Saw a special on rowe waves, how come cruise ships never get sank by one?

Question

Saw a special on rowe waves, how come cruise ships never get sank by one?

Answer 1

Some large ships have been sunk by them....but most cruise ships just get badly damaged by them because they are so large. I saw that show too :)

Answer 2

Never say "never" when it comes to rogue waves.

In WWII the Queen Mary, the same one that is at Long Beach harbor, was hit by a rogue wave, and was almost sunk. Well, it was a close call, according to her Captain, Harri Grattidge. I wonder why he did not include it in his autobiography "Captain of the Queens." I bought a copy of it just to read about this, but no mention.

Regards,

Dan

Answer 3

Some cruise ships have been hit by massive waves but dont always sink because of it. Read "Queen Mary: Dear Lord thats a freakin Big Wave"

Answer 4

If you have the bucks... and or the connections... You can prevent your vessel from being "sunk" by a rouge wave.  Remember the Poseidon... or at least the "Poseidon Adventure" movie?  It is believed that the Poseidon was sunk by a rogue wave... and as depicted in the movie, she was "broad-sided" around midnight by the wave.  (In fact, according to the record, the last command by the Captain was "full speed hard to port") which means he was trying to turn his vessel - really-really as fast as he possibly could.  Today, most cruisers (if not all) have access to live satillite photos and updates... which would give the Captain ample time to turn his vessel into (bow first) the wave... By doing this, it is very doubtful and mostly unlikely a rogue wave would sink the ship.  Blow out some windows - yes!  But sink the ship? No!  In fact, personally know of one 30' sailing vessel that came through one totally unharmed.  So, to answer your question, some cruise ships have been sunk by them... however, the waves themselves are rare, and the areas where they historically appear are simply avoided... In addition, technologly today gives the Captain and its crew ample warning to take preventive measures.