What Happens If A Cruise Ship Is Hit By A Rogue Wave?

Table Of Content

• How Many Ships Are Lost To Rogue Waves?
• More from CBS News
• Deadly 'rogue wave' smashes into cruise ship near Antarctica — but where did it come from?
• MORE: Passengers hurt aboard Norwegian cruise ship after unexpected wind strikes: I felt 'like we're going to die'
• What Are the Chances of a Rogue Wave Hitting a Ship
• What would happen if a 40-foot wave hit a cruise ship?
• Gaetz attended 2017 party, woman's statement says

He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior, evolution and paleontology. His feature on the upcoming solar maximum was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence in 2023. However, scientists have learned more about them in recent decades, studying how they emerge and how to predict the wall of water that can surge up even in calm seas. "We wondered if we hit an iceberg," Suzie Gooding, a passenger from North Carolina, told WRAL-TV.

How Many Ships Are Lost To Rogue Waves?

"At the time that it happened, we personally wondered if, you know, we knew that we weren't by any icebergs, but it's like, did we hit an iceberg? It just was so sudden." Californian Beverly Spiker told ABC News that a "huge smash" against the window of her and her husband's cabin caused her window frame to break. The problem is that the huge swell will continue to coastal areas, where it forms one giant wall of water which will break on the coastline.

More from CBS News

The 62-year-old passenger sadly died as a result of being hit by broken glass when the wave smashed a window in her cabin during the storm. The other injured passengers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. There have been much taller waves recorded – indeed the first-ever officially recorded rogue wave was in 1995 off the coast of Norway and measured 84 feet. However, as that was ‘only’ twice the height of the surrounding waves at the time, it isn’t considered the largest rogue wave. One person died and four others were injured after a giant "rogue wave" hit an Antarctica-bound cruise ship, travel company Viking said.

Deadly 'rogue wave' smashes into cruise ship near Antarctica — but where did it come from?

There are typically over 310 cruise ships sailing at any given time, with an estimated 25 million people taking a cruise each year. In 2001 Bahamian-registered cruise ships  MS Bremen and MS Caledonian Star were both caught in a rogue wave in the South Atlantic Ocean. Rogue waves can be extremely dangerous for small and large vessels such as cruise ships and even oil rigs.

Four other guests sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident and were treated by the ship's doctor and medical staff, Viking said. In fact, I happened to be on the Drake Passage at the same time as Viking Polaris, aboard Atlas Ocean Voyages' Atlas World Traveller. While we experienced a moderate swell of about 15 feet, which is a somewhat calm day on the Drake, we did not encounter the rogue wave. It reached the 10th deck of the ship, breaking two windows (caused by balcony railings breaking free) and flooding over 60 cabins, along with some public areas. There were a handful of injuries and the ship was able to sail to port without any further trouble for repairs to be made. In many cases they wouldn’t be caught off-guard by a huge wave suddenly coming for the ship.

What Are the Chances of a Rogue Wave Hitting a Ship

He shared a video of a woman displaying a smiling elf puppet as she sat on the floor on the debris-strewn deck, where she was surrounded by other passengers wearing orange survival gear. Meanwhile, another video captured some passengers who enjoyed some humor during the scary incident. Onboard MS Maud, guests will find decor inspired by Norway’s natural wonders and furnishings and fixtures in the art deco style. The ship features a Science Center, where guests can become involved with active research projects. On July 18, 2024,  the ship will operate her “Cruising Under the Midnight Sun” Arctic voyage.

What would happen if a 40-foot wave hit a cruise ship?

"This wave hit it and came over and literally broke through windows and just washed into these rooms, and not only did it wash into the rooms, but it broke walls down, and once some walls went into the next room," Tom Trusdale said. “Following ongoing safety checks and technical assessments, given the weather conditions, we decided to amend the planned sailing route. Across the fleet, there are thorough operational protocols in place and we always prioritize the safety of those onboard,” HX said. Tsunamis are often caused by the movement of land, usually an ocean floor, that leads to a massive displacement of water and causes the seas to move at high speeds over a large area. Cruise ships typically encounter waves of 10 to 15ft without most passengers barely realizing it. The ship, which at the time had a capacity of 835, was struck by a freak wave in Cape Horn, Chile.

The 20-day cruise visits Greenland and Iceland, including five ports above the Arctic Circle. The offers are based on availability, and guests can rebook their original cabin category choice where available. Other options include a full refund, or a future cruise voucher that can be applied to a different expedition voyage. Several options are being offered to guests booked to sail on the ship through March. Guests can instead sail aboard the line’s MS Spitsbergen, which offers the same Northern Lights itinerary that MS Maud was supposed to sail.

It’s widely accepted that the Queen Mary was hit by a rogue wave in 1942 and that she suffered a lot of damage, and listed heavily. In another instance, NCL’s Norwegian Dawn was hit by three freak waves off the coast of Georgia in 2005, one of which was around 70 feet tall. The third South-Atlantic incident occurred in March 2007 when the MS Prisendam was hit by two 40-feet waves in a row.

This is where students were told to gather on the MV Explorer after it was hit by a rogue wave and the ship lost propulsion amidst very stormy seas. Many people wonder what would happen if a cruise ship was hit by one of the largest ever rogue waves. The freak wave hit the ship in the early hours, 200 miles off Newfoundland, as it was carrying almost 3000 passengers. The cruise captain had previously requested all passengers stay in their quarters due to the hurricane conditions, and many would have been in their beds. In 2007 the Holland America cruise ship MS Prinsendam (now MS Amera) was hit by a rogue wave estimated to be 39ft high.

Rogue waves are known to occur in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, and the southeast coast of South Africa. Pay close attention to listening out for any instructions from the captain over the loudspeakers. Passengers may be asked to put on lifevests and possibly make their way to the deck with the lifeboats if abandoning the ship is a possibility. The significant wave height is the average of the largest third of waves over a given period.

Let’s start with tidal waves – these are actually just the scientific name for the waves caused by the tide, resulting from the gravitational forces of the moon. They are, therefore, completely predictable since we can know when the moon is in its different phases. They seem to be mainly caused anywhere where there is a strong current running in the opposite direction of the tidal waves. But, that doesn’t line up with all of the examples – there seem to be multiple causes. Rogue waves are technically defined as “waves that are at least twice the significant wave height”.

Terrifying videos show Norwegian cruise ship rocked by massive waves ahead of power outage that knocked out navigation - New York Post

Terrifying videos show Norwegian cruise ship rocked by massive waves ahead of power outage that knocked out navigation.

Posted: Fri, 22 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

You can see a video of the aftermath and an example in our post of how a cruise ship does not tip over. Let’s just say even the aftermath was a scary experience, let alone being hit by the freak wave. Although not technically cruise ships, ocean liners like the Titanic was, are built even more robustly to cope with the roughest seas on transatlantic crossings. Another theory is that rogue waves can be created due to strong winds blowing over a long fetch of water. For example, if a low-pressure system moved across the ocean with high winds.

Rogue waves can be a lot higher, and cruise ships may take damage from them. One woman was killed and at least four more were injured when a colossal rogue wave struck a cruise ship off the coast of Argentina last week. MS Maud’s experience with a rogue wave is unusual, but the phenomenon does happen from time to time. In December 2022, Viking’s Viking Polaris expedition ship was hit by a rogue wave in the Drake Passage as the ship was making her way from Antarctica to Ushuaia, Argentina. That sailing ended in tragedy, as one person died in the accident and four were injured. The "rogue wave incident" occurred during a storm on Tuesday – when the Viking Polaris cruise ship was heading towards Ushuaia, Argentina, the company said in an Thursday update.

There were no serious injuries among guests or crew members aboard the MS Maud vessel, operated by HX, formerly Hurtigruten Expeditions. The ship was on its way from Florø, Norway, to Tilbury, England, at the time, according to a spokesperson. Cruise ships are generally built to handle most waves in the ocean – they can routinely sail through feet waves without issues.