Costa Concordia grounded near the Italian island of Giglio, many questions about the dynamics at play during that event were asked. All along, we said we wanted to see the results of forensic evidence that would have answer to a whole lot of questions but have seen nothing so far. Apparently, evidence that would help us make more sense of the Concordia grounding is also great evidence for the trial of a seemingly less-than-professional captain who commanded the ship.
Now, two experts in the fields of fluid dynamics and marine architecture offer insights into the types of unseen forces unleashed during this unfortunate incident in a Newswise article:
‘On a calm day, the ocean’s surface may appear quite tranquil, but dive down just a few meters and it suddenly becomes painfully obvious that the weight of the ocean water places intense pressure on your body. To a point, the human body can naturally compensate for this pressure, but cruise ships must be engineered to withstand the tremendous pressure as ocean water tries to reoccupy the space that becomes occupied by a propeller-driven, multi-ton wedge of steel.
“Because it takes about a kilometer to turn around a ship of this size, the goal is to steer clear of objects,” says Kevin J. Maki, assistant professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. “With that much momentum, even grazing rocks would easily penetrate its hull — tearing it as easily as tissue paper.”
Knowing little on the topic of fluid dynamics other than how many drinks it takes to put us to sleep (a couple), we’ll just send you right along to Newswise for the rest. Click here to read more…
Related articles
- Cruise ship safety to be scrutinized by Congress – CBS News (cbsnews.com)
- More missing passengers found on grounded cruise ship (chriscruises.net)
- Costa Concordia: One month later, a moment of silence (chriscruises.net)
- Costa Allegra passengers surviving on basic supplies flown in by helicopter (guardian.co.uk)
