Danger on the seas as walls of water sink tankers

SWeet pics, I just saw a show on these things. There are more then previously thought, the ocean people confirmed this by taking sat pics. Pretty scary stuff. Just in time to go see Posiedon!

Yeah, they've totally been seen by satellites. Look at this Google Maps image of one near Galveston, TX!!

Google Maps

Nice find on google ! thatone rocks

Wow, that is is an impressive find. It looks like the wakes of tankers converging. Those huge ships make really large wakes. Could it be that this picture of a wave would be just that, the wakes converging? I have heard and read on the internet of how some surfers ride tanker waves for miles and stuff. Other than that the wave looks really big in comparison to the tanker, which those things are gigantic. If only you could see the hours before this snap shot to see if wakes did indeed cause it. Which brings to mind, will Google have google Earth but a video version? That'd be cool.

If you have the Science Channel, they have a show called "Killer Waves" on right now.. followed by "Killer Lakes"

It is possible that some of these waves could be created by meteors impacting in the ocean. A bus sized meteor impacting in the ocean at mach 5 could easily drive up a 40-75 ft wave that could travel for a hundred miles or more disipating before reaching landfall and therefore going unnoticed unless a ship or bouy happens to be in its' wake.

Other than the meteor theory, I think the underwater landslide or earthquake theory makes the most sense.

Question: Do ships have sensors that can detect such waves a couple miles away?....such that they could at least turn the ship into the wave and avoid getting hit broadside?

Originally posted by davenman
It is possible that some of these waves could be created by meteors impacting in the ocean.

Except that radars like the government uses to track objects around the world would pick it up. Also, aircraft would see the streak of fire and the plume of smoke following it and report it.

So I think that that's out for what the usual cause is.

Don't overestimate radar capabilities. The world does have good radar coverage over much of the land surface, especially over first world countries, but the coverage over the oceans is much less than most people think.

Huge wave strikes oil tanker, kills two crew.

Natural events like these always bring a smile to my face. With all our knowledge and technology, we are still dumbfounded by many of nature's acts. Some people seem to think they are able to predict the extinction of marine life, yet we fail to explain something as simple as a ripple of water. Truely, we have much to learn.

A large wave came out of nowhere and killed two crew members on a US submarine, just after it left Devonport dockyard in UK.



[edit on 2006/12/29 by Hellmutt]

Rescue drama after ferry Riverdance was hit by a freak wave. The passengers were evacuated.


Rescue drama after freak wave hits ferry

What a great thread from the past.

I had not seen it before.

I found this part of the original article very interesting:

These giant waves cannot be predicted by standard meteorology. Waves - even in the worst of storms - should not reach much more than 40ft. The fact that walls of water up to 100ft are being observed regularly suggests that something is worryingly wrong with meteorology theory.

I wonder if they have come any closer to explaining these waves?