How do large ships survive being tossed and heaved by waves on a rough open sea without breaking apart?
In: Engineering
The ship is largely moving with the water. A wave lifts the ship, a trough lowers it. Imagine a ping pong ball in the water. No matter how bad the waves are, nothing is going to sink the ping pong ball.
Also, in heavy seas, the crew will point the ship so that the ways don’t hit it hard. A ship hit broadside by a wave might capsize, but a competent crew will turn the ship into the waves.
Where ships get into trouble is if they hit something that won’t move, like rocks or a reef. Then the ship can’t move with the water any more, and the water will start pounding on it. And, of course, pounding it into the thing that won’t move. Few ships founder in the open ocean compared to the ships that break up near the shore.
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