Assalamoalikum and welcome back to Orange Shots
at the dawn of 20th century there was a ship named RMS Titanic
She was the largest ship of her time
She was an ocean liner carrying passengers between the UK and USA
on her voyage she hit an Iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean
this collision Sank the Titanic
there was heavy loss of life
You people have asked that will
a modern ship with latest equipment
sink like Titanic
Can a modern ship still Collide with an Iceberg
and will this collision lead to her sinking as well?
there is an interesting answer to this
but let me mention something first
many people are asking me to either remove or size down the subtitles
let me remind you guys
The control of subtitles is with you guys, not me
just touch this "cc" button at the top
subtitles will be turned off
you can change the size of subtitles too
all of the control is with you guys, not me
it's you who can do all these things
we have talked about icebergs before
they detach from Northern Ice Cap or Southern Ice Shelf
these are the mountains of ice that was formed by compressed snow over centuries
they are very strong
if a ship hits any of these icebergs
she will suffer great structural loss
The sinking of Titanic brought quite a few changes to regulations
Iceberg Reconnaissance started in Atlantic
that means aircraft were designated to look for icebergs
Iceberg positions were then conveyed
to the ships in the area
this helped ships in deciding their navigable route
ships could keep a safe distance from sighted icebergs
Now that over a century has gone by
we have a lot more information than just the ice reports
we have a proper ice chart
this chart details the exact position
of every iceberg in the area at the time of the report
Let's assume that if an iceberg was carried south by Labrador current
in Atlantic Ocean
we have full track of that iceberg including it's speed
and it's future prognosis i.e where is it heading to
this means we have the iceberg's past and predicted future positions
this way it's much easier to avoid those icebergs
but care has be exercised here
an iceberg may not follow the predicted track and may not follow the predicted path
because icebergs melt over time
they turn over after erosion
leading to formation of Dark Icebergs
these all factors including weather affect an iceberg's track
and cause the variation in their speed
and hence their track may keep on changing over time
and their exact position may be far from predicted position
now that we have established the fact
that there is that smallest of chances
that an iceberg may not be present at predicted position
and that latest satellite imagery may show that iceberg at a completely
new location
this means we need more support and more tools
to avoid an iceberg. and we do have them
I have sailed on Ice Class Ships
these are the ships that have certification and proper equipment
to go and navigate in ice prone areas
unlike old times, not every vessel can navigate in every part of the world
The ships navigating in Cold icy waters are constructed differently
they have different equipment and they are called Ice Class Ships
These ships have proper defences to fight Cold and Ice
but there are limitations to it
they are equipped with a special Radar in the fwd part of the ship
for detecting Icebergs
but again, in case of Dark icebergs
that form when an iceberg overturns
this radar is not much effective
what to do in this case?
we have infrared cameras in vessel's forward part
these cameras are a big help
they can detect and see the icebergs that radar cannot
there is another purpose of this Radar that's at the bow
if a large iceberg has broken into two parts
or if a large ice sheet has broken up
this Radar helps us find the way in between these ice sheet and iceberg parts
and it helps identify if there is a way ahead through that ice sheet
and then on the port side and starboard side
that is to the left side and right side of a ship
there are more infrared cameras
i have told you guys about a few major tools that we have
there are others too. but still, despite all this equipment
we can only say that risk of collision is mostly mitigated
but we can't say that ships have become 100% safe now
It is not possible to completely eliminate this risk of collision with icebergs
we can only predict about weather, icebergs currents etc
we can never be 100% accurate about them
So ... Can the vessels still collide with icebergs?
Yes, they still can
such accidents are quite rare now, but they do happen
another solution may be to completely avoid icebergs
reroute from a different place, but we can't do that too
you can't take such a long route for a voyage
that you end up burning your earnings as the ship's fuel
your actions have to be reasonably practical
we simply can't avoid an area completely
in order to keep a ship running profitably
these all equipments are provided to you to assist in navigation through ice
then we have another tool
and i was glad to read & know about this
an ice class ship structure is built in a way
to sustain a reasonable impact
without going into much of nitty gritty
let me tall you that about 1/3rd of the ship's length from forward
is extra strengthened
extra framing and stronger framing is built inside the hull
to sustain an impact
The collision bulkhead in the fwd
or in case of large vessels their forepeak tanks
are provided with extra strengthening
The bow shell plating is built with extra thick plates
This is the triangular thing at the fwd of a ship
Building these safety features mean that your vessel is capable
of sustaining impacts of small magnitude
and is capable of breaking a reasonably thick sheet of ice
but it may still not be strong enough to guard against an iceberg collision
Now, with change in time
The ships have evolved into various ship types
there are A,B and C classes apart from Ice classification
these classes define their water tightness
Simply speaking
if an oil tanker hits an iceberg
She might suffer damages in the bow area, but nothing much
Our Damage stability calculations have shown us
that even if 90% of an oil tanker's compartments are breached
She will still stay afloat
Thankfully Oil Tankers are that strong and watertight
But all the ships are not built to the same class
There are Car carriers and passenger vessels
Their watertightness isn't that good
They may still sink like titanic if their hull is breached
but 99.99% of times
you're able to sight these icebergs much earlier
there may be 0.01% chance of not sighting them in advance
you can take evasive actions accordingly
So, will the ships still hit an iceberg in this day and age?
very very rare
there may be 0.01% of the chance
but yes they may
Ships may still sink in a similar fashion To Titanic
Oil Tanker ---- No
Any other vessels built to same class, No ...
Passenger ship --- May be
Car Carriers --- May be Container vessels --- I don't think so
Their water tightness isn't like Oil Tankers but it's reasonably good
Smallest of that Risk ... Still Exists ....
Tap here to watch the video about titanic
if you wish to watch a video about Britannic that was Titanic's Sister vessel ....
Then tap here
until the next video, take care of yourself
keep me in your prayers
with tonnes of love to my Orange Shots Family
and "to Be" Orange Shots Family
This is me Zahid Nisar
You are watching Orange Shots
Until the next Video
Allah Hafiz