New theory (and old equations) may explain causes of ship-sinking freak waves

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A freak wave approached this oil freighter the Esso Languedoc near Durban South Africa in 1980. The masts are about 82 feet above sea level but the wave which broke over the deck caused only minor damage. Photo credit: Philippe Lijour.
A freak wave approached this oil freighter, the Esso Languedoc, near Durban, South Africa in 1980. The masts are about 82 feet above sea level, but the wave, which broke over the deck, caused only minor damage. Photo credit: Philippe Lijour.

On a stormy April day in 1995, the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was sailing in the North Atlantic when the ocean liner dipped into a "hole in the sea." Out of the darkness, a towering 95-foot wave threatened to crash down upon the vessel, which the 70,000-ton ship attempted to surf in order to avoid being pummeled to the bottom of the ocean.


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