This blog posts about aviation, automobiles, electronics, programming, politics and such other subjects as catch my interest. The blog is based in northern New Hampshire, USA
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Nearly all 4200 passengers & crew got off safely
We should be thankful that so few died in such an enormous sinking. The survivors on TV speak of confusion and ignoble actions, but in the end, they got nearly everyone off alive. Not too shabby.
I caught a program on one of the TV shows about that issue and it turns out they aren't as top heavy as they appear. Most of the volume above the main deck is empty space. The bulk of the mass is below the waterline (engines, fuel tanks, storage, ballast tanks, machinery, etc).
The big issue with the 'top heavy' ships is the large sail effect. The large area above the main deck acts like a huge sail and can push the ship in unexpected/unanticipated directions if the helm and navigation folks aren't paying attention.
3 comments:
I find it annoying that shows like Entertainment Tonight keep referring to this as a "Modern Titanic". What a crock!
I always thought the modern cruise liners looked top heavy. After seeing the Italian liner on it's side, I know they are top heavy.
I caught a program on one of the TV shows about that issue and it turns out they aren't as top heavy as they appear. Most of the volume above the main deck is empty space. The bulk of the mass is below the waterline (engines, fuel tanks, storage, ballast tanks, machinery, etc).
The big issue with the 'top heavy' ships is the large sail effect. The large area above the main deck acts like a huge sail and can push the ship in unexpected/unanticipated directions if the helm and navigation folks aren't paying attention.
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