How do large ships survive being tossed and heaved by waves on a rough open sea without breaking apart?
In: Engineering
They don’t always survive. Plenty of ships are lost at sea, although much less so in recent times. Modern ships, while massive, are also very well designed. And while the fluid dynamics at sea can be wild, they’re also decently well-understood, so ships can be designed to be strong enough not to collapse/snap in heavy seas.
Of course, this isn’t absolute, and ships can still sink from rough weather, poor nautical skills, bad luck, or any combination. But a modern vessel, properly crewed and maintained, and with a good captain who has good information (weather forecasts) will stand a very good chance of making it out of any given voyage safe and sound.
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