On this Roaring Earth, the sea is a powerful force of nature, and humanity has spent millennia attempting to quench her fury. Yet, even in the era of steel-hulled ships, we have not fully placated the angry sea, and even the biggest ships are just toys in a furious ocean.
These gifs depict the raw power of the sea, and the engineering ingenuity of these ships in such testing conditions. From naval frigates to cargo ships, these vessels take a serious beating at the hands of Poseidon.
Here’s a French naval frigate in heavy seas:
Here’s a civilian vessel rolling over massive waves on the North Sea:
Here’s the hull of a ship bending in heavy seas:
In storms, many ship hulls are designed to bend and sway like train cars. This prevents the ship from breaking apart.
Here’s another ship rolling over waves. Just watching it might make you seasick!
In the clip below, you can see what happens when the crew jumps on one of these ships going over large waves:
Here’s another naval vessel taking a beating in heavy seas. This time, we get to view the waves’ effects from inside the bridge.
Here’s a ship caught in a North Atlantic hurricane. The sea is merciless!
Lastly, here’s the R/V Knorr, a former Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute vessel, in heavy seas.
As you can see, even after centuries of improvements to ship design, we are still humbled by the power of the ocean. Even the most modern ships are still buffeted about in heavy seas.
