Cruise ship hit by freak wave...

[DeltaOne]

There's a thread on the Norwegian board about the Dawn being hit by a freak wave that broke windows on the 9th and 10th decks. The ship was diverted to Charleston for repairs and will then proceed to New York City.

 

Here's two threads: Here and here.

[Ericknow32]

That's Just Crazy. I don't know what I would do if I was in that situation.

[cruisincousin]

There was an incident last September on the Rotterdam. It did not receive very much publicity but during the crossing of the Atlantic they ran into Hurricane Karl or??. Anyway the sea was extremely rough to put it mildly. That was scary enough being tossed around but all of a sudden the ship lost all power. They were bouncing around like a cork. Everyone thought that was it. They were too far from shore for helicopters if needed and no ship could come into that area with the sea so bad. Many people were injured. My friends sat in the cabin with their feet braced against the wall. There was no power except for emergency lights in the passage ways. Every bottle of booze broke - all of the gift shop crystal etc broke you name it. They finally got the engines up and running after four hous. They shipped limped into Halifax where all of the brass came on board. They offered full refunds cash if they signed a waiver not to sue. It as a real nightmare because they all believed the ship was going to go down. No Thanks!!! No Atlantic for me during hurricane season.

[Ships R Great]

On the Sept TA on Constellation last Sept. the Captain diverted the ship from Iceland to Spain due to 50 foot waves in the North Atlantic. Can you believe people were at the Guest Relations Desk complaining? Not me, boy. I like a little motion but not the 50 foot variety.

[cruisincousin]

I know you can't please everyone!!! Divert me anywhere! I don't like that much motion either. On the Rotterdam the waves were 65 feet - just imagine being in the dark and having to just try to keep from being tossed around yourself. Apparently the concern over law suits is that the Captain knew what he was sailing into and didn't have the good sense to divert like the Captain of the Constellation did.

 

I never complain when they delay a departure of a plane due to some little maintenace thing either. I would rather sit there all night if necessary.

[traveller99]

Yeah, but that goes back to "ships R great"'s thought. Someone's gonna complain. However, I'm going to try and find out just what they got into. Seriously, and think about this, do you really think for a moment, that the Captain would sail into weather conditions that would jeopardize the ship and its passengers? Remember, "Rogue Waves" which are usually associated with some form of adverse weather system are few-and-far-between, but do occur... and more frequently in the Atlantic Ocean that originally thought. The ship can't sail around every bad blip on the radar.

[brigittetom]

I've been wondering. In the case of the unlikely rogue wave, are you better off on the smaller ships or the newer huge ships or does it make a difference. I know the QE2 manages very well in extremely rough seas.

[madforcruising]

I've been wondering. In the case of the unlikely rogue wave, are you better off on the smaller ships or the newer huge ships or does it make a difference. I know the QE2 manages very well in extremely rough seas.

 

I doubt there is a clear answer to your questions as many aspects are involved.

First I have to say that the ships today are extremly save and tested extensively. However no ship is unsinkable. There was only one big mistake in history thinking to have an unsinkable ship.

 

Ship size has something to do with your question only up to a certain extend. Of course a biger ship can handle bigger waves easier. I.e. on my first transatlantic we hit some bad weather and gale forced winds. It was on the Vision of the Seas and we left Iceland for a bad 4 day ride to the East coast. There was a smaller cruise ship in port with us too and they canceled the cruise and flew the pax home. They said the ship could manage the waves and the weather without any safety issues, but neither pax nor crew would be able to handle it very well and without potential injuries, not speaking about providing service.

On the other hand the old ships being built as Ocean Liners and not as cruise ships (i.e. QE2, Norway, etc.) are totally different than modern cruise ships. They are built for the transatlantic crossing throughout the whole year. They are much deeper in the water and the hull is designed differently. Even if they are much smaller than a modern cruise ship they can handle bad weather much better.

So it has not only to do with size.

[brigittetom]

Thank you very much for taking the time for that very informative answer. That all makes perfect sense.

[Gimpster]

I saw the Dawn at the pier yesterday - couldn't figure what was going on since there was no cruise ship scheduled to be in port yesterday.

[TPKeller]

Just a follow up... the new Queen Mary 2 is also designed for the open ocean, so she can handle waves better than the "big boxes" that float around in the Caribbean. This is also why she has to tender in to several ports where other ships can dock, I believe she draws 34 or 35 feet of water.

 

Theron

[taschr]

The SS France had bow plates that were 32 mm thick -- capable of taking on a much greater pounding from rough seas than the modern day cruise ships, which generally have bow plates that are 24mm or less. Also, the old ships had much deeper draughts -- the France at 66,000 tons had a 34.5' draught, the Voyager, at 138,000 tons, has a 29' draught. And the Voyager has a much larger superstructure -- much more body to be pushed around by the high winds that accompany storms at sea. The France didn't have much above her lifeboats in the way of superstructure. And the France had a knife for a bow and a rake to her that doesn't exist on today's floating hotels. Size doesn't really matter either. A 1,000 foot ship will rise 30 feet to over a 30 foot wave, the same as a 300 foot ship. It's just that the 1,000 foot ship's rise and fall will lag behind the actual upward and downward slope of a wave due to its size and momentum (it will first dig into the wave and then rise, and continue to rise and level off after the wave's crest has passed and then rush down the backside of the wave to get ready to dig into the front side of the next wave). I was on the France in Nov 72 coming back from the Caribbean into St. Thomas -- we hit a storm that peaked at 35-40' seas right around dinner time on the last night out. Believe me, it was all I could do to hang onto the handle grip in the shower stall getting ready for dinner. I had to jam myself into the catty corners of the shower stall to brace myself as one hand holding on wasn't enough. Needless to say, the dining room was pretty empty at dinner. I thought the waiter looked a little green and I was hoping he wouldn't get sick on my meal (3 of us had ordered a chateaubriand for the last night and it came -- raw in the middle as is usual with the French -- and I was the only one who was able to eat). Needless to say, I ate the whole thing (except for the raw part). There was a ban on table side flambe that last night also for obvious reasons. Just remember, you are far better off if the ship goes over the waves than you would be if the waves went over the ship.

 

I doubt there is a clear answer to your questions as many aspects are involved.

First I have to say that the ships today are extremly save and tested extensively. However no ship is unsinkable. There was only one big mistake in history thinking to have an unsinkable ship.

 

Ship size has something to do with your question only up to a certain extend. Of course a biger ship can handle bigger waves easier. I.e. on my first transatlantic we hit some bad weather and gale forced winds. It was on the Vision of the Seas and we left Iceland for a bad 4 day ride to the East coast. There was a smaller cruise ship in port with us too and they canceled the cruise and flew the pax home. They said the ship could manage the waves and the weather without any safety issues, but neither pax nor crew would be able to handle it very well and without potential injuries, not speaking about providing service.

On the other hand the old ships being built as Ocean Liners and not as cruise ships (i.e. QE2, Norway, etc.) are totally different than modern cruise ships. They are built for the transatlantic crossing throughout the whole year. They are much deeper in the water and the hull is designed differently. Even if they are much smaller than a modern cruise ship they can handle bad weather much better.

So it has not only to do with size.

[canderson]

I've been wondering. In the case of the unlikely rogue wave, are you better off on the smaller ships or the newer huge ships or does it make a difference. I know the QE2 manages very well in extremely rough seas.

If the officer minding the wheel is silly enough to let a monster wave catch him broadside (that's what happened to the NCL ship), no ship is going to respond to this very well. While some have talked about the draft and height above water, a ship catching a large wave broadside is going to take a solid hit no matter what, and the height of the wave is going to determine just how far up the side of the ship the beating goes.

 

Hull shapes and designs as mentioned by several here will definitely mitigate a proper bow-on hit, but somebody on the bridge must first assure the correct attitude of the ship when it hits. Waves that high don't usually pop up in an instant, and it would be interesting to know if anyone was paying attention to the radar. A 70+ foot wave would "paint" a very interesting picture, even from a distance!

[mmp13]

Actually the latest news reports state that the ship was hit on the Bow and that the only way the captain could have avoided wave was to stay in Miami and not sail through the storm in the first place. I guess we will never no all the real details until all the lawsuits are settled!

[canderson]

Actually the latest news reports state that the ship was hit on the Bow and that the only way the captain could have avoided wave was to stay in Miami and not sail through the storm in the first place. I guess we will never no all the real details until all the lawsuits are settled!

The only news I'd heard was a broadside hit, and that would be consistent with the type and location of damage to the cabin windows that got taken out.

 

One thing to remember, though -- the damage was a few windows and a lot of water. Structurally, things held up well.

[rocktheboat]

I have read it was a bow hit. I would think that if it was a broadside hit alot more cabins would have been damaged.

 

i also read that the Coast Guard cleared the captain of any wrong doings. And how could they have avoided this wave.

[canderson]

I have read it was a bow hit. I would think that if it was a broadside hit alot more cabins would have been damaged.

 

i also read that the Coast Guard cleared the captain of any wrong doings. And how could they have avoided this wave.

While the forward cabins over the bow took the worst of it, It's unclear how a bow hit would be taking out windows elsewhere where it did, as though it wasn't a straight on hit, but an angular one. One thing for sure, those high priced penthouse cabins up front on some of the NCL ships are prime targets even if the captain gets it absolutely right. Other ships with balcony cabins and suites that overlook the bow (e.g., Zuiderdam, etc.) have their veranda doors facing either port or starboard, not forward! Bet there's a good reason for that. The Dawn's configuration appears to be very uncommon outside of NCL. Most of the lines have "Ocean View" cabins up there with no verandas at all.

 

Whatever... avoiding it altogether wasn't going to happen, we can agree on that. Nobody predicts those, even when things are a bit rough as they were.

[brigittetom]

Waves that high don't usually pop up in an instant, and it would be interesting to know if anyone was paying attention to the radar. A 70+ foot wave would "paint" a very interesting picture, even from a distance!

 

Canderson, I remember cruising as a single lady in the seventies. I was treated to a Bridge tour at 3AM. The officer on the bridge was busy drawing in a major underwater rock on the navigation sheet to scare the H*ll out of the next officer on duty. I'm guessing they've tightend up security since then. I also got to "steer the ship" for a few minutes. :D

[excitedofharpenden]

Bouncing around with high waves culminating in a 70 foot rogue wave would certainly make for an interesting trip.:eek: It seems to me that having balcony doors at the front of the ship is a strange design. I'm not sure if any other ships have this feature, but having a large expanse of glass is much more likely to break than a porthole or fixed window, albeit we are talking of an unusual occurence. It must also get very windy out on those balconies with the ship at sea.

 

Phil

[DCT61]

Those forward facing suites on the DAWN dont have sliding glass doors. Just a regular swinging door (with a steel hatch) and a (roughly 4X5) fixed glass window beside the door. The wind wasnt bad at all on the Western Caribbean route.

[TEXASMUNK]

The SS France, (THE NORWAY) was more than 1000 feet long by design. It's exact length was specifically chosen as that was the "average" length of 3 swells/waves in the Atlantic, meaning she would "ride" through rougher seas better than a ship of less length.

[Longboysfan]

If the officer minding the wheel is silly enough to let a monster wave catch him broadside (that's what happened to the NCL ship), no ship is going to respond to this very well. While some have talked about the draft and height above water, a ship catching a large wave broadside is going to take a solid hit no matter what, and the height of the wave is going to determine just how far up the side of the ship the beating goes.

 

Hull shapes and designs as mentioned by several here will definitely mitigate a proper bow-on hit, but somebody on the bridge must first assure the correct attitude of the ship when it hits. Waves that high don't usually pop up in an instant, and it would be interesting to know if anyone was paying attention to the radar. A 70+ foot wave would "paint" a very interesting picture, even from a distance!

 

From what I have seen and heard they took the wave head on.

That is why the damage was to the rooms in the front of the ship.

[tawcat]

first i'd like to say that all the cruiselines do a great job in staffing the ships with great captains.

 

like the tsunami i doubt it is ever figured out what happened. what amazes me is that the ship survived as did all the crew and passengers. how can one fault the captain or the cruiseline.

 

i listened to the interviews from folks that were aboard. it appalled me to hear people faulting the cruise line. i bet these same people blame the gas company because they run out of gas on the freeway.

 

cruising is a crap shoot. you book it and hope the weather is good etc etc etc. and if it turns out less than what you desired you just have to shrug your shoulders, make the best of it and hope to have a better cruise next time.

 

the captain of the dawn, as well as all captains on all cruise ships, need to be applauded for doing the fantastic job they do. i feel badly because vacations were disrupted, but ya know, all the passengers got on the ship willingly and they must take responsibility for that, can't blame the cruise line or the captain. now if neglect is the case then thats a whole new ball of wax!!!

[canderson]

The SS France, (THE NORWAY) was more than 1000 feet long by design. It's exact length was specifically chosen as that was the "average" length of 3 swells/waves in the Atlantic, meaning she would "ride" through rougher seas better than a ship of less length.

I've been really bummed to hear that there have been no bidders on this ship since its accident. I know they're trying to sell it as a hotel rather than as an ocean-going vessel and still there are rumors of having to sell it for scrap steel. It would be a shame.

[Nancyquilts]

In March on the Crystal Harmony the ship was slowed by waves, and ended up with 5-6 cabins flooded on the 8th floor - on the port side, as a wave crashed over the balcony railings just before the ship leaned to the starboard side - the water came in under the balcony doors. You didn't read a lot about this, because it was handled in a very prompt manner, replacing carpet, beds, etc. The captain and crew did a great job in managing the storm - the ship ended up 14 hours late in Yokohama, but there were no injuries that I am aware of. Nancy