Why do Ships Sink?

Nowadays a ship sinking is extremely rare but throughout history 1000s of vessels have sunk for one reason or another - in fact there could be as many as 3 million wrecks lurking at the bottom of our oceans! But what are the causes of these maritime disasters? Join your host Mike Brady and learn everything you need to know about the science of sinking ships.
00:00 Intro
01:50 Explanation
03:14 Buoyancy
07:05 Water displacement
9:38 Storms
12:03 Explosions
14:30 Outro
Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels- from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!
#ships #sinking #disaster #titanic #wrecks #exploration #history #adventure #design #engineering #mairitime #safety #vessels #sailing #documentary #story #oceanlinerdesigns

[@vinceely2906]

I thought it was because, all of a sudden boats realise that they’re heavier than water? It’s like when aeroplanes crash because they realise they’re not birds.

[@lochlanmuir2291]

LOL

[@the_rover1]

💯%

[@JoeJaJoeJoe]

coyote moment

[@DrathVader]

What in the looney tunes

[@nbbailey21]

🤣

[@Islander39er]

Only Mike Brady could keep your attention for 15 minutes by explaining how a ship will sink when flooded with water.

[@maratsultanov9676]

абсолютно точно )

[@deutschevolksmiliz]

I'm sure James May could too

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

One of my favourite interview moments I ever heard was during an Australian press event for Clive Palmer's (still never to be) Titanic 2... As one of the engineers was explaining how the new replica would be much safer than the original, one of the reporters tried to get a soundbite moment by asking him "so would you say it's unsinkable?" Quick as a whip he replied, "oh no, I would never say that. For the record: if she can float, she can absolutely sink." Ship building 101 right there. The man wasn't about to be caught out by that old trick.

[@anttibjorklund1869]

"She's made of iron, sir. I assure you, she can sink." - Victor Garber as Thomas Andrews in "Titanic" (1997).

[@infravioleta]

So, English is not my first language, I never understood why you say "she" when talking about ships (?) Like, is there a specific reason or is it just way to say?

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

@@anttibjorklund1869 Man it would have been bad ass if he remembered to pull the line from the film... Still, he handled it well for an engineer being put on the spot.

[@anttibjorklund1869]

@@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13 I'm not disagreeing there 😄

[@ceu160193]

It's not exactly a trick, just like a bad karma - calling ships "unsinkable" or "unstoppable" tends to end up badly both for ships and their crew. If I would build a ship, I would specifically call it "barely floating" so crew won't get too confident in their ship.

[@fraserthomson5766]

Polynesian explorers used to intentionally flood their wooden canoes in rough weather to stop from bouncing around in the waves. You'd think they would sink, but the wood is naturally buoyant.

[@fahey5719]

You have no clue of Physics. If you punch a hole In a wooden ship hull, it sinks. Hundreds of thousands of wooden ships from ancient Greeks and Egyptians until today. Natural buoyancy is a 5 year old kid "explanation".

[@janisi9262]

This was the case with an aluminum rowboat my dad had when I was a kid: he tried to sink it, just to see if he could, but there were big chunks of styrofoam under the seats that kept it afloat.

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

Yeah that works until the wood becomes waterlogged.

[@desubtilizer]

Using the water as ballast.

[@andrefiset3569]

Even wooden ships sank, of course because they had a ballast of rocks.

[@mikehenson819]

Just a quick story. I served in the USN, and was assigned aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence. I went aboard while the ship was in dry dock. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the ship sitting in that dock on blocks and was overwhelmed at its size and remarked out loud “ how on earth does it float?!” First time at sea was scary and exciting for me. And after a while, we all became convinced it was unsinkable, short of an atomic blast: or so we reasoned. About a year latter we were caught in a massive storm in the Mediterranean Sea for about 3 days and night, that quite terrible. Suffice it to say, all hatches were shut and no one was allowed to go up on the flight deck or open any outside hatches. With 40 to 60 ft swells, we 🎉had water over the bow . I know because I went up in the island structure and managed to see out over the flight deck. Up until that time, we’d seen many rough seas and we thought little of it. But this big typhoon changed it all for me and about 3,000 of my shipmates. The power of a storm at sea is an awesome and scary thing to endure when all you can do is ride it out. During those 3 days and night, I think everyone onboard spent the majority of their of their time praying, because you certainly couldn’t sleep through it. More to tell about that experience, but I’m afraid people would think I was exaggerating.

[@DaystromDataConcepts]

Please tell us more. I knew of a U.S submariner who told me his Ohio class SSBN, an 18,000 ton boat, rocked like a swing even while at 400 feet depth during a storm like you described.

[@triciacarr5019]

TELL TELL! C’mon, we’re all ship nerds here.

[@mikehenson819]

Ok. You asked for it, and I promise it’s 100% true. Well after that third night, the swells and wind had subsided a great deal, and the Captain wanted to try flying. Mind you the sea was still quite rough and it was drizzling rain, but we could manage to walk on the flight deck with a good deal of caution. So around noon the brass decided to try and launch 3 planes. One Phantom, one A6 E, and one TomCat. We got the pilots and crew up on deck, but they weren’t too keen on the idea, but we were close enough for them to land in Italy at our Airbase at Aviano if they couldn’t make it back on board. I was a flight deck PO in charge of V1 ( bow director) so I had to be out there. Keep in mind all of those on that deck including the pilots crew and the Air Boss didn’t think this a great idea. We got the birds started, untied them from the deck ( making ready to throw the chains in at a moments notice and taxied them in position to load the Port side bow cat, and tied them back down on the deck. The captain gave the order to turn the ship windward to make ready for launch. And as the ship began its starboard turn into the wind, the deck began to rise ( as we were riding up in a huge swell) and continued to list harder than I’ve ever experienced before or since. The planes were actually vibrating against the chains, and the TomCat I was holding and directly now above me was tight against its chains to the deck, and the pilots were reading to punch out! It was about that time I saw the flight deck Crain ( a huge machine that stayed parked in front of the island structure broke free from its chains and was rolling towards us, while the air boss was screaming in my headset for navigation to turn hard to right the ship. I was literally holding 2 pad eyes on the deck ( chain attachment points) yet seemed to be standing vertical, and slowly the ship began to right itself and settled back to a somewhat even deck. I swear I thought we were going to capsize that thing! Our Air-boss ordered to secure the planes right where they were, get the crews out and off the deck NOW! Within 10 minutes, I learned that we had over 200 injured below decks when cabinets and other heavy items broke free and slid out of position and many thrown across the space they were in. And that big Crain that broke loose? It rolled about midship before the deck leveled back out. In 3 days we made it back to Italy, and there was no mention of flight ops again until those 2 weeks in port were complete. The fear level for all on board was maxed out during those days, I think we were all just thankful to have survived the ordeal. I went to our Division reunion in Pensacola Florida a few years ago, and brought this up within the group by the fireside one night. And I can tell you that there wasn’t a one of those guys who didn’t forget that incident in great detail back in 1979. In fact a couple of the guys said they had suffered nightmares from it.

[@TKaePetras]

@@mikehenson819 Wow! Thank you for the great true story! I have so much respect and admiration for our military personnel.

[@triciacarr5019]

Ditto, thx for story, and service. B-but WHY did captain want to launch planes?? Wish I could buy you a beverage for that tale.

[@budwhite9591]

Mike. I love you my friend. However, you forgot to mention loose lips

[@lesliecarr312]

Loose fingers work just as good, sometimes. My mom found some naughty drawings and pictures I did during my high school years and she almost sank my ship.

[@kensmith5694]

Just after the US joined in WW2 it wasn't loose lips but that is what the military blamed. The real story is that the lights were left on at night in places like New York. A german U boat could sit out in the water and see all that was going on with the ships about to set off nicely backlit.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

that is cause the lips do not do damage to the ship. they enable something else to do the damage and those things were listed sufficiently well.

[@vandalsavage1]

Ya mum

[@bearcatracing007]

​@kensmith5694 Congressman Andrew J. May is a perfect example of loose lips

[@GangGang1]

Because of water! Put the ship on land and it wont sink!

[@seymoorepoone9512]

I am amazed by your wisdom.

[@darkadmiral106]

That's how grounding works

[@powcod7455]

Fr. In the words of Richard Hammond "I dont trust a vehicle that isn't where it was when you last parked it"

[@kimreinikainen]

Fish on the dry land flap flap

[@EricDKaufman]

@@seymoorepoone9512 You forgot your need gravity too

[@bsquiklehausen]

Usually when an unplanned field modification results in a larger-than-standard cold water intake to be installed somewhere on the hull.

[@me3333]

It can also happen from an unplanned positioning orientation of the vessel

[@ladyzapzap9514]

Spoken like a true engineer!!

[@ballasog]

Not the only possibility. Hull could remain intact but get smushed.

[@KPW2137]

A tiny tidbit regarding Yamato sinking: In October 1944 the sister ship Musashi was also attacked by the US aircraft in the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. The ship took approximately 19 torpedoes and 17 bombs and yet sank only hours after the battle. That's why the US torpedo bombers were ordered during the attack on Yamato to aim exlusively at one side of the ship in order to capsize it - that's why Yamato went down capsizing and after receiving many, but not as many hits as Musashi.

[@philiphumphrey1548]

IJN Yamato and HMS Barham were on the way down anyway when their magazines exploded, it hastened the end but not by much in either case. With USS Arizona and HMS Hood (also with the British battlecruisers at the Battle of Jutland) the magazine explosions were the direct cause of the sinkings.

[@flyingmonkeydeathsquadronc968]

Don't forget the USS Maine in Havana and that one was likely just due to bad ship design.

[@Neneset]

@@flyingmonkeydeathsquadronc968 And IJN Mutsu.

[@Quert_Zuiopue]

Or danish second grade Christian VIII.

[@chalky_white]

It’s our friend Mike Brady, from Oceanliner designs

[@Archeantusable]

I love our friend Mike Brady from Oceanliner Designs

[@GreggyAck]

I, too, love our friend Mike Brady from Oceanliner Designs

[@macmedic892]

“Because water gets in them”, the witty ones will say. Funny, I was typing almost that exact phrase.

[@EricDKaufman]

You need gravity too

[@jordanpeterson5140]

Damn, I thought we were friends, Mike Brady from Oceanliner Designs. Just @ me next time.

[@lycossurfer8851]

He's (Mike) getting wise to us I see

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

Because they don't weight the same as a duck.

[@toddkurzbard]

Dammit. I was JUST about to do it.

[@calumjelley9395]

Interesting video, the physics behind ships is already mind boggling!

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Thank you!

[@lelandgrubson2736]

I see what ya did there 😂😂😂

[@martinbitter4162]

The Swedish Warship Vasa comes to mind. It sank in calm seas as it was simply too top heavy.

[@lesliecarr312]

Top heavy. Blown over when one of the crew members cut one.

[@Kr0noZ]

@@lesliecarr312 well it was top heavy, and it was almost too heavy in general; but the issue was the wind catching the sails at an angle (as tends to happen when you try to get a sailship moving) and the list allowed water to flood in through open gunports on the lower gun deck, which sat right above the waterline in calm seas. Sank before even getting out of the harbor.

[@ianhutchinson1783]

I believe in the UK North Sea during oil and gas exploration a fishing boat that had been mysteriously lost some decades earlier was found on the seabed in the middle of what geologists call a pock-mark. These are the marks left behind when gas escapes from beneath the seafloor. What is thought to have happened to this unfortunate trawler was that as it sailed along minding its business, a huge bubble of methane gas burst out of the sea bottom having escaped from geologic strata below and the boat found itself suddenly surrounded by a mixture of water and gas which does not have the same buoyancy as seawater. It would therefore have almost instantly sunk. All on board were lost and there was no distress call.

[@budroberts5929]

Paddling a kayak in whitewater rivers, white foamy water is a lot of air and your paddle blade gets little grip in it. Most places there's solid moving water underneath to get a grip on. You look for holes -a lot of turbulence & foam - and surf it although yeah, some big holes can swallow you.

[@nunyabidness674]

Q: Why do ships sink? A: Water on the wrong side of the hull.

[@Darilon12]

Excessive humidity within the hull.

[@nunyabidness674]

@@Darilon12 Yeah... damned condensation lmao

[@svgalene465]

The number one rule of shipping: Keep the water on the outside. (Number two: The pointy end goes first.)

[@nunyabidness674]

@@svgalene465 The round ships have entered the chat...😁

[@me3333]

@@svgalene465 "Number two: The pointy end goes first." So that's what I've been doing wrong all these years...

[@TheSaneHatter]

This is such a good overview of not just Titanic, but several famous sinkings, that it could be used as THE introductory video for the whole channel.

[@mikedicenso2778]

Scuttling. That's another way water gets in on the wrong side of the hull and ruins that buoyant force thingy. Opening the seacocks, valves that are for allowing water in and out of the ballast tanks or for allowing water inside clean the bilge, etc., to intentionally sink the ship, perhaps to prevent the vessel from falling into the wrong hands. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of this is the scuttling of 50 German warships at Scapa Flow in November 1918 by their crews under order from Admiral Ludwig von Reuter to prevent the British from boarding and capturing them.

[@cwam1701e]

According to Amazon's Rings of Power, things sink because they are drawn to darkness but other things float because they are drawn to light. I'm afraid I didn't make it past that line which was about three minutes into the first episode, so I'm not sure if they went into the thing in anymore depth (see what I did there?!). However, THESE videos are great!

[@Tempusverum]

Sounds like medieval dunking theory. If she sinks, she a witch! 🧙‍♀️

[@jsa-z1722]

I’m with you!

[@LaraineBouguer]

This does raise another, related question. The rules concerning safety of life at sea have been continually updated after every major disaster in history. But in the last few decades, we have seen a massive increase in how many people are on a given ship without a resulting tragedy to give impetus to updating those rules. There were ~3,300 people on Titanic, but the newest cruise ships can have more than 10,000 people on board. How have the relevant authorities adjusted their rules and plans to account for the possibility of having to rescue that many people at once? Or are they still depending on "any ship nearby help out"?

[@grayhatjen5924]

I would actually love to know the answer to this. Normally, I would go looking, but I'm under the weather, and I know there's no way it would compute for me. I'll say this, while these current monster sized cruise ships are fascinating in pretty much all that they do, to me, they're also terrifying. I remember seeing 3 pictures of whatever the current largest cruise ship was, like, a year ago. They were all pictures taken at night, and, She was admittedly lit up brilliantly. Just every color of the rainbow. But I swear, zero histrionics here, I was legitimately repulsed by it. As in, I could not look at it without feeling both anxiety and, weirdly, nausea. All I could think was that thing has 9,000+ people on it. Imagine how long the lifeboat process would take. No, thank you. And to be clear, no shade to anyone that likes said kind of travel. It just freaks me out a bit.

[@gordonayres2609]

@@grayhatjen5924 I agree-imagine a cruise in a cheesy shopping mall . No comparison with the old liners

[@gagalover2k10]

There 2, 500 people on Titanic.

[@grayhatjen5924]

​@@gordonayres2609 Exactly. I mean, from a business sense I get it. They're trying to provide enjoyment for every type of passenger. The more passenger types you can accommodate, the more bookings you'll have, the more cash you'll net by the end, yadda yadda yadda. But there has got to be a limit. Vegas has limits and it's not floating in the middle of the ocean. Which takes us right back to what happens in the event of an emergency?

[@grayhatjen5924]

@@gagalover2k10 I think OP is referring to Titanic's potential capacity. Passenger accommodations totaled 2,511 or something like that. Then you'd need close to 1,000, give or take, to cover the crew in total (whether White Star Line, Marconi, what-have-you). Those are hypothetical numbers, assuming the ship hadn't sank Her first time out. Best place to get numbers like that would be the inquiry testimonies.

[@jake1776]

This channel is so relaxing and helps me go to sleep. I guess it’s bad that sinking skip information helps me to sleep.

[@jimivel604]

"She's made of iron, sir! I assure you, she can... and she will. It is a mathematical certainty."

[@nanabutner]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and research with us at least twice every week. I can’t remember a single video where I haven’t learned at least one new item, THANK YOU!

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

Mike out here really answering the deepest questions

[@--SPQR--]

Yes, and his answers really hold water, too.

[@virginiamackey6446]

5:29 excellent episode. You answered a lot of questions I didn't even know I had!

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@BNuts]

_Oceanos_ also came to mind. Everything was fine and dandy until she sprung a bad leak. And then there's _Principessa Jolanda_ , which capsized and sank due to having insufficient ballast, and too many loose fittings while being launched too quickly. Likewise, the ferry _Sewol_ capsized because her cargo was not secured, and she was turned too sharply (more than a mere five degrees).

[@jetdriver]

A ship doesn’t a ship doesn’t sink because it Capsizes. It sinks because the capsizing lets in more water which causes her to sink. In the end it’s all about the water getting in.

[@GratiaCountryman]

I think Mike Brady should do a video on Oceanos. It would be fascinating.

[@gunrunner7224]

Great lakes car ferries come to mind for shifting cargo.

[@boobah5643]

_Sewol_ also capsized because they'd added more cabins high on her hull, shifting her center-of-gravity higher, without being properly recertified (a certification that would likely have been withheld, possibly why the owners skipped that step.)

[@B1lly_]

Hey, Mike. Can you maybe make a video about The Yellow Fleet, Where around a dozen ships stranded in Great bitter lake for almost a decade?

[@Darilon12]

I'd love to hear that story. It's not the typical disaster story you often get when talking about ships but incredible nevertheless.

[@mbvoelker8448]

Never heard of it. Which is a good reason for Mike to make a video so that I'll learn. :D

[@josephrasberry3850]

That would be cool I’ve never heard of it

[@ZAV1944]

The lake freighter SS Charles S. Price was famously found floating upside down on Lake Huron after the Great Lakes Storm of 1913, the wind and waves flipped her over spilling out her load of coal and trapping pockets of air in the ship causing her forward section to poke above the water while her stern weighed down by the boilers and engine dipped down dragging along the lake bed until finally she sank completely seven days later after being discovered and identified by a diver.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

The 1913 White Hurricane left a whole lot of ships in a lot of bad, and some downright strange situations!

[@ZAV1944]

@@thing_under_the_stairs indeed and it was not just the Price that was flipped turtle.

[@firstnamelastname6216]

I'll admit that I did used to marvel how ships could float so well while being made of iron/steel, and weighing soooo much. I think people forget just how heavy water is.

[@cleverusername9369]

And incompressible

[@tutzdesYT]

Most of the ships' volume is actually filled with air. Modern ships in essence are pretty big air bubbles with tiny film of steel coating.

[@TitanicHorseRacingLover]

One of the most frightening sinkings by storm had to be the MV Derbyshire in Typhoon Orchid.

[@user-xu2pi6vx7o]

Fun fact. One ton of water weighs as much as one ton of lead.

[@ShaunHopkinsAVFC]

Our friend Mike Brady is not only a national treasure, but a world treasure. Best channel on KZbin

[@Henri_Hilarious]

Stellar video as always Mike!

[@jerimiahjohnson4645]

Love the new design of the intro for Oceanliner Designs. You have come along way good sir. Love the video

[@Danger_N00dle]

The game "Sinking Simulator" might be one of the best way to visualize the sinking of ships. Something similar could be said for "Floating Sandbox" which use similar physics.

[@TitanicExpertJamesGrass]

Great video as always Mr. Brady

[@andrewhammel8218]

You forgot an interesting modern sinking. A cruise ship in the 21st century sank off of Africa near South Africa when...a toilet sprang a leak. The hull was NOT breached. The ship flooded from its own internal plumbing system, and sank "from the inside out". And further...it sank so fast that the crew abandoned the ship AND the passengers. And the passengers ended up having to call mayday to be rescued when some geeky young kid broke into the pilot house and commandeered the captains radio! The TV doc played the recorded conversation with the local coast guard. The coast guard kept asking the kid "what RANK are you?" and he had to repeat the fact "I am passenger...the crew disappeared! I am of no rank!".

[@user-es4iu7ls2o]

Oceanos

[@redshirt49]

Keep in mind the bit about a burst waste water pipe is just a theory, they don't actually know what happened to cause the flooding. What they do know is that one of the hull compartments was breached and taking on water, causing the engine room to flood which eventually blew out the engines. There was a loud bang, the ship went dark and started drifting and taking on more and more water from high waves in the storm. Also, the guy who ended up coordinating much of that rescue was part of the crew, though he was a musician. A guitarist, and he relayed as much to the Coast Guard. The captain had ordered the ship abandoned but had not sent out a distress call, he also gave no clear instructions about how the evacuation was to be done; leaving junior crew and passengers to sort it out amongst themselves. It seemed he'd panicked and gone into shock, as he'd been observed just sitting at the rear of the ship, in the dark, chain-smoking. Didn't really do much until the rescue helicopters came the next morning, where he demanded to be the first one off to "coordinate the rescue". Which apparently meant sitting on shore and occasionally asking passing rescuers how things were coming along.

[@GratiaCountryman]

@@user-es4iu7ls2oYup, I was about to say that. 😂😂

[@pc_buildyb0i935]

​@@redshirt49 The ship shouldn't have been taking on any water from high seas - the waves would have to have been swamping the ship's decks in order to get access to the air intakes and ventilation shafts. Aside from a hull breach (extremely unlikely, as there were no reefs in the area) a failure in the ship's plumbing was almost certainly the culprit. To this degree, it has been pointed out by naval architects that the Oceanos' plumbing system did not have a backflow prevention gasket, so it would not have been able to halt incoming water, nor did it have shutoff valves at the cutouts of bulkheads, allowing the water to transfer from compartment to compartment as the ship flooded. Given eyewitness testimony about backflooding toilets and sinks before the ship lost power, it's pretty safe to conclude that's exactly what put her down. Following the sinking, the plumbing systems of ships at sea were fitted with shutoff valves at every bulkhead cutout and backflow gaskets to prevent water from outside flooding into the ship.

[@phluphie]

Because all the air gets out. Not dissimilar from the magic smoke getting out of electronics.

[@lesliecarr312]

Magic smoke is another way of saying MADE IN CHINA.

[@DangerB0ne]

​@@lesliecarr312Nah, magic smoke is an essential ingredient in all electronics, Chinese or no. The issue is when too many angry pixies are crammed into a device. The angry pixies have a tendency to break out of the circuit and take the magic smoke with them out of spite.

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

I found from Battleship New Jersey's dry docking that there are dozens of holes in the bottom of a ship for good reason. Their stuff can be a bit ana1 at times but informative.

[@michaelberry950]

I love your new intro! It is perfect for what you cover. Gives me chills every time. I turn the volume WAY UP

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Thats awesome!

[@user-lm7iq2dc3n]

Our friend Mike Brady is an expert on ships 🚢 of every kind. But is also easy on the eyes 👀, kind and nice. The scale ⚖️ tipper is his sense of style and his fastidious wardrobe. That killer tie 👔 is an example of that. He is one cool 😎 dude.

[@mostmrduck8350]

Hey, it's our friend Mike Brady from ocean liner designs

[@evanamiart91]

Idea. To do a video on the underwater bacteria of Titanic and to have a rough time between her sinking and eventual discovery on when the bacteria would start to eat away at the metal, wood etc to have a idea on what the degradation of Titanic would have looked like during those 70+ years underwater such as your excellent drawings and animations of the ship. Even though Im not into ships. I love the videos, Mike as there very informative. Keep them up.

[@weesamexpress6730]

I have a suggestion of two sinkings for you to cover. I love your videos, and I kinda want your take on the following: M/V Princess of the stars And the M/V Doña paz

[@lesliecarr312]

Dona Paz. Spanish for "DO NOT PASS". Roll your dice and take your chances. And take theirs while you're at it.

[@jetsons101]

Now I want to dig out my DVD of the 1972 movie The Poseidon Adventure.

[@Sailor_alan]

Watching this reminded me of many many many lessons in ship stability. One of my lecturers described buoyancy force as being the upthrust of the liquid fighting against the gravity pushing down. Some of the calculations take hours to work out. Bilging is one of the calculations that explains how a stricken ship can continue to float.

[@lesliecarr312]

I don't think gravity pushes down. It sucks. Especially if you're 31,000 feet up in the air. The secret of keeping a leaking ship afloat is to pump more water out than is coming in.

[@ronjones1077]

Well done!

[@applejacks971]

I'd like to hear the whole story regarding the Italian liner that threw a propeller and sank. I'd google it but I'm lazy and stuff.

[@Shoelessjoe78]

I really appreciate the way you present the material. Well spoken, good pacing, and clear easy to understand explanations.

[@SeanMalone-tn2ly]

I cannot wait to see what Oceanliner Designs Has in store btw Michael Brady you helped my learn things that I never knew about the Titanic like the fact I read a book that said Her fourth tunnel was a dummy but you helped me understand it wasn't tysm

[@johngdoty]

I always thought that the water displacing the air in the ship's hull caused it to sink. Brady mentioned air escaping from a vent in the titanic's forepeak. This was water displacing the air that keeps the ship afloat since the air is lighter than the water. A submarine displaces water with air in order to rise to the surface. The surface ship doesn't have to be completely enclosed because of the buoyancy force, but if the air inside the hull is replaced with water, it sinks because the water is heavier than the air. Right? Wrong? Totally off base?

[@boobah5643]

Not wrong, exactly, but it's hardly ever how it gets described. Not least because you can design a ship that has no air in it that will still float.

[@browncoatkevin]

Basically right. Air has extremely little weight, while the water's much higher weight adds to the buoyancy equation. And when the ship's total weight including the water gets too high, down goes the ship. Replace it with air again, and up comes the submarine.

[@ingocernohorsky]

Unsecured loading can capsize a ship. Or when the ship gets too old and structure is compromised

[@rogerb3654]

ABSOLUETLY...this happens with car ferries all too often. The cars aren't secure (Parking brake is not enough if the ship starts rocking). and they start rolling.

[@Nowhereman10]

We don't have to believe the damage to Titanic was only square square feet (the size of your average doorway). The damage below the mudline where the wreck of the bow section rests partially submerged in the seafloor has been imaged using ultrasound. However, part of the damage is actually visible because it extends past the mudline. About 50 feet. This area covers a few feet above the keel between Boiler Rooms 5 and just into 6 past the watertight bulkhead. Hull plating is separated, rivets popped out, and are only separated by a couple inches at most.

[@blessedwhitney]

I feel like this video would have extra awesome with a collab with Practical Engineering.

[@glamdolly30]

Video like this are little gems, loving 'Oceanliner Designs' work!

[@donny8619]

Remember the scene from the titanic movie where 2nd Officer Lightoller is trying to inform the first class passengers about boarding women and children with the loud hissing in the background. When that hissing suddenly stopped, was it an indicator that one of the bulkheads underneath had been almost or completely filled? If so then that would be such a chilling and haunting indicator for how quick the ship was sinking

[@davidberriman5903]

Yet another informative treat from Mike.. One of the very few channels where you can be guaranteed of a learning experience. Thank you just not seem adequate.

[@gregorydayton5428]

Mike, I enjoy all your videos. Thank You!

[@michaelmaness4915]

Hi Mike - I love your work content. Thanks!!

[@patsyleeoswald9912]

Unlike wood, iron and steel don't float.

[@patparkhurst9689]

Then why do wooden ships sink?

[@Merennulli]

​@@patparkhurst9689Cargo and ballast. Ships that are too buoyant don't sail well, so they would fill a lower section with rocks as ballast to get an optimal buoyancy. And even when ballast isn't required, the cargo often is heavy and dense enough to sink a water filled ship. Ships that can't sink are called "neutrally buoyant" and you often see that with lifeboats and small tour boats like the newer replacements to duck boats.

[@patsyleeoswald9912]

@@patparkhurst9689 because of all the other items on board that are not made of wood, I'd think.

[@scottlewisparsons9551]

Thank you Mike for another wonderful video. All the best from Sydney

[@ifsplem]

Hi Mike. I’ve just become a Patreon. Your Lusitania documentary was exquisite. If you were my science teacher I’d have some clue about this stuff. Thanks for your amazing videos

[@Caktusdud.]

Another good example of explosions and fire is the IJN Taiho, a new ship for the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was hit by 1 torpedo in the bow section by the USS Albacore. Not a huge problem, if it wasn't for the blast rupturing her forward aviation fuel tanks. This is realised when the lower hanger crews can smell the aviation gas. They quickly got to work. Finding av gas pooling in the forward elevator well. Meanwhile on the bridge..............somone decides to help out by turning on the ship's ventalation system. This meant air was running through the ship, carrying the av gas fumes with it. Making it way below decks a spark in the ship's machinery spaces set the fuel on fire and BOOM 💥. The whole ship exploded 3 hours after being struck by the torpedo.

[@Kr0noZ]

Sometime, people "helping" is worse than people doing nothing.

[@Caktusdud.]

@@Kr0noZ well to be honest this is the same personal who saw the torpedo coming and just.........stared at it. Im not sure if they had time to get out the way, but of I recall correctly that all they did.

[@user-xu2pi6vx7o]

So the crew turned the ship into a thermobaric bomb?

[@Caktusdud.]

@@user-xu2pi6vx7o pretty much

[@boobah5643]

As memory serves, it was more that _Taiho's_ complement had put out the initial fires, and then turned on the blowers to clear the fumes. Extremely combustible fumes. With extremely combustible results.

[@pastorjerrykliner3162]

Normandie was a beautiful, beautiful ship... The lines of her hull were magnificent.

[@angeljohns3207]

Love all your videos. They are so informative and interesting. Thanks

[@patriotforlife6592]

Interesting video mike!

[@densealloy]

Eureka! That was a good video and thoughtfully explained a seemingly self-explanatory topic. Thanks Mike.

[@nancyschaefer3851]

Highly enjoyable video!

[@konstantinavalentina3850]

I am surprised you do not mention the action that was illustrated in Godzilla minus 1 where bubbles beneath the (floating thing) sink it by cancelling it's buoyancy through the displacement of water with a gas such that since the floating thing is not a lighter than air, it sinks. I don't know if there's any verified sinking of ships this way caused by submarine volcanic outgassing, CO2 gassing, or any number of other submarine natural gas events that could catch a vessel unaware, and if so such thing would be a very rare and sudden "freak" event so sudden most ships could drop into a bubble hole faster than any crew might realize there's even a danger.

[@philiphumphrey1548]

Hard to prove that it happened because a) it would happen so quickly that there would no time for the crew to get off a mayday b) unlikely to be any survivors or witnesses, they would also sink, and c) the wreck may show no underwater damage, but absolutely no indication of what had sunk it, which could also be explained by other causes.

[@lesliecarr312]

There has been speculation that enormous bursts of methane from the ocean floor may have been what caused mysterious disappearances of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle. Methane vents and crystals have been documented in such places.

[@tomellingham8627]

Yes - someone also in the comments here refers to a fishing vessel in the North Sea that it is believed was sunk this way.

[@Blox117]

it wouldnt happen, it would have to lower the density of water significantly over a very large area and volume.

[@robertthomson1587]

Excellent video!

[@mikehunter5046]

Great video. Top drawer content Mike!

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

Thank you!

[@ozziemederos]

Awesome video Mike 😊

[@rogerb3654]

Great information/video Mike @OceanlinerDesigns on simplifying the entire process. I watch Ryan on @BattleshipNewJersey channel and he's always talking how battleships have about 1000 water tight compartments that create a reserve of buoyancy. Which means: to sink a battleship; you have to poke a lot of holes in it.

[@deversandbello]

Mike ur channel is so awesome. i didn’t even finish the intro because it was so good that i had to write this comment already. fantastic hook

[@kenhayward5009]

Perfect timing!!! I am teaching the topic of buoyancy in my Grade 8 science class, and this video not only gives a good description of buoyancy but also provides excellent real-world examples to provide enrichment of the topic. Thanks!!!

[@Unownshipper]

Interesting topic, more in-depth and cerebral than most channels go on the subject.

[@setlik3gaming80]

Excellent analysis 👍 🖖🏽

[@clayschwartzwalter382]

The example of the ship broaching-to made me curious about the various ways waves can approach and affect ships. Maybe a topic for a future video?

[@lizblock9593]

I have a question that may be more about the animation. Seems like when a ship slips below the surface, there would still be a huge volume of air escaping, perhaps even geysering up. Perhaps so much air that a survivor would be unable to stay afloat. And that the air release would be violent for a little while and continue for hours. Yet the animation seems to show the water surface calm. Any ideas about this are appreciated! And I continue to be impressed by the high quality of your videos!

[@turbofanlover]

Excellent vid...as usual. Density is at the heart of this discussion. More dense fluid will sink below or displace less dense fluid. When the hull of a ship is breached, water rushes in and forces the less dense air out...and eventually enough less dense air is replaced by far more dense water...and down the ship (it itself comprised predominantly of far more dense materials than either water or air) goes.

[@joshuaquintana148]

"Look, I'm gonna be real with you guys.... water is angry. And when people bring big boats out there?? Ho boy, the water doesn't like it. Today, we're gonna look at posiedons tendency to go through bad breakups, and how he can foster a better taste in women. Thus, saving lives."

[@andrewwilliams2353]

Excellent presentation again , our friend Mike. You really do have a gift for this sort of thing and we love you for it too ! Keep it up, Sir. your friend Andrew Williams !

[@dca73]

Hey Mike, thanks for this great video. I always learn so much espeialy with your clear explanations. I was somewhat surprised you didn't mention two noteworthy sinkings; the Swedish warship Vasa that sank off Stockholm harbor in 1628 and the infamous sinking of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy. I know there are so many sinkings and you cant cover all. I just thought those two were particularly significant. Great job overall!

[@Bdd_fan]

you're the only youtuber i know who can transform a topic like this into a 15 minutes video

[@mattj5155]

Mike, I am surprised you didn't talk about another shocking reason for ships sinking - loss of surface tension in water. A few ships have been lost by just drifting over underwater volcanos where dissolved gasses broke the surface tension.

[@bold810]

I think it's because "people smarter than you" decide "yep. Cot thiss". Love yuir channel, btw, Ocean. 👍

[@zombieshoot4318]

One cruise ship that sank without hitting anything was the Oceanos. Sank in 1991 off the coast of South Africa. Incompetent repairs to the waste disposal system allowed sea water to get in after some freak waves damaged the badly done repair. Amazingly no one died. 581 people on board got off.

[@meva4679]

Could you do a video on how to unsync ships such as the fascinating work with the Costa Concordia, the evergreen, and a like. Those are truly ever engineering marvels as well

[@shipfusarelaifu]

I've actually been on the Carnival Glory 🤣 funny you used her in that one example.

[@IntrepidMilo]

I have been on a sinking ship. It was an interesting experience. The vessel thankfully did not sink fully.

[@lesliecarr312]

I don't suppose it left you with a sinking feeling now, did it?

[@kensmith5694]

There is another way it goes bad that happened to some crab boats along the west coast of the US. The basic elements of the disaster were: The fuel storage was below the center of buoyancy. The crabs they caught were stored above the center of buoyancy. The owner had had the boat repainted with the Plimsoll line higher. There is something about the hydrodynamics that tends to hold the boat upright when underway (I think this was part of it) As they caught lots and lots of crabs and burned fuel, the center of mass was moving upwards towards the center of buoyancy. This made the rolling motion increase in the number of degrees but happen more slowly. We feel acceleration and not motion so the boat would seem very stable. When the center of mass got close enough to the center of buoyancy, there was no freeboard on the down side of the ship and it rolled all the way over to upside down which was an alternate stable position for it. I forget how many there were but all but the last one of that family were lost with all hands.

[@randynutt5660]

As always, your knowledge of the subject matter, combined with a splendidly balanced delivery combined to create a wonderfully informative and enjoyable video presentation! Carry on.

[@jennifergould4841]

Mike, I love your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@horatioh5469]

Well done, very interesting. Thanks..😊

[@davidmeier7]

Could the Princess Sophia have been saved if they had purposely put holes in her? To prevent her from floating away?

[@williamcarl4200]

I have pondered this issue. The reason they sink is the same reason they don't come back up. Gravity. Overcome gravity, and the largest ships will come back up. But, would they now be "unsinkable"? Sorry about that...love the show.

[@kutlachakela]

Any updates on Airliner Designs?

[@smee6540]

Wait theres an airliner designas?

[@nursestoyland]

when is plane designs?

[@yrooxrksvi7142]

Incredible channel, I had to subscribe. There's a couple of maritime tragedies you should definetely cover, both Italian liners : the SS Principessa Mafalda (sister to the one you showed in the thumbnail, the Principessa Iolanda) and SS Andrea Doria. The first is a story of greed and negligence from the company despite the hard working crew, and the other is similar, albeit not as horrific to the Empress of Ireland.

Super lecture. 👏 👏

[@dave3156]

Very interesting program thx!!

[@williesnyder2899]

Archimedes was quite the thinker!!

[@didgereemedia194]

Sinking ships have fascinated me for most of my life. For some reason, the physics of it fascinated me and I've done multiple videos, comics and drawings about sinking ships, even a whole sinking of a fictional ship called the Renaissance, similar to Titanic/Lusitania era and style if ships that sinks after striking undersea rocks, like the Costa Concordia. I am autistic, and I feel this came from reading about the Titanic disaster as a kid.