How long can you live in a sinking ship?

Question

I was just watching White Squall and in it Caroline Goodall's character gets stuck in the boat as it's sinking.The water hasn't flooded the room she's in but it's fully submerged. How long could someone last in that kind of situation? I know it was based on a true story but that could have been some creative license.

Answer 1

until it sinks

Answer 2

Well alot of the time people just die from shock (of the water and tempurature) not because they are a bad swimmer... if the conditions are fine and you have a life jacket, whistle etc. you could survive pretty long but if you were out in the ocean you might die on under an hour!

Answer 3

There have been cases where a ship capsized and some people were trapped inside and they stayed alive untill they were rescued. Of course that would only work if somebody was able to cut through the hull and rescue you. If the ship sinks too deep you wouldn't be able to escape by swimming out because of the water pressure and depth would either kill you from the bends or you would drown.

Best bet is to go over the side before it sinks. Grab your survival suit and release a life raft...don't forget to activate the EPIRB!  

Answer 4

Depends on how long they can hold there breath.

Answer 5

They wont live very long at all.

Answer 6

not long