Eli5 how do cargo ships not tip over? Aren’t they super top heavy?

Question

Eli5 how do cargo ships not tip over? Aren’t they super top heavy?

In: 195

Answer 1

This is not an ELI5 answer at all, but if you’re looking for a more in-depth look at this (with some math and a lot of examples) this is a great interactive article on this subject: https://ciechanow.ski/naval-architecture/

Answer 2

Anyone else read cargo SHORTS instead of ships at first?

Answer 3

They are still bottom heavy. A lot of the containers are still mostly with empty space as compared to the millions of gallons of fuel, heavy engines and steel hull of the ship. They push this margin pretty close sometimes as container ships have tipped at sea or when loading/unloading.

Answer 4

The phrase you’re looking for is “lashing calculations” [http://shipsbusiness.com/lashingstrength.html](http://shipsbusiness.com/lashingstrength.html)