The world's largest cargo ship, the MSC Irina, was built by Librarian. Before it, it was Taiwan's Evergreen. They sailed the sea with thousands of kilograms of goods at a time, but with hundreds of crores of rupees' worth of goods, they embarked on a very adventurous journey. Big waves in the sea can hit anywhere at any time. So far, the biggest wave in the world was in Lituya Bay, which reached almost 1,720 feet high, equivalent to the height of the Freedom Tower in New York, which could break any ship in half. However, marine engineers have now become very careful and strategic. Currently, some technologies help these large ships remain stable even in the extreme weather conditions of the sea. Not only that, some ships built by engineers can change their course when hit by waves. So, how do they survive in tough waves and show you some technologies that can sink a ship even if it is hit by a huge wave? How do these ship mechanisms work? When a ship weighing hundreds of thousands of tons passes its destination and reaches those areas of the sea where the wave level is excessive or tsunami-sized, the mechanism that the ship works in the initial state is ship stability. All ships built to survive adverse conditions have a ship stability system, due to which the ships can maintain their balance while floating and can return to their previous straight position when the ship sways in waves or storms. Behind this, the U or V-shaped design of the ship plays a role as a large area and helps the ship to remain normal in both still water and waves by increasing its speed. Its mechanism mainly depends on the center of gravity, center of buoyancy, and metacenter of the ship. Several devices are also used to maintain the stability of the ship, including There is a billet skill. A billet skill is a wing or fin-like structure that is fixed and installed at the bottom of the ship's hull. A billet skill is a nautical device that reduces the tendency of a ship to roll left or right. They are mounted in pairs, meaning one for each side. As a result, the faster the ship goes, the more its stability increases. Another stability system is the anti-rolling tank. This is a tank that helps to keep the ship's position stable. Imagine that a sea wave has pushed the ship, then the ship will rock from left to right. At that time, this anti-rolling tank restores the ship's rocking to its normal position. This tank is installed along the width of the ship, and water flows through it, which adjusts the water level. For example, when the ship tilts left or right, the ship balances, and the excess water is sent from the side where it is tilted to the opposite side. As a result, the water on both sides is balanced, and the ship stabilizes even after the wave hits. This anti-rolling process is of two types: active and passive. The active process is to move the water from side to side using a pump, and the passive process is to position the system in a special mechanism so that the water flow occurs naturally, which is a very complex process. The next type of stability device is the active or active fin stabilizer, which is a fin-shaped device that prevents excessive rotation when the ship is tilted or turning. The fin stabilizer is installed at the bottom of the ship's hull or just above the bilge. This movable fin is controlled by a gyroscopic control system. When the ship rolls or rolls, the ship's sensitive gyro system sends a signal to other active systems in the form of electro-hydraulics. Upon receiving this signal, the anti-rolling tanks and other active devices quickly start working. This fin stabilizer automatically adjusts its speed or direction and shows the ship the right direction. But if a ship is traveling at a speed of ten knots, or about 19 kilometers per hour, then this active fin is not very effective. However, naturally, when a strong storm or wave hits it, it slows down the ship's speed. So it is widely effective.
And the ship has an anti-hill system, which is an angle
control system. When a ship is loaded or unloaded, this system helps to keep
the ship horizontal. The anti-hill system automatically detects the angle of
the ship's heel and keeps it straight. This allows the ship to move without
considering which side is heavy and which side is light during loading and
unloading, and it saves a lot of time in the port. This system is just like the
previous anti-rolling system. In this system, the ballast tanks are internally
connected through the pipeline active valve and control system. When the ship
tilts in any direction, the heeling sensor sends a signal to the master control
panel for any change in the ship's heel. This system can be operated in two
ways: one, the pneumatic system, and the other is a motor or water pump system.
The efficiency of these two types of anti-hauling systems can work in both
automatic and manual ways. So a ship's stability system is affected by its
balance point, which determines the degree of stability of the ship. For this
reason, the balance point of the ship must always be selected by the crew.
Because most of the time, bad weather such as fog, high winds, wind currents,
and sea storms causes ships to fall into extra positions, and the main
mechanical faults and human errors are blamed behind them. According to the
Marine Injury Guide, there is information from the USA Coast Guard and the USA
Department of Transportation that between 2005 and 2023, 448 major cruise ship
accidents occurred, and 15 of them sank. However, in this era of advanced
technology, the search for accident-prone ships is currently A special type of
boat is being used for rescue operations that assist victims of maritime
accidents. Since extreme weather and high seas can hinder rescuers' operations
and potentially sink the ship during these rescue efforts, engineers around the
world have developed the concept of a self-righting boat, a rescue vessel that
can turn 180 degrees and return to its original position. They are capable of
determining their course.
And these self-righting boards can achieve high
acceleration, meaning they can operate in extreme conditions such as waves and
wind waves of six to 10 meters. Many companies are working on making these
self-righting boards, one of which is the Royal National Lifeboat Board, whose
RNLI is based in the UK. There are several important elements in making these
self-righting boards that can return to their place by themselves. The first
element is the basic design of the ship, where they use light objects instead
of all the heavy equipment or objects on the ship. The second element is the
cruise operational or control area, which must be light, strong, and airy. In
addition, the crew's accessible doors must be watertight to prevent water from
entering if the ship sinks. There is also a pendulum to prevent water from
entering the interior of this special self-righting ship. There is also a
system that automatically closes all open parts during operation when the
self-righting board loses control and tilts or hangs vertically, preventing
water from entering the ship. These parts are designed with special mechanisms,
so they can work in an automatic and passive system; no electric-powered
devices are required. Also, these self-righting boards have an onboard system.
This system plays a very important role, such as detecting whether the board is
submerged and turning off the radar and engines before the boat returns to its
original position, so that the automatic parts and the board can be protected.
And again, when the board returns to its normal position, the automatic radar
and engines are turned on. The crew in it is very brave and takes all the steps
with safety, so there is no danger to them, and thus they survive. How did it
feel? You can tell me in the comments.
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