How do ferries not sink?

The golden rule is, something will sink if it's heavier than the water it is displacing. Therefore, a bowling ball would sink, but a football would float. In the case of a ferry, gravity pushes down on the boat, but buoyancy helps it stay afloat as it's not as heavy as the space it's taking up.



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As a RORO ferry rolls, vehicles can break free and slide down if not firmly secured, adversely altering the ship's centre of gravity, accelerating the roll, and possibly turning an otherwise recoverable roll into a capsize.

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Where does it go? The waste products from the toilet are actually consigned to a treatment plant in the bowels of the ship were it is purified before being pumped back into the ocean away from land. Raw sewage is not allowed to be discharged into the ocean.

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You could get a bit of a sensation if you stare when the boat is pulling away, or the skyline diminishes in the background, or if you look down into the water over the edge... but if you simply sit inside the ferry somewhere you will barely feel movement at all.

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You could get a bit of a sensation if you stare when the boat is pulling away, or the skyline diminishes in the background, or if you look down into the water over the edge... but if you simply sit inside the ferry somewhere you will barely feel movement at all.

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Philippine ferry was overloaded when it flipped over, leaving 27 dead, official says. MANILA, Philippines -- The skipper of a Philippine ferry which flipped over in a lake in an accident that killed 27 passengers decided to sail despite knowing that his boat was filled beyond capacity, the coast guard chief said Friday ...

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Most trains don't have sewage tanks so anything in the toilet is dumped straight onto the tracks.

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More than 130 people — men, women and children — lost their lives when the car ferry Princess Victoria sank off the Co Down coast on January 31, 1953. Many of those lost to the sea that day were residents of Belfast, along with the many crew members whose homes were in port towns of Larne and Stranraer in Scotland.

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On Oct. 20, 1976, the worst ferry disaster in the history of the United States occurred on the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish. Seventy-seven lives were lost.

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The simple answer is: they are generally very safe. In fact, ferries are normally considered one of the safest means to travel in Europe.

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Thankfully, very few cruise ships have actually sunk in modern history. Even so, the Titanic's sinking impacted maritime law so much that there are more than enough lifeboats for all passengers and crew onboard any given sailing. Within the last 111 years, over 20 cruise ships and ocean liners have sunk.

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