Cruise Ship Incident

[Matterhorn Fan]

I heard that water came in on deck 9.

Methinks channel 6 might be taking over channel 2.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Matterhorn Fan

I heard that water came in on deck 9...

That was pool water.

Actually, this supports my theory of inertia doing the majority of the damage. Pool water was seen flowing down the stairs and elevators. The stair towers and elevators are forward and abaft of the pools. If it was simply a matter of a tilt to one side, the water from the pools would simply have gone over the side of the ship. For the water to flow perpendicular to the angle of tilt would mean that there were other forces at play. The list was caused by the ship making a sudden 180 degree turn at high speed. Inertia would cause people and objects to move away from the turn at a tangent. Unlike planes, which bank into a turn, ships list away from a turn - i.e. a turn to starboard will cause the ship to list to port. The combination of tilt and inertia would make the list seem much worse than it was.

[wendybeth]

Whoops- I think I must have clicked on the wrong pic- ty, JW.

Whatever the degree, it had to have been horrible to be there. I guess one gal was on a compensatory cruise from another cruise mishap earlier this year- wonder if she'll try it yet again?

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by JWBear

The list was caused by the ship making a sudden 180 degree turn at high speed.

Are you sure about that? I didn't see that in any of the links I've read. Can you link me?

[tracilicious]

After further reading it seems that the ship was not making a 180 turn, just following its normal course when it listed. The cruise critic thread did reference a prior incident in which a ship did a sharp turn and listed. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

I haven't found any news of how the injured people are.

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

I haven't found any news of how the injured people are.

Aww, they weren't injured... they just flew here and there. No biggie. Nothing to see here. D'oh! At least that's how Forbes description made it sound...

[tracilicious]

This sorry excuse for a news article says that there was no head count after the incident.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

This sorry excuse for a news article says that there was no head count after the incident.

Which supports what that message board post said, that they didn't call muster (the only way to get a head count). That does seem a tad irresponsible. What with crew giving out hugs, and no call for emergency procedures, it seems that someone thought "avoiding panic" was more important than taking safety precautions. When, in fact, taking safety precautions and relying on the kinds of emergency procedures that we're all programmed to follow from school age is exactly what prevents panic.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

Are you sure about that? I didn't see that in any of the links I've read. Can you link me?

For the first couple of days, nearly every news report reported the 180 degree turn. Google it for yourself.

Originally Posted by tracilicious

After further reading it seems that the ship was not making a 180 turn, just following its normal course when it listed. The cruise critic thread did reference a prior incident in which a ship did a sharp turn and listed. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

Only 4 things would cause a sudden list in a ship; a massive wave, rapid flooding of the hull, sudden shift in deadweight, or a sharp turn. There is no way for a ship to just tilt to one side without reason. Countless reports also mentioned a steering malfunction.

Yes, I'm quite aware of the incident on the Sapphire Princess. She made a sudden 180 degree turn with the exact same results. In that instance, however, the turn was deliberate – they were returning to port because a passenger had a heart attack. The exact cause of the Crown Princess’s sudden and unplanned turn is still unknown.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Which supports what that message board post said, that they didn't call muster (the only way to get a head count). That does seem a tad irresponsible. What with crew giving out hugs, and no call for emergency procedures, it seems that someone thought "avoiding panic" was more important than taking safety precautions. When, in fact, taking safety precautions and relying on the kinds of emergency procedures that we're all programmed to follow from school age is exactly what prevents panic.

It seems to me that the officers on the bridge where probably preoccupied with figuring out what happened, and making sure the ship was still seaworthy - their primary responsibilities.

As far as emergency procedures… they were followed, and avoiding a panic is one of the things the crew is trained to do. No one wants a ship full of panicked passengers. Things would have gotten real ugly. From all accounts, the crew performed admirably.

I also want to throw a little reality check in to all of this. The ship only listed 15 degrees. I’m sorry, but that’s not really very much. In the days before stabilizers, passenger liners would routinely roll that much or more. In heavy weather, the Queen Mary could roll as much as 30 degrees to either side – back and forth – for hours! Very few people were injured because the interiors were designed for this. Things were bolted down. There were handrails. Shop displays were glued down. Etc.

I blame the injuries on the failure of modern cruise ship interior to realize that these are ships, first and foremost, not hotels. Nothing that floats remains rock steady – ever.