Author Topic: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.  (Read 24351 times)

Offline Alan Green

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Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« on: February 15, 2014, 08:45:55 AM »
Regretfully a passenger has been killed on the cruise ship Marco Polo by a freak wave crashing through a window whilst the vessel was transiting the English Channel on route to Tilbury.

Courtesy MSN:

An 85-year-old man died yesterday after the 22,000-tonne Marco Polo cruise ship was hit by a freak wave in the English Channel.

Water crashed through a window, injuring a number of people. The man was airlifted off the vessel along with a woman in her 70s, but later died. A number of other passengers received minor injuries and were treated on board.

Offline Pier Master

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #1 on: February 15, 2014, 11:55:50 AM »
Blistering barnacles...

Offline SteKrueBe

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #2 on: February 15, 2014, 12:02:24 PM »
A freak wave in the relatively shallow English channel would be a sensational phenomenon. I doubt it.

Offline Phil English

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #3 on: February 15, 2014, 12:33:01 PM »
A freak wave in the relatively shallow English channel would be a sensational phenomenon. I doubt it.

Freak waves have been battering the SW coast of Britain for the past week. Google it!

Brgds
Phil

Offline SteKrueBe

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2014, 01:17:03 PM »
I did. You mean the numerous reports in which eight meter waves are mistakenly referred to as "freak waves" or "monster waves"? I don't want to start quarrel about it, but heavy storms and monster waves are not the same.

Offline Phil English

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #5 on: February 15, 2014, 01:29:05 PM »
Freak = abnormal.

The waves experienced recently along Channel coasts were up to 75 ft high. That's abnormal, therefore freak.


Brgds
Phil




Offline Tuomas Romu

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #6 on: February 15, 2014, 02:27:25 PM »
On the other hand, "freak wave" is an often-used term for a rogue wave:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_wave

Offline SteKrueBe

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #7 on: February 15, 2014, 03:00:39 PM »
That's basically what I meant, Tuomas. Freak- monster- or rogue waves (whatever you will call them) are very rare phenomena and their occurence cannot be predicted, but an area with severe weather can (and you will do everything to avoid it). That's why i have my doubts on the explanation of the shipping company on the "Marco Polo" regarding the cause of this marine casualty.
Reminds me on the "Louis Majesty".
« Last Edit: February 15, 2014, 06:55:55 PM by SteKrueBe »

Offline Phil English

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #8 on: February 15, 2014, 03:28:20 PM »
This is turning into a pointless discussion over the meaning of the word 'freak'. For God's sake someone died. At the moment, his family are not going to care much for pedantry over the definition of a sea state which caused this tragic incident.

Brgds
Phil

Offline Captain Ted

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2014, 03:54:43 PM »
Insurance wise the owners "have" to call it a freak wave, hence abnormal, because otherwise the family of the dead and the injured will have probably cause to question as to why a passenger ship sails into an area of bad weather,,KNOWINGLY.
That the SW coast of the UK experiencing high, abnormal waves in weather conditions like the last week is not new, but as sailor I would neither call it a freak wave. Most probably
these high waves are created by the strong w-bound tide flow and strong NW-SW winds building
up "cross" waves and seas and they can be nasty little critters and damage any kind of ship

NOW!!!,,,if we could get rid of the sailors,,how safe shipping would be !!!!!!!!

Offline Tuomas Romu

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2014, 05:09:32 PM »
Phil, I know that someone died and it is indeed tragic. However, we are not his family. We are the general public who read the news about the incident from BBC. That's why it's okay for us to comment on every aspect of the news instead of just writing meaningless passages about how our prayers are with the deceased.

Of course, it might be possible that the wave that struck the ship was indeed a rogue wave (in which case I stand corrected), but until we get more information I'm inclined to believe that it was just (abnormally) heavy weather.

Offline Alan Green

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2014, 01:51:13 PM »
Further information concerning the incident, courtesy of MSN:

The wife of a man killed after a freak wave hit a cruise ship in the English Channel has criticised the "badly maintained" vessel as she paid tribute to her "lovely husband".

James Swinstead, 85, died "almost instantly" after water rushed on board the British cruise ship Marco Polo as it was battered by waves during severe storms.

The 22,000-tonne vessel, operated by Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV), was heading for its home port of Tilbury in Essex at the end of a 42-night voyage when the incident happened on Valentine's Day.

Water crashed through a window, injuring a number of the 735 passengers, who were mainly British.

A female passenger in her 70s was airlifted off the ship, while 14 people were treated for minor injuries.

Mr Swinstead, a father-of-two from Colchester, Essex, was on the cruise with his wife Helen.

Speaking in Tilbury after the ship docked, she said: "I think it killed him almost instantly.

"With our insurance I think I'm entitled to

Offline Ian Horsfall

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2014, 04:38:21 PM »
Alan , these are not the words of a " Bereaved "woman who has just lost her loving  husband ??.
Sounds more like some Scumbag lawyer chasing her down to sign the paper work.

Offline Kelvin Davies

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2014, 07:05:48 PM »
I just listened to the bereaved lady on BBC radio and I was struck by her ability to remember a "rusty puddle" at a window but she also said she had no idea of the actual injuries to her husband as she had not seen his injuries.
It struck me as rather odd.

Offline Captain Ted

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Re: Passenger killled on cruise ship Marco Polo by freak wave.
« Reply #14 on: February 17, 2014, 01:07:50 AM »
@ Derek
good posting
1000,s of vessel passing that area every year, and everytime something happens freak waves and such are the "fault"  As you said,,the sea doesn,t care too much who is in it,s way.
I sail now 40 years and almost 30 as master, and I pretty sure that I had only once in my sea life a freak wave,, and that damaged the ship pretty, bulkheads bend and torn. A freak wavee would have a much more damage to a vessel like this.  Tremendous high seas, combined with w-ly setting tides creating in that area unusual high seas, but no often freak waves.  Freak waves is however the excuse for anything when it goes wrong.
Remember guys,, not 10 years ago when masters/sailors mentioned freak waves,,they were laughed at,, and suddenly they are a daily occurence !!!
NOW!!!,,,if we could get rid of the sailors,,how safe shipping would be !!!!!!!!

 

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