Would a modern cruise ship survive a collision similar to the Titanic?

Question

I would love going for a cruise vacation but it seems like almost everyone around me is traumatized by an incident that happened like 111 years ago. My sister, best friend and husband refuse to go because they always have this “what if” kind of questions in their mind after the Titanic sank.

Still-alive · Accepted Answer

I've been on at least 4 cruises in my life and its a lot of fun honestly. your sis is missing out lol.

As far as i know ships today are for the most part, much better equipped to handle collisions, but even if they were to start sinking most cruise ships have a lot more emergency boats on hand and also regularly conduct drills jic. so to sum up, it CAN happen but we are way more prepared now then we were back then. just keep in mind the makers of the titanic were arrogant af and truly believed they were unsinkable. and that arrogance made them extremely careless to where they had no contingency plans in place if the unthinkable actually did happen and it cost them severely. thats the ultimate lesson i think we have all learned from that era.

Something unrelated about cruise ships lately is that they can be a hotbed for germs and such. i recall some ships having to go back to port because of covid outbreaks. i think this is something they should work on better.

anyways i really wouldn't worry about any of this. just ask questions if you are considering going on a cruise and let them tell you themselves. i'm sure they get all kinds of concerning questions all the time.

NamerOfStars · Accepted Answer

Such a collision would probably still sink the ship; a tremendous amount of force is applied, and cruise ships aren't made of neutronium. There are, however, many, MANY more things in place to prevent such a collision from happening in the first place. Better detection systems, more eyes watching, more lifeboats, double-hulled ships (although I don't know if that applies to cruise ships) so it would at least sink  slowly ), and if all else fails, you could always just cruise around waters closer to the equator- my sister's done some trips in the Caribbean, and my aunt and uncle some on the Mediterranean; no icebergs in either of those places, and while there isn't always land in sight, it's never THAT far away, especially in light of how comparatively warm the water is.

Sirenboobzilla · Accepted Answer

Modern cruise ships have so many more safety features than Titanic. More water right compartments with subdivisions to either keep the ship afloat long enough to make it to port or long enough to safely evacuate all passengers and crew. Most importantly of all is the aray of radar, sonar, radio and GPS systems that work to see anything around and under the ship that could pose a threat.

Chances of a cruise ship striking an iceberg today are incredibly slim. Chances of a cruise ship surviving a collision such as Titanic's are greatly improved

DeeDeeDeVour · Accepted Answer

That mishap will surely be avoided because...

1. modern cruise liners have very reliable redundant navigational systems;

2. modern cruise liners have better-trained crews.

However, if human stupidity somehow allowed the collision with a huge iceberg to still happen, a modern cruise liner's structural design & construction might prevent it from sinking to the bottom of the ocean although capsizing might still be inevitable.

exitseven · Answer

Yes, after the Titanic sunk, ship designers added extra bulkheads and compartmentalized the ship su they would be more resistant to icebergs. I direct hit from a torpedo would still sink it

BCA6010 · Answer

They would be much more likely to not only survive (with damage) and stay afloat at least long enough to evacuate everyone, but even moreso avoid an iceberg altogether with modern technology, even in low visibility. The more likely disaster is running aground, like what happened to the Costa Concordia about a decade ago. Cruise ship disasters are exceedingly rare to the point that only two really bad ones have ever happened (Titanic and Empress of Ireland), and Costa Concordia is the only "modern" ship to have sunk at sea (one got bombed in port of Beirut more recently I think, but nobody was aboard when it went down).

I've been on four cruises (two Caribbean, one Mediterranean, and one Alaska) and they were all great for different reasons. Alaska was easily my favorite, while the Mediterranean one was kind of niche.

RebelinSteel · Answer

Yes it would, since the Titanic, ship designs have changed and incorporated changes to prevent the huge amount of water entering via a hull breach, double skins with hollow space including blocking baffles, remote controlled doors. A lot of other items to reduce the risk and impact of such a collision.

there are still risks for example the MS Estonia

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66299183

NathanDavis · Answer

I would like to tell you that... protocols are more competent today and so are people, ships are safer and have more technology, so... not only the ship would be in a much better place to avoid, to deal and to withstand such situation, HOWEVER!!

even the US Navy... which is supposed to be all this, will mess up... it survived though

AviatorTom · Answer

The Titanic sinking resulted in many important improvements in marine safety. All ships must now have sufficient lifeboats for all passengers, unlike the Titanic that only had enough for about half the people on board. Every ship must have muster drills, educating passengers on what to do should an incident occur. And iceberg tracking is now done to warn ships well in advance. Most cruise ships don't go near iceberg areas anyway.

Is it possible to have a modern cruise ship disaster? Yes, but it's very unlikely.

genericname85 · Answer

i don't think a modern ship would survive such a catastrophical crash. however we have WAY better technologies for locating obsticles today than "staring into the fog". so it would be VERY unlikely for that situation to ever happen, cause we can see any potential threat WAY before it would become one on the sonar.

and even if push comes to shove, these days cruise lines don't get away with putting too little rescue boats, cause the titanic accident spawned a bunch of regulatory bodies that will make sure no cruise ship will have that problem again.

cheeky_starfish · Answer

Most likely, yes. Safety standards are so much better now in terms of construction, procedures, life boats and tracking and communications. Nothing is ever 100% safe, but where cruise ships are concerned modern standards are pretty incomparable to 100+ years ago.

KrakenAttackin · Answer

Yes. Modern cruise ships are double hulled and designed to sustain an impact like the Titanic sustained. The latest major cruise ship disaster was the Costa Concordia in 2012 (I think).

For my money the biggest threat to these massive cruise ships is fire and not sinking.

Staximus · Answer

The Titanic didn't sink from hitting an iceberg, and you won't hit icebergs unless you're in the North Atlantic. The Titanic sank from a fire and explosion in one of the coal silos. They didn't use coal to power ships anymore either. The most likely cause of a big ship sinking is storms.

Red_Arrow · Answer

Radar had not been developed till long after the titanic collided with the iceberg. Now, radar exists and cruise ships have them, so they can see the iceberg from a long distance away and completely avoid it.

OddBeMe · Answer

I’ve wandered. Firstly, we accomplished destroying most the icebergs with global warming. So mission accomplished.

Also the navigation systems wouldn’t be that shitty. But basic hull toughness along with size, might be more of a death count.

But honestly we could lose some “cruise people” and it be for the best.

Anonymous · Answer

There were 14 cruise ships crashes in the past 60 years with 500 deaths, almost all of them on one of ship that sang in a storm in China, most of them had no deaths.

There were 40,000 car crash deaths last year.

DJB72 · Answer

You may like to point out to them that in recorded history, precisely  one  ship has been lost by hitting an iceberg... The size of today's ships the iceberg would probably be in more danger...

bowenw · Answer

This site explains a lot:

sawno · Answer

Ill just leave this here for you since its an incredibly entertaining video :

DextroShade · Answer

I don't know, but there would definitely be more lifeboats and a faster rescue time due to modern communication technologies like mobile phones and GPS. It took the Titanic hours to sink, they could probably get everyone or almost everyone off alive if it happened today.

DryGermanGuy · Answer

Even if not, rest assured, nowadays there are enough rescue boats on board. Not to mention, modern satellite communication systems.

katiesmuff · Answer

Well the lesson learned from the Titanic was that Nothing is Unsinkable!

Iron_Man · Answer

That ship was wood. This is totally different, and they have lifeboats for every single passenger. I’ve been on tons of cruises never had a problem

Mark987 · Answer

I owned a boat, and honestly speaking we just went boating on small currents and I hated it. I would never do a cruise on a ship no matter what.

slatyb · Answer

It wouldn't happen because they have radar and satellite weather.

NewgodOmega · Answer

Depends on a lot of things but there are chances it might survive with some damage

David94358 · Answer

The Titanic didn't have enough life boats.. modern cruise ships do, and also the communication to send out sos for help, there is full cell phone communication and Internet on them as well.

zagor · Answer

There are stricter regulations now and the technology in terms of weather prediction (and tracking icebergs) is far beyond what was available in 1912. A food-related disease outbreak is far more likely than the ship sinking.

Guanfei · Answer

Probably, yes. Security has been greatly increased since. Not that they care much about your life, but lawsuits are costly.

midnightmoon05 · Answer

I wouldn’t let that stop me from enjoying my life. Live with no fear.

jahaims · Answer

112 years of technological advancement with sonar etc. would prevent it

LunarEclipse433 · Answer

If it was serious enough there would still be a huge loss of life

JacobJordan · Answer

Only ships that fair well vs icebergs are icebreakers. That is the name of the ship design

Stacy0706 · Answer

Yes plus people now days more attentive today.

Grond21 · Answer

Where would you go?

dolemite58 · Answer

Cruises are nasty

CubaPirate · Answer

Absolutely 💯

Amur8711 · Answer

There are cruise ships designed for Icy waters now

strateguy632 · Answer

yes.

Would a modern cruise ship survive a collision similar to the Titanic?

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