What Cruise Passengers Need to Know about Deadly Rogue Waves

On the surface, cruises might seem like a nice, relaxing, stress-free way to travel. But the reality can be a lot different. All too often, cruises can cause sickness and even fatal injuries to passengers. From food poisoning to Legionnaires Disease, there seems to be no end to the type and variety of personal injuries that came come about from cruising the open seas.

Says iLAWYERUP, a cruise injury lawyer in South, FL, true to their name, cruise ship injuries are personal injury cases that happen during a cruise. It doesn’t matter if the injury or sickness happens on the ship itself, on land, or on an excursion that’s considered a part of the cruise package, the cruise line is fully responsible for maintaining a safe environment for all its passengers.

But not all cruise ship injuries are of the garden variety sickness or unexpected slip and fall. One potentially deadly cruise ship disaster can come in the form of a giant rogue wave. According to a new report by The Travel, rouge waves are also known as extreme storm waves, killer waves, and even freak waves. They have also maintained a mysterious if not frightening place in Marine folklore for hundreds or even thousands of years.

While the massive tsunami-like waves that can potentially swallow up boats and ships quite suddenly have been the bane of seafarers for many years, they are said to have only first been recorded as recently as the 1990s. In fact, many scientists attribute the sudden sinking of perfectly sound ships to rogue waves.

Defining Rogue Waves

Rogue waves are said to be nothing like the big swells that adventurous surfers dream about on beaches where the biggest waves in the world are said to break. These gargantuan swells are a freak of nature.

In order to qualify as a rogue wave, it has to be at least twice as high as the surrounding sea. Put another way, the waves must be at least twice as high as the average given height of the waves in the sea at that given period of time, or so claims the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.

It should be noted it’s not the swells themselves that strike fear in all mariners, it’s the fact that they appear seemingly out of nowhere and without warning of any kind.

How Do Rogue Waves Form?

It’s still largely a mystery as to how rogue waves form in the open seas. However, some scientists have offered some reasonable and valid explanations based upon accrued data over the years. For instance, when a storm develops waves inside a water current that goes against the typical wave direction, the movement is said to shorten the wave frequency.

States NOAA, it’s believed that the powerful rogue wave crests are created when smaller waves join one another to form a much larger wave. The interaction between larger and smaller waves can occur due to changes in current or high ocean surface winds which are usually the result of storms.

The Viking Polaris Incident

On the night of November 29, 2022, the 602 feet long cruise ship, the Viking Polaris was sailing tranquilly through the Drake Passage inside Antarctica’s Southern Ocean on its way toward Ushuaia Port which is where many cruises end and begin. The Polaris is not one of the largest ships in the world, but it is said to cater to global passengers who seek out long-haul adventures on the open sea.

The ship was on its way from the Antarctic port to Argentina when a massive wave smashed into the vessel. It managed to smash many exterior windows. It also caused major structural damage to the ship and flooded many rooms.

Presently, it has not yet been confirmed if the Viking Polaris was truly hit by a rogue wave since there remains a lack of data as to the wave’s true height along with the state of the sea that surrounded it. Numerous news outlets did confirm however, that a storm was occurring in the vicinity when the rogue wave struck.

The storm proved to be a major risk factor for the freakish swell which created the conditions for the formation of a rogue wave. Also, the ship was sailing the Drake Passage which raises some questions. This is an area of Southern Ocean that’s infamous for being very dangerous. Fed by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, its deep cold water can create an environment below surface that can lead to massive killer rogue waves above surface.

There’s no question that cruises are a relaxing and fun way to see the world. But rogue waves are real, and should one hit your ship, it can make for a very bad experience.