Two deaths after wave hits cruise ship

Maritime News Marine Incidents
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Two cruise-ship passengers have been killed after an eight metre wave smashed into the ship in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Greek coast guard says six other people on the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty suffered minor injuries.
The accident happened near the French port of Marseilles as the ship was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa in Italy.
The victims have been identified only as a German and an Italian man.
A company spokesman says the ship was hit by three ‘abnormally high’ waves that broke glass windshields in the forward section.

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/freak-wave-kills-cruise-ship-passengers-3391748

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The movement of Louis Majesty has been recorded by AIS tracking system. You can check the exact position of the ship at this link
"Louis Majesty Accident"

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[quote=Ordinaryseaman;28177]Two cruise-ship passengers have been killed after an eight metre wave smashed into the ship in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Greek coast guard says six other people on the Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty suffered minor injuries.
The accident happened near the French port of Marseilles as the ship was sailing from Barcelona to Genoa in Italy.
The victims have been identified only as a German and an Italian man.
A company spokesman says the ship was hit by three ‘abnormally high’ waves that broke glass windshields in the forward section.

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/freak-wave-kills-cruise-ship-passengers-3391748[/quote]

I asked yesterday if anyone could tell me about the average deck height on a cruise ship but my post didn’t show up. It’s either lost in cyberspace or stuck in moderation. :o I found this piece on Yahoo today which adjusts the wave height from 8M to 10M and gives a better description of what happened. Wow! Reminds me of some scenes from the original Posiden Adventure except this is real, the ship didn’t flip, and Shelly Winters was nowhere to be found.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100304/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_mediterranean_cruise_ship_accident

I hope someone else comments on this. It’s way beyond the scope of my experience and I’d like to hear what the rest of you are thinking. :slight_smile:

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“I asked yesterday if anyone could tell me about the average deck height on a cruise ship but my post didn’t show up.”

Freeboard varies depending on the size of the ship. On the two larger cruise ships I’ve been on (over 900 feet)- the embarkation deck is on deck 7.

Waterline was typically between decks 3 and 4… so 3.5 decks from water to 1st exterior deck… 10m wave seems possible… though this ship was smaller

Regarding the ship capsizing- most newer/larger cruise ships have stabilizers on each side- below the waterline. They reduce the perceived motion of the vessel (so passengers don’t get seasick) and serve to stabilize the vessel in heavy seas.

Here’s a link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabilizer_(ship)

My heart goes out to the families involved:(

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These are cruise ships, not ocean liners. There’s a big difference. When a cruise ship finds itself in ocean liner conditions there are consequences.

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I posted some of the weather info on this incident in the Marine Weather Forum section:

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Yea this video is not the one from the cruise ship. It’s from the Empire State a couple years ago.

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Hi,
I was a passenger of this tragic Louis Majesty cruise. I would like to have more information about your message : the video is not from Louis Majesty ?
So what is the exact name of this ship ?
During the accident, in my observation in my cabine level 3 in front of the ship, i NEVER saw this rogue wage ! simply a big one !
I explain all of this here : Accident sur le bateau de croisières Louis Majesty: à qui la faute? | Croisière | Voyage Forum;
Sorry, it’s french.
Thanks for your attention.
Best regards.

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Hi all,
Here is the accident’s chronology :

//youtu.be/iP9xG4Gdad0

Best regards.