Giant waves hit cruise ship; 2 passengers killed

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

Two passengers aboard a cruise ship were killed when 26-foot waves crashed into the vessel Wednesday, officials said. As many as fourteen others were injured.

The Greek Louis Cruise Lines ship was off the French port of Marseille when it was hit by "abnormal" waves, some more than 26 feet (9 meters) high, cruise line spokesman Michael Maratheftis told CNN.

As a result, five windows in public areas were smashed and two passengers, a German and an Italian, were killed, he said.

Fourteen others were treated for light injuries, Maratheftis said.

The vessel, the Louis Majesty, was sailing under a Maltese flag and traveling from Barcelona, Spain, to Genoa, Italy, the Greek Public Ministry of the Mercantile Marine told CNN.

The ship had 1,350 passengers and 580 crew on board, the ministry said.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/03/cruise.ship.wave/index.html?hpt=T2

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[Larkspur]

1. Sounds like a Rogue Wave hit the ship.

Wonder if there was a storm at sea within 200 miles of the ship.

[Warpy]

4. Looks like there was a storm right there

However, there wasn't a storm anywhere near Havana and the Malecon got drowned.

[Generator]

26. Also known as a sneaker wave

in Oregon. Deadly.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Its the GOP and W Bush getting even ...they are lashing out at anything within reach including waves

:facetiousness:

[louis-t]

3. But there is no global warming because it was cold.

:eyes:

[jdlh8894]

6. What the HELL does AGW

have to do with a rogue wave??? They have been knocking over ships since ships have been on the water.What a dumb statement! EOM

[louis-t]

7. Please note the 'eyes' rolling under my post.

And you don't have to put EOM in your message. That's for the subject line. Jeez, chill.

[jdlh8894]

8. In this case EOM

wasn't meant to be "end of message" -and there was not rolling eyes in your original.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. His post has not been edited.

Maybe your browser failed to display it in time.

See red text above for what happens when you edit, even if you only take 5 seconds.

[petronius]

12. So what does "EOM" mean to you?

(Please note - there will be a 'shrug' smiley in this post. Wait for it...

:shrug:

Aah. there it is.)

[louis-t]

19. Uh, I just looked at it. It's there. EOM!

[Cal Carpenter]

25. Best subthread of the day

:rofl:

[Kolesar]

5. Release the Kraken!

eom

[proteus_lives]

10. I wonder if the remake will be any good?

[Kolesar]

18. I wish I had seen the original in the theater

It really captured the feel of classical mythology that I had gathered from books I read as a preteenager. The drama of forelorn Kodo* still worked for me when I was 24.

*I think that was his name.

[proteus_lives]

21. I have the original on DVD.

It's still excellent. It's very campy but it does capture the feel of the mythology.

[RaleighNCDUer]

22. Calibos.

Watched it last night, prepping myself for the new release. Still holds up pretty well, in a 1980sish way.

[elleng]

11. Any EDUCATED thoughts on why this occurred?

[petronius]

13. It's not that much of a mystery, I don't think - rogue waves are not uncommon,

and in fact may be more frequent than once believed. A likely source is multiple swells constructively interfering (i.e., piling up), although I imagine that currents or tidal flows interacting with a swell pattern, or refraction of waves around islands, could help to build the occasional monster wave...

[elleng]

16. Thanks, petro.

[Kolesar]

17. A sunken vessel could cause waves to crest and break

"Heavy Weather Sailing" is a good read.

[Bigmack]

31. Even in the Med? nt

[Stinky The Clown]

14. The Med actually has a lot of rogue waves.

It is a very unsettled body of water

[elleng]

15. Didn't know this!

Want to visit Marseilles. Have already been to Barcelona and Genoa! Where's Sparkly going?

[Stinky The Clown]

20. She's in Geneva

I hear Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) is free of rogue waves.

:)

[elleng]

23. I think so, but tell her to watch your wallet!

[RamboLiberal]

24. Interesting Video from a passenger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO_xLED4Fa0&feature=player_embedded

Wonder why they don't make the windows shatter proof?

[Merchant Marine]

27. Big enough waves stove in bulkheads and shatter steel hatch covers

"Shatter proof" is meaningless when you're dealing with forces that can do this to a steel hull.



Or this...

[TommyO]

28. The damage done to the Wilstar was definitely rogue wave related

The damage to the Norwegian Dream was the result of a collision with a cargo ship: http://www.cruisebruise.com/Norwegian_Dream_Collision_December_10_2007.html

[Posteritatis]

30. A cubic meter of water weighs a ton

There was rather more than a cubic meter of water in that wave and it was moving pretty quickly relative to the ship. There aren't many windows that can take those kinds of forces, and shatter or not they'd still be pretty dangerous projectiles.

[Jimbo S]

29. "Posiedon Adventure"

Rented the original last week. The irony.