket of beers I just ordered and ponder about the fate of the rest of the world :p So little time and so much to do. I just can't see how the big guy did it in 6 days...

[GCurry]

No, but they can tilt alot.

[cruzincurt]

Great photo. I assume it was taken over in India where they beach old ships to cut them up for scrap.

 

Note there isn't much below the waterline.

[corina27]

that ship is done.:D

[Gingee]

Wow there isn't much under the ship. I wonder how big the big black thing is that is under water?

[SouthernCaribbean]

 

 

 

Do they always lean the same way??

[corina27]

uhhh 10/02/2005? :D That doesnt look like dry dock maybe they should change it to wet dock.:)

[Wendy-Europe]

Hi,

 

the Swedish Ferryboat was the Estonia - the circumstances are uncleared til today - and many rumours ...

 

It was 1994 - 852 people died. It was an RoRo-Ferry. The ship lost the bow flap (don´t know, if this is the correct translation?). The boat sank so fast, the sea was very rough, it was deep in the night - so many people had no chance to escape.

 

This is an accident, which cannot happen to a cruise ship.

 

A cruise ship can sink - but it is really uncommon - a plane can crash - but it is really uncommon....

 

I think, you can feel very safe...

 

Wendy

[GCurry]

I remember that ferry, they didn't close the bow hatch properly.

You Europeans have some huge ferrys, I rode one from Sweden to Denmark where they loaded our train on board.

Google the Achille Lauro for a hard luck ship.

 

A good point about the tilt, it must be the Coriolus Effect!!!

[geoherb]

The Atlantic Monthly had a good article about the sinking of the Estonia. There's a short selection from it here on their website.

 

William Langewiesche, the author of the article, included info from it in a book, The Outlaw Sea. (I found that out by reading some reviews on Amazon.)

[Magnifique1908]

Wow @ those pictures. There is barely anything below the water line.:eek:

[imsulin]

The Oceanos. It sank off the coast of Durban, South Africa. The "Captain" and "crew" abandoned the ship, and the Entertainment crew helped the passengers until they were rescued by helicopter.

[Gingee]

What's with the cruise ship in port on it's side?

[not Cozumel again cruiser]

There is one thing that could sink a large cruiseship quickly and perhaps without warning. It is of course only theoretical and probably rare but if there was a huge release of undersea gas from an undersea volcano or vent and if enough gas was directly under the ship, the ship could lose bouyancy and sink. It could explain ships that have disappeared without a trace...

[cruzincurt]

....in the Bermuda Triangle.

 

As for the ship on it's side, I think they mistakingly set up the midnight buffet on the starboard side instead of in the center.

[traveller99]

cruzincurt -,

OOOhhh... I just had a Kodak moment of people I've seen that spend too much time at the buffet. Like, "Oh, look Harry, there's more of that scrumptious chocolate cake over at the other side of the buffet, I haven't had any since the late seating at dinner!" Which results in a mass scramble to the table near the port rail.