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Do cruise ships still hit icebergs?

The Icon of the Seas is currently set to sail in the Caribbean, meaning it won't be encountering ice. But even if in the future its used in an area in which there could be ice, it's still incredibly rare for a cruise ship today to strike an iceberg. It's not impossible though.



While the era of the Titanic is long gone, it is technically possible for cruise ships to hit icebergs, though modern technology makes it extremely rare. Today's ships are equipped with advanced forward-looking sonar, high-definition radar, and thermal imaging that can detect even small "growlers" (car-sized chunks of ice) that are low in the water. Furthermore, ships sailing in polar regions (Antarctica or the Arctic) are built with ice-strengthened hulls and follow strict satellite-monitored routes provided by the International Ice Patrol. There have been minor incidents in the 21st century, such as the MS Explorer sinking in 2007 after hitting submerged ice (all passengers were rescued) and the Norwegian Sun grazing a small iceberg in Alaska in 2022. These modern "brushes" rarely result in major damage or injuries because ships travel at much slower, "ice-watch" speeds when navigating through berg-filled waters, allowing the crew to react long before a collision occurs.

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Cruise ships are designed to be incredibly safe and reliable, so thankfully they don't sink very often. In fact, the last major cruise ship sinking was in 2012 when the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy.

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Cruise ships can and have tipped over, but it is extremely rare. One of the most notable incidents was the capsizing of the Costa Concordia in 2012, which resulted in the deaths of 32 people. The accident was attributed to human error and resulted in many changes within the industry, particularly in bridge management.

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The sinking of RMS Titanic in April 1912 remains the worst, and the most infamous, cruise ship disaster in history. The sinking of the biggest passenger ship ever built at the time resulted in the death of more than 1,500 of the 2,208 people onboard.

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Carnival is one world's largest cruise lines, but since it has existed, only one of its vessels has ever sunk, the Costa Concordia in 2012. Although Costa is an Italian cruise ship company, it is owned by Carnival Corporation.

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