cruise ship rogue wave video

Wild Videos Show Rogue Wave Wreak Havoc on Cruise

Stomach-churning footage of massive waves battering the vessel in the North Sea have gone viral.

Josh Fiallo

Breaking News Reporter

Reuters via Magnus Thor Hafsteinsson

A rogue wave and high winds combined to briefly knock out power and the navigation system on a luxury Norwegian cruise Thursday, Danish authorities and the ship’s owner said.

Authorities’ update comes as stomach-churning footage of massive waves battering the vessel in the North Sea have gone viral, including a clip of the rogue wave that reportedly shattered windows and knocked out power aboard the MS Maud.

“There is no power on the ship,” a spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Center told Reuters on Friday. “The main engine is functioning but the navigation systems and radars are not.”

Despite the chilling footage, the cruise company HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, said in a statement that each of the ship’s 266 passengers and 131 crew members were physically unharmed—though some are sure to be sea sick.

One terrified passenger told the Daily Mail they instantly knew something was off once the massive wave rattled the ship.

“As soon as the wave struck, the TV screen went blank and the ship’s horn distress signal sounded,” the passenger said, adding that passengers, tables, and chairs went sliding around the ship as it was battered by waves.

The rogue wave reached the MS Maud as it sailed about 120 miles off Denmark’s west coast, said the Hurtigruten Group. It was headed to Tilbury, in England’s southeast, after departing from Floroe, Norway’s westernmost town.

A description of the MS Maud on the Hurtigruten Group’s website says the vessel is “well-suited for expedition cruising,” with publicly available rates showing cruises that feature stops in Floroe and Tilbury cost multiple thousands of dollars at a minimum .

A tow vessel was dispatched to tug the damaged boat back to a port in Germany. In the meantime, the company said the ship was being being steered manually from the engine room but cannot navigate.

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Rogue Wave Strikes Cruise Ship, Killing a Passenger and Injuring 4 Others

The passengers were hurt after a large, unpredictable wave hit the ship, which was traveling toward the Antarctic, Viking Cruises said.

By Amanda Holpuch

A passenger died and four others were injured after a large, unexpected wave hit a cruise ship traveling toward a popular launching point for expeditions to Antarctica, Viking Cruises said.

The ship, the Viking Polaris, was struck by a “rogue wave” on Tuesday at 10:40 p.m. local time while traveling toward Ushuaia, Argentina, which is on the southern tip of South America, Viking Cruises said in a statement .

Viking Cruises did not say how the passenger was killed or provide the passenger’s name. The four passengers who were injured were treated by onboard medical staff and had non-life-threatening injuries, Viking Cruises said.

A State Department official said that a U.S. citizen died and that the department was offering consular assistance to the person’s family.

Rogue waves are unpredictable, typically twice the size of surrounding waves and often come from a different direction than the surrounding wind and waves, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Scientists are still trying to figure out how and when these uncommon waves form.

Ann Mah, of Topeka, Kan., told the news station WIBW that she and her husband were on the ship when it was hit by the wave and that it was “just like your whole house got shook really hard.”

“I mean, it was just a thud,” Ms. Mah said.

The Viking Polaris was launched this year and was designed for travel to remote destinations such as the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship is 665 feet long and can carry 378 passengers and 256 crew members.

The ship sustained “limited damage” from the wave and arrived in Ushuaia the day after it was struck, Viking Cruises said.

The cruise company canceled the Viking Polaris’s next scheduled trip, a 13-day cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula.

“We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities,” the company said.

Tourism to the Antarctic has steadily increased in the last 30 years, with 74,401 people traveling there in the 2019-20 season, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. Roughly 6,700 people traveled there in the 1992-93 season, according to the association.

In recent years, some observers have warned that the increase in tourism may not be sustainable and that it could threaten visitor safety or disrupt the fragile environment, which is already straining under the effects of climate change.

It is the beginning of the Antarctic tourism season, which coincides with its summer, beginning in late October or early November and usually lasting until March.

The death on the Viking Cruises ship this week comes after the death of two other cruise ship passengers in the Antarctic last month. Two Quark Expeditions cruise ship passengers died after one of the ship’s heavy duty inflatable Zodiac boats overturned near shore, Seatrade Cruise News reported .

Amanda Holpuch is a general assignment reporter. More about Amanda Holpuch

Watch CBS News

Rogue wave kills navigation system on cruise ship with nearly 400 on board as deadly storm hammers northern Europe

December 22, 2023 / 9:05 AM EST / CBS/AP

A cruise ship in the North Sea was hit by a massive rogue wave, causing a power outage and disabling the vessel's navigation system late on Thursday, Danish authorities said, as a deadly storm brought heavy rain and strong winds across northern Europe overnight and into Friday.

The Norwegian cruise ship MS Maud temporarily lost power on Thursday after encountering the rogue wave. Its operator, Hurtigruten Expedition, said in a statement that the 266 guests and 131 crew were uninjured and that the vessel, initially headed for the English port of Tilbury, would be diverted to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation.

Danish Search and Rescue said the vessel could "maneuver via emergency systems, and it has two civilian support vessels close by."

Reuters reported that the ship was being towed to Bremerhafen in Germany after the power outage. A spokesperson for the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre told the news agency that a ship from civil rescue firm Esvagt had managed to connect a tow line to the MS Maud.

"An Esvagt ship is towing it slowly towards Bremerhafen in Germany at around 8-9 knots," the spokesperson told Reuters.

On Thursday, high winds also grounded flights in parts of the U.K., suspended train services and stopped Scottish ferries.

Women killed by falling trees

The storm also brought down trees and prompting warnings of flooding on the North Sea coast. A woman in Belgium was fatally injured by a falling Christmas tree, while another tree killed a person in the Netherlands.

The 65-foot Christmas tree collapsed onto three people at a busy market in Oudenaarde in western Belgium late Thursday, killing a 63-year-old woman and injuring two other people. The Christmas market was immediately canceled.

A woman who was struck by a falling tree on Thursday in the eastern Dutch town of Wilp later died of her injuries, her employer said.

Pre-Christmas rail travelers in parts of Germany faced disruption. National railway operator Deutsche Bahn said Friday there were cancellations on routes from Hamburg and Hannover to Frankfurt and Munich, while long-distance services from Hamburg northward to Kiel and Flensburg weren't running, among other disruptions.

The company said that falling trees damaged overhead electric wires or blocked tracks largely in northern Germany, but also in the central state of Hesse.

In Hamburg, the Elbe River flooded streets around the city's fish market, with water waist-high in places. German authorities warned of a storm surge of up to three meters (nearly 10 feet) or more above mean high tide on parts of the North Sea coast on Friday.

Streets around harbors flooded overnight in some Dutch North Sea towns including Scheveningen, the seaside suburb of The Hague.

The huge Maeslantkering storm barrier that protects Rotterdam from high sea levels automatically closed for the first time because of high water levels - meaning that all six major storm barriers that protect the low-lying Netherlands were closed at the same time. The nation's water and infrastructure authority said that was also a first. By Friday morning, all six barriers were open again as winds eased.

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Norwegian cruise ship loses ability to navigate after rogue wave hits

A Norwegian cruise ship lost the ability to navigate after a rogue wave crashed into it Thursday, the cruise company HX said.

The MS Maud lost power after the wave hit as the ship was sailing toward Tilbury, England, from Florø, Norway, HX, a unit of Norway’s Hurtigruten Group, said in a statement.

None of the 266 passengers or 131 crew members were seriously injured, HX said.

"The situation is stable, the ship has propulsion and they are able to navigate the ship manually via emergency systems," the Danish Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said in a statement Friday local time.

The rogue wave shattered windows on the ship's bridge, which caused water to enter the vessel and resulted in a power outage, Reuters reported.

The ship was in the North Sea at the time, in an area hit by a storm late Thursday with hurricane-force gusts forecast to continue Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said according to Reuters.

One passenger posted a video on Facebook showing the view from her room's window Thursday with the cruise ship bobbing up and down and creaking in the throes of high waves. 

Because of a lack of navigational abilities, the ship had to be steered manually from the engine room, per the news agency.

Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said.

The ship, traveling under its own power, is currently sailing to Bremerhaven, Germany, for disembarkation, HX said in an updated statement Friday.

“Following ongoing safety checks and technical assessments, given the weather conditions, we decided to amend the planned sailing route. Across the fleet, there are thorough operational protocols in place and we always prioritize the safety of those onboard,” HX said.

"Our team are working to arrange onward travel back home for guests onboard," the statement added.

Irene Byon is a booking producer for NBC News.

Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

'Rogue wave' strikes Antarctic cruise ship, leaves 1 dead and 4 injured

The Viking Polaris ship was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, at the time.

An American passenger on an Antarctic cruise died and four other guests were injured after their Viking ship was struck by a "rogue wave," officials said.

The incident happened on Tuesday around 10:40 p.m. local time while the Viking Polaris ship was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, Viking said.

MORE: Carnival cruise passenger who went overboard was 'dead set' on surviving

A guest died following the incident, Viking said, though did not share further details on the cause of death. The victim's family has been notified, the company said.

The passenger killed was a U.S. citizen, a State Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News Friday.

"We are offering all appropriate consular assistance. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment," the spokesperson said.

The victim was confirmed as Sheri Zhu, 62, by Secretary of the Ushuaia Federal Court Melina Rodriguez.

Four other guests sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident and were treated by the ship's doctor and medical staff, Viking said.

"We are investigating the facts surrounding this incident and will offer our support to the relevant authorities," Viking said in a statement Thursday. "Our focus remains on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew, and we are working directly with them to arrange return travel."

The ship sustained "limited damage" from the rogue wave and arrived in Ushuaia on Wednesday "without further incident," Viking said. Images taken of the docked ship showed several damaged windows.

Passengers on board the ship described choppy conditions leading up to the incident.

Californian Beverly Spiker told ABC News that a "huge smash" against the window of her and her husband's cabin caused her window frame to break.

"Clearly something big had happened," she said. "A lot of water came shooting in."

"Luckily, our windows did hold," she added, though said other rooms on their side of the ship were "washed out."

Spiker's cousin, Suzie Gooding, of North Carolina, told ABC News that at the time, the ship was going through the Drake Passage, "which is well-known for having turbulent seas."

Gooding said despite the conditions outside looking "horrible," the inside was "like a normal cruise ship" leading up to the incident. She said she felt a "sudden shudder" that caused cabinets to open.

"It was just unbelievable," she said. "At the time that it happened, we personally wondered if, you know, we knew that we weren't by any icebergs, but it's like, did we hit an iceberg? It just was so sudden."

Spiker said she and other passengers were "shook up" afterward.

"No matter what side of the boat you're on, it was felt throughout the ship that clearly something bad had happened," she said. "So everybody was pretty shook up."

MORE: Passengers hurt aboard Norwegian cruise ship after unexpected wind strikes: I felt 'like we're going to die'

The ship is docked as passengers await further travel plans from Viking, according to Gooding, who said that two other ships in their bay in Ushuaia were also damaged, possibly by rogue waves.

The Viking Polaris ship's next departure for the Antarctic, scheduled for Dec. 5, has been canceled "after careful consideration," the cruise line said.

Rogue, or extreme storm, waves are "greater than twice the size of surrounding waves" and are "very unpredictable," according to the National Ocean Service .

Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of South America, is a common starting point for cruises to Antarctica.

ABC News' Matthew Seyler contributed to this report.

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Deadly 'rogue wave' smashes into cruise ship near Antarctica — but where did it come from?

A suspected rogue wave recently crashed into a cruise ship near Antarctica killing one and injuring four others. Where did it come from?

A suspected "rogue wave" recently smashed into a cruise ship sailing from Antarctica to Argentina. The freak event killed one person and injured four others. But where do these freakishly tall waves come from? And is climate change expected to make them more common or extreme? 

On the night of Nov. 29, an unusually massive wave hit the cruise ship Viking Polaris as it was sailing through the Drake Passage in Antarctica's Southern Ocean toward Ushuaia, a port in Argentina where many Antarctic cruises start and end, French news agency AFP reported. 

The force of the massive wall of water sent passengers flying and smashed several exterior windows, which flooded some rooms and caused further structural damage inside. A 62-year-old American woman, Sheri Zhu, was killed by injuries sustained from the broken glass and four other people received non-life-threatening injuries, according to Australian news site ABC News . 

"This wave hit and came over and literally broke through windows and just washed into these rooms," Tom Trusdale, a passenger aboard the Viking Polaris when the incident happened, told ABC News. "Not only did it wash into the rooms, but it [also] broke walls down."

Related: What's the tallest wave ever recorded on Earth?

Viking, the travel company that owns the Viking Polaris, announced on Dec. 1 that the tragic event was a suspected "rogue wave incident." Upcoming cruises have been canceled until the ship can be fully repaired and a proper investigation into what happened has been carried out. 

What are rogue waves?

Rogue waves are freak waves that are at least twice as high as the surrounding sea state — the average height of the waves for a given area at a given time, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The massive walls of water come from seemingly out of nowhere and without warning.

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The exact mechanisms behind the rogue waves are still unknown, but researchers think the freakish crests are formed when smaller waves merge into larger ones, either due to high surface winds or changes in ocean currents caused by storms, according to NOAA. 

It is currently unclear if the wave that hit the Viking Polaris qualifies as an official rogue wave because there is no accurate data on the wave height or the surrounding sea state. A storm was raging when the wave hit, CNN reported, which could have provided the necessary conditions for a rogue wave to form. But the Drake Passage is also a notoriously treacherous part of the Southern Ocean, with deep waters that are fed by the powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which makes it capable of producing very large non-rogue waves as well, according to Britannica . 

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On Dec. 2, a passenger onboard another cruise ship in the Drake Passage shared a video of another massive, but less destructive, wave on Twitter .

The largest rogue wave ever recorded was the Draupner wave, an 84-foot-tall (25.6 meters) wave that was observed near Norway in 1995. However, the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded was the Ucluelet wave, a 58-foot-tall (17.7 m) wave that was detected by an ocean buoy off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia in November 2020. The Ucluelet wave is regarded as the most extreme rogue wave because it was around three times higher than surrounding waves, while the Draupner wave was only around twice as tall compared with the surrounding sea state.

In 2019, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports predicted that rogue waves could become less frequent but more extreme in the future due to the effects of human-caused climate change. 

Harry is a U.K.-based senior staff writer at Live Science. He studied marine biology at the University of Exeter before training to become a journalist. He covers a wide range of topics including space exploration, planetary science, space weather, climate change, animal behavior, evolution and paleontology. His feature on the upcoming solar maximum was shortlisted in the "top scoop" category at the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Awards for Excellence in 2023. 

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A rogue wave caused a cruise ship tragedy. They occur more often than you think.

• The Viking Polaris was hit by a rogue wave in the Drake Passage, treacherous waters between Argentina and Antarctica.
• A rogue wave occurs when it's more than two times higher than waves around it. Hundreds of them have occurred over the years.
• But there's a lot to learn about these waves because they've only been confirmed by instruments within the last 30 years.

A possible rogue wave sent headlines around the world last week after it broke windows on a cruise ship off the coast of Argentina, killing a woman and injuring four others. 

Such freak accidents may seem rare, but hundreds have occurred without warning around the world — on cruise ships, cargo vessels, oil platforms and beaches.

Observers often describe them as a “wall of water,” but the size of that wall is relative depending on whether you’re in a fishing boat or a cargo ship. 

The six deck Viking Polaris was sailing back toward Argentina after a trip to Antarctica on Nov. 29 when a massive freak wave struck the ship. Viking Cruises called it a “rogue wave” but researchers said only further investigation will verify if it truly met the definition — more than twice as high as the average of the highest surrounding waves. 

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Monstrous and deadly waves that arrived without warning have been recounted in fishing and sailing lore for more than a century. More modern records show how often they truly occur: Some 432 similar incidents were documented internationally between 2005 and 2021 in a catalog kept on the Russian Academy of Science’ s Institute of Applied Physics website.

Here's what to know about rogue waves.

What is a rogue wave?

Rogue waves are driven by wind. They form when waves coming from multiple directions meet at one point by chance, said Francesco Fedele, an associate professor at Georgia Tech. “It’s the constructive interference of waves coming from multiple directions. They all pile up and form this extreme event.” 

They sometimes occur when waves move into strong opposing currents, such as in the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic and off the coast of South Africa, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It can be a single wave, or a series of three or four.

It's often impossible to know if monster waves are an actual rogue wave.

A rogue wave is defined as 2.2 times higher than the waves around it, said Johannes Gemmrich, a physical oceanographer at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. The waves are measured relative to "significant wave height," determined by averaging the highest one-third of waves.

If the significant wave height is 6 feet, a rogue wave would have to be 13.2 feet. Some freakishly high waves that cause maritime disasters may be enormous, but may only be 1.9 times as high as the surrounding seas, Gemmrich said. “Unless you have measurements for an individual wave, you can’t tell if it was some rogue wave.”

More on the rogue wave off Argentina:

• Kansas residents experience two freak accidents on one cruise
• Giant 'rogue wave' hits cruise ship, leaving one dead and four injured
• Pennsylvania woman describes deadly rogue wave hitting cruise ship

What happened on the Viking Polaris? 

The Polaris was in the Drake Passage , treacherous waters known for rough seas and big waves. Called the "Drake Shake" or the "Drake Lake" depending on the height of the seas, it's where the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans come together between the southern tip of Argentina and Antarctica. 

California sailing enthusiast Ken Spencer was a passenger on deck two, an estimated 25 feet above the water line. He told USA TODAY that waves of 20 to 25 feet were consistent in frequency and direction during the day and then turned less so into the evening, coming from mixed directions. 

As he was preparing for bed, Spencer said, "this wave came directly broadside at the port side,” not from an angle like the previous waves.

“The wave had tremendous volume, and it seems to have risen as high at deck four, which is about 45 feet above the waterline," he said. "The thickness of the wave is what was amazing. The water stayed against my window for what seemed like seconds, but was likely around a second."

At the same time, the Polaris was jolted with a very powerful bump, he said.

Photos of the vessel show windows were broken in several staterooms and several rooms were breached by water. His window was intact but a few gallons of water had seeped in around the perimeter, said Spencer, who praised Viking and the vessel's crew.

How often do rogue waves occur? 

Much more often than many realize.

Gemmrich estimates waves up to twice as high as the surrounding wave heights occur about every 3,000 waves and that a rogue wave may occur every 15,000 waves. 

“The higher the relative wave heights increase, the more unreal the rogue waves become," Gemmrich said. “A wave three times higher than the background, that’s extremely rare.”

It’s those monster waves that occur when the background waves are 30 to 40 feet high that concern the shipping industry. 

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What's the difference between a rogue wave and a tsunami? 

• A tsunami is a very long wave of seismic origin, generated by earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides. In the open ocean tsunamis have small wave heights, but in shallow water closer to the coast wave height can increase to 30-60 feet. 
• Rogue waves are generated by wind and are shorter waves. Although they often occur in the open ocean, and during stormy conditions, they also occur in coastal waters.
• Meteotsunamis are typically waves smaller than tsunamis caused by air pressure disturbances in fast moving storms. 

Is climate change to blame? 

Some research has suggested warming temperatures are contributing to higher waves and more extreme wave heights in some regions. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded with "high confidence" last year that significant wave heights are projected to increase across the Southern Ocean and tropical eastern Pacific and decrease over much of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea.

However, in the North Atlantic, the panel found low confidence in projected changes in extreme wave conditions "due to limited evidence" and medium confidence that wave heights already have increased above 45 degrees latitude. Wave heights are projected to increase in the Arctic Ocean because of a reduction in sea ice. 

Gemmrich said it's more likely that locations could change where rogue waves occur more often, because of shifts in storm tracks. 

A lot is still unknown about rogue waves

There's still a lot to learn about rogue waves, in part because they've only been confirmed by instruments within the last 30 years. The first technical confirmation of a rogue wave took place in 1995 during a New Year’s Day storm.

An extremely large wave hit the Draupner Oil rig platform off Norway in the North Sea. The crew didn’t realize they had been hit by a rogue wave until they discovered scaffolding erected under the deck for repairs had been washed away. A laser sensor recorded the 85-foot wave, about the height of a 10-story building. 

Today, satellites, radars and ocean floor sensors all help collect crucial data, but because the waves are unpredictable they're difficult to study. 

Gemmrich recently concluded that the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded took place off Vancouver Island, British Columbia in November 2020.   Gemmrich and a student at the University of Victoria, Leah Cicon, analyzed buoy data and found   the crest measured 57.7 feet high, compared to the surrounding waves averaging 19.6 feet, nearly three times as high. 

Researchers are particularly interested in solving the mysteries surrounding rogue waves, hoping to be able to provide early warnings so that shipping companies could avoid areas where dangerous conditions increase the risk. 

The European Space Agency concluded in 2004 that rogue waves had sunk more than 200 vessels over the previous 20 years.

Infamous incidents likely caused by freak or rogue waves 

Among the rogue wave stories recounted by mariners are two maritime disasters  memorialized in film and song: 

►The George Clooney thriller, “A Perfect Storm,” was based on the disappearance of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail during a nor'easter that absorbed a hurricane off Nova Scotia in 1991. Six men were lost. Canadian officials reported buoys in the area recorded peak waves in excess of 60 feet.

►The 1975 Gordon Lightfoot ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” was written after the freighter sank without a distress signal in Lake Superior during a gale on Nov. 10, 1975, killing 29 crew members. 

►In 1942, the Queen Mary was hit by a 75-foot wall of water as it was taking 15,000 U.S. troops to England during World War II. It was one of at least five similar incidents along the route between 1924 and 1966. 

►In August 1905, 20 of 22 crew members perished when the steamer Peconic went down off the Georgia coast.

►One hundred years later, the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship, with 3,700 passengers and crew, was headed for New York when it was hit by a series of three waves, with at least one estimated at 69 feet, during a storm off the Georgia/South Carolina coast. The force of the water sheared off aluminum rail supports and sent teak balcony railings and water through the windows of two cabins on decks nine and 10. The ship diverted course to South Carolina and the captain told people he’d never seen anything like it. 

►On July 3, 1992, a wave then estimated at a height of 18 feet, struck Daytona Beach around 10:30 p.m., injuring 20 and tossing cars around. One vacationer described it as a "huge wall of white water." 

Terrifying video shows a storm flooding decks and hallways of a Carnival Sunshine cruise ship leaving passengers seasick

• Terrifying videos show a coastal storm flooded the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship over the weekend. 
• Passengers told WCIV about "horrific" conditions and not hearing updates from crew for over 12 hours.
• Carnival Cruise Line said the storm delayed the ship's arrival to Charleston. 

It's a cruise ship passenger's worst nightmare: Rough coastal storms hit the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship over the weekend, flooding some decks of the vessel and delaying its return to port. 

According to Fox Weather , a powerful storm off the southeastern coast of the US hit the Sunshine as it returned from a Memorial Day weekend trip to the Bahamas. The large waves, heavy rain, and strong winds rocked the ship, leaving some passengers sick and terrified.

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One video shared online showed heavy damage along some of the decks of the ship. Hallways were flooded and debris was strewn about everywhere. 

—Crew Center (@CrewCenter) May 28, 2023

One passenger posted a video of the interior of a cabin as the storm pounded the ship, adding that guests had been evacuated from one of the bars after over 30 liquor bottles fell off the bar and broke. 

—FlyersCaptain™®© (@flyerscaptain) May 29, 2023

Some Carnival Sunshine guests reported feeling sick during the storm, according to WCIV-TV . Others, including passengers Christa Seifert-alicea and Daniel Taylor, told WCIV-TV that they didn't receive communication or updates on the storm from the Sunshine's crew for over 12 hours. 

"What we endured is indescribable, not only to feel it yourself but to hear and see it set in on every single person around you from adult, child, and the elderly is something I will never forget," Seifert-alicea told WCIV-TV.

One video posted on Twitter showed the aftermath of the storm on Sunday morning.

Carnival Cruise Line told Insider in a statement that the ship's "return to Charleston was impacted by the weather and rough seas on Saturday."

"The weather's prolonged impact on the Charleston area delayed the ship's arrival and as a result, the next voyage's embarkation was also delayed. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all our guests. Carnival Sunshine is now sailing on its next cruise," the statement read. 

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Has a Rogue Wave Ever Hit a Cruise Ship? (Can it Survive?)

Rogue waves can be huge and appear out of nowhere.   If you are new to cruising or have any concerns after hearing about these freak waves, you may wonder if a rogue wave has ever hit a cruise ship.  And if so, what happened?  Did it survive or capsize?

We look at some of the most famous interactions between rogue waves and cruise ships, discover just how big they can be, and find out what happens if and when they ever hit a cruise ship.

What is a Rogue Wave?

A rogue wave is a rare extra-large wave appearing on the ocean surface without warning.  They are not restricted to the seas and can occur on large open-water bodies such as lakes.

Rogue waves are defined as waves that are at least two times the significant wave height of the area.

The significant wave height is the average of the largest third of waves over a given period.

This makes rogue waves significantly larger than other waves in the area.

Rogue waves can be extremely dangerous for small and large vessels such as cruise ships and even oil rigs.

Rogue waves are also known by many other names that signify huge waves, including:

• Abnormal waves
• Episodic waves
• Extreme waves
• Freak waves
• Killer waves
• Monster waves

If a rogue wave is seen on the coastline, they are sometimes called a “sneaker wave” or a “king wave” in Australia.

How Large Can Rogue Waves Be?

The rogue way that hit Queen Elizabeth 2 was estimated to be up to 96ft in height, possibly the largest rogue wave ever witnessed.

Beating that was when a fishing boat was hit in 1991, and a series of buoys in the area recorded a rogue wave at 100.7 feet .

Other accounts of rogue waves report them to be over 50ft to 70ft.

It’s quite possible more rogue ways have reached more than 100 ft in size but the odds of them ever being in the vicinity of a cruise ship are very low.

What Causes a Rogue Wave?

The causes of rogue waves are still largely unknown, but scientists believe they are caused by a combination of factors.

One theory is that rogue waves are created when two different ocean swells combine to create a larger wave. This can happen when two weather systems with different wind speeds and directions interact.

Another theory is that rogue waves can be created due to strong winds blowing over a long fetch of water. For example, if a low-pressure system moved across the ocean with high winds.  The long fetch of water will create large swells which can combine to form a rogue wave.

Rogue waves aren’t just found in rough seas, they have also been known to occur in relatively calm sea conditions.

Can a Rogue Wave Sink a Cruise Ship (Or Capsize)?

Given that we have highlighted rogue waves can reach 100ft, it is entirely plausible that a rogue wave could capsize or sink a cruise ship, although the likelihood of this happening is extremely small.

The force of the water hitting the ship’s side at high speed would be enough to cause the cruise ship to tip over .

The weight of the water would also cause the ship’s hull to buckle and possibly break apart.

The pressure from the rogue wave could also cause severe damage to any windows and external features of the ship.

Inside the ship, passengers could be injured or even killed if thrown around by the force of the wave and hit by any internal objects.

Has a Rogue Wave hit a Cruise Ship?

There have been five recorded instances of a rogue wave hitting cruise ships or passengers carrying ocean liners (QE2).  There were no reported casualties, and all five ships survived to sail for many more years after.

Viking Polaris 

In December 2022, an expedition cruise ship sailing on the Antarctic was hit by a rogue wave. Windows were smashed on deck 2 on the port side of the ship.

A 62-year-old passenger has died after sustaining injuries from the broken glass. 4 other passengers were treated for injuries sustained from the accident.

One of the passengers reported how the rogue wave hits the cruise ship and that it took the brunt of the wave without it rocking the ship back and forth. She was surprised at how stable it remained.

You can watch the NBC news report here:

Holland America’s MS Prinsendam 

In 2007 the Holland America cruise ship MS Prinsendam (now MS Amera ) was hit by a rogue wave estimated to be 39ft high .

The ship, which at the time had a capacity of 835, was struck by a freak wave in Cape Horn, Chile.  Approximately 40 people were injured, with some requiring hospitalization.

MS Bremen and MS Caledonian Star 

In 2001 Bahamian-registered cruise ships  MS Bremen and MS Caledonian Star were both caught in a rogue wave in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Both were hit by a rogue wave around 98 feet high .  Both ships suffered damage, including smashed bridge windows and destroyed navigation and communications equipment.

The Bremen was adrift for 2 hours with no propulsion, while the Caledonian Star had to be tugged by the Argentinian Navy at the Argentine port of Ushuaia.

Both ships served many more years as sea vessels, and the Bremen is still sailing.

Queen Elizabeth 2

In September of 1995, the Cunard line Queen Elizabeth 2 ocean liner was hit by an estimated 92 to 96-foot high rogue wave caused by Hurricane Luis while crossing North Atlantic Ocean.

Although not technically cruise ships, ocean liners like the Titanic was , are built even more robustly to cope with the roughest seas on transatlantic crossings.

The freak wave hit the ship in the early hours, 200 miles off Newfoundland, as it was carrying almost 3000 passengers.   The cruise captain had previously requested all passengers stay in their quarters due to the hurricane conditions, and many would have been in their beds.

The ship took an almighty hit over the bow and subsequent hits by two more large waves.  Amazingly no one was injured.

Some photos of the damage, as well as first-hand experiences, can be read here .

On the page, someone who claimed to be “Chief Cashier on that Voyage” stated:

” If you saw the film The Perfect Storm and the scene with the fishing boat climbing up this enormous wave then that was us. “

Here’s a clip of the Giant wave to give you an idea of the experience that he was referring to:

MV Explorer

On the 26th of January 2005, the cruise ship MV Explorer, part of the Semester at Sea program, was hit by a 50ft rogue wave that smashed windows on the bridge, shorted navigational systems, and resulted in two engines failing.

The mid-sized cruise ship had approximately 700 students onboard at the time.

You can see a video of the aftermath and an example in our post of how a cruise ship does not tip over. Let’s just say even the aftermath was a scary experience, let alone being hit by the freak wave.

Further below, we have a video with footage the students filmed while in the ship after being hit by the freak wave.

Has a Rogue Wave Sunk a Cruise Ship?

While rogue waves are undoubtedly responsible for the sinking of smaller ships over the years, it’s very hard to know for certain if a rogue wave was the cause in many cases.

There are many accounts of ships going missing in the past without a trace, and it’s possible that some of these were due to rogue waves.

However, there have been no recorded cases of a rogue wave sinking a cruise ship.

The most likely reason for this is that technology has improved greatly over the years, and we are now better able to forecast weather and wave conditions in a way that would enable the crew and captain to take appropriate action to position the ship.

This means that cruise ships can avoid ocean areas where rogue waves are more likely to occur.

Albeit the real danger of rogue waves is that they are such sudden and unpredictable events that can appear without warning, there is only so much action a crew can take to avoid them.

Remember, in the event of a ship being damaged by a hit, cruise ships are equipped with enough liferafts and lifeboats for everyone .

Rest assured, cruise ship captains are some of the best ship captains in the world and your safety is paramount.

What Would Happen if a Rogue Wave Hit a Large Cruise Ship?

Many people wonder what would happen if a cruise ship was hit by one of the largest ever rogue waves.

There are many videos online of large waves hitting cruise ships, but they are just that large waves, nothing like being hit by a true rogue wave.

While there is no video evidence of a rogue wave hitting a cruise ship, the scenario has been played out on the big screen with huge modern-day cruise ships like those built by Royal Caribbean, such as Wonder of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas.

Rogue Waves Hitting Cruises Ships

For those curious this clip from the movie Poseidon shows a rogue wave hitting a cruise ship and causing it to capsize.

Although it’s worth noting, this is pure fiction, and the size of the rogue wave is highly exaggerated in relation to the size of the ship.  In reality, a rogue wave has never capsized a modern cruise ship.

A  huge rogue wave has hit a passenger ocean liner (Queen Elizabeth 2), which came away relatively unscathed.

What Happens After Being Hit By a Rogue Wave?

Although the video below doesn’t show the cruise ship being hit by the rogue wave, it does re-enact the moment and includes real video footage of passengers dealing with the aftermath.

How Big of a Wave can a Cruise Ship Handle?

Modern cruise ships typically handle waves of up to 50 feet.

Cruise ships typically encounter waves of 10 to 15ft without most passengers barely realizing it. 

What Are the Chances of a Rogue Wave Hitting a Ship 

There are typically over 310 cruise ships sailing at any given time, with an estimated 25 million people taking a cruise each year.

The odds of a rogue wave hitting a cruise ship are extremely low, which is why we never hear of the event occurring.

Rogue wave events are relatively rare given the size of the oceans combined, and when they do happen often, there are no ships within the vicinity, let alone a cruise ship.

Can a Cruise Ship Survive a Rogue Wave?

While it’s very unlikely a rogue wave will hit a cruise ship, if one did, the chances are that the ship would survive as has been the case in the real-life examples we covered above.

The design of the cruise ships keeps them afloat in the roughest of seas would see them through, although a rogue wave far exceeds the usual expectations a cruise ship is expected to encounter.

How to Survive a Rogue Wave on a Cruise Ship?

As a passenger on a cruise ship potentially being hit by a rogue wave, the safest place to be would be your stateroom, this will help protect you from being thrown around or hit by flying debris, falling decor, or sliding furniture.

Stairwells and hallways are also safer locations to gather as there is less chance of being thrown larger distances and being hit by falling or moving objects. This is where students were told to gather on the MV Explorer after it was hit by a rogue wave and the ship lost propulsion amidst very stormy seas.

If you are on deck, hold on to something sturdy and stay low to the ground.

Pay close attention to listening out for any instructions from the captain over the loudspeakers. Passengers may be asked to put on lifevests and possibly make their way to the deck with the lifeboats if abandoning the ship is a possibility.

What Size Rogue Wave can Sink a Cruise Ship?

Cruise ships come in all sizes, from carrying just a few hundred passengers to those that can accommodate over 6,000 guests.

The chance of a rogue wave sinking any size cruise ship is highly remote.  The size of the rogue wave would have to be more than 70-100ft and hit the cruise at precisely the right angle.  Even then, it’s possible the ship would remain afloat as they are designed to do so.

The larger the cruise ship, the more stable it is in the water and the less chance of it being sunk by a rogue wave.

The main cruise lines, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Norwegian, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, and even Disney, have never had a ship even hit by a rogue wave and are of such sizes they should cope well if ever they were to encounter one.

However, as we covered above, one of Holland America’s cruise ships, the MS Prinsendam, was hit in 2007.

How is a Rogue Wave Different from a Tsunami?

A rogue wave is a one-off, large ocean wave that is not caused by an earthquake like a tsunami.   They can appear out of nowhere and without warning but only last briefly.

Tsunamis are often caused by the movement of land, usually an ocean floor, that leads to a massive displacement of water and causes the seas to move at high speeds over a large area.

Unlike rogue waves, tsunamis can be barely noticeable on the surfaces of the seas.  This makes them no threat to ships out at sea but can cause devastation to coastal areas as the waves increase in size as they come ashore.

Any cruise ships in ports or harbors would be at risk of being damaged in the path of a tsunami reaching land.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do rogue waves occur most often.

Rogue waves are known to occur in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, and the southeast coast of South Africa.

How Many Ships Have Sunk Because of Rogue Waves?

While no cruise ships have been sunk by rogue waves, other types of ships have.

One of them was the Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald which is thought to have been hit by a rogues wave on Lake Superior, one of the more expensive Lakes cruises . Although thankfully, not caused any cruise ships to sink on the Great lakes.

This also highlights that rogue waves don’t just pose a risk at sea but on any open body of water.

The only other instance of a rogue wave sinking a ship was when the Andrea Gail, a fishing boat, sank on the coast of  Nova Scotia in 1991 where a series of buoys reported a wave 100.7 feet high !

You can find a full list of ship and rogue events here , the vast majority of which did not sink.

How Many Ships Have Capsized Due to Rogue Waves?

Since the year 2000, they have only been a couple of reports of boats and ships capsizing by rogue waves, and neither were cruise ships.

The only ship was in November 2000 when a 56ft research vessel, the R/V Ballena, was struck by a rogue wave near Point Conception off Santa Barbara, California.   The ship was destroyed, but all the crew managed to survive.

Related Posts

• How do Cruise Ships Get Into the Water – Find out how cruise ships are launched.
• Can You Fish off a Cruise Ship?

While rogue waves are an interesting topic, the chance of one hitting a cruise ship is so remote it’s not something to be of concern.

Cruise ships are designed to withstand huge waves and the roughest seas in storms, so even if a rogue wave did hit, the ship would remain afloat, and damage would be minimal.

What is the Draft of a Cruise Ship? (and Why Does it Matter?)

How Many Doors on a Cruise Ship? (Yes, I Counted)

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Rogue Waves: New Tech Captured This Elusive, Freakish Phenomenon In Ocean Waves

Stories of unimaginable mountains of water as tall as ten-storey buildings have populated maritime folklore and literature for centuries.

We used three-dimensional imaging of ocean waves to capture freakish seas that produce a notorious phenomenon known as rogue waves. Our results are now published in Physical Review Letters*.

Rogue waves are giant colossi of the sea — twice as high as neighboring waves — that appear seemingly out of nowhere. Stories of unimaginable mountains of water as tall as ten-storey buildings have populated maritime folklore and literature for centuries.

Recent technology has allowed scientists to spot rogue waves out at sea , making legend become a reality. The first and most famous measurement was of the Draupner wave , a 25.6-metre monster recorded in the North Sea on January 1, 1995.

Despite observations, we still don’t know how often rogue waves occur or if we can predict them. A record of a rogue wave doesn’t include specific features that distinguish the sea around it, so we can’t make comparisons or predict the conditions needed.

Our team set sail on the South African icebreaker S.A. Agulhas-II to chase rogue waves across the Southern Ocean, where mighty winds shape Earth’s fiercest waves .

What creates rogue waves?

In the random environment of ocean waves, several mechanisms give rise to rogue ones. One primary source involves the overlap of multiple waves at the same location and time. This results in concentrated energy, leading to tall waves.

Under consistent ocean conditions, rogue waves generated this way may occur once every two days at a set location. But the ocean is dynamic, so conditions are rarely consistent for long – making it less likely for rogue waves to occur. The overlap of waves may be minimal or non-existent, even during prolonged and intense storms.

Numerical and laboratory studies suggest strong winds also contribute to the development of rogue waves because they push harder on some already tall waveforms. But wind has seldom been considered in rogue wave analysis.

A simplified anatomy of ocean waves.

Wind prompts ocean waves to grow progressively higher, longer, and faster. During this stage, waves are “young” and hungry for wind input. When waves go faster than wind, they stop being accelerated by it and reach a “mature” stage of full development.

Through this process, the wind creates a chaotic situation where waves of different dimensions and directions coexist.

Our recent observations show that unique sea conditions with rogue waves can arise during the “early” stage – when waves are particularly responsive to the wind. This suggests wind parameters could be the missing link. However, there’s even more to consider.

Powerful waves amplify each other

Ocean waves are one of the most powerful natural forces on Earth and could become even more powerful in the future due to climate change. If the wave field possesses an extreme amount of energy – when waves are steep and most of them have a similar amplitude, length, and direction – another mechanism can trigger the formation of rogue waves.

This mechanism involves an exchange of energy between waves that produces a “self-amplification”, where one wave grows disproportionately at the expense of its neighbors. Theoretically, studies show this could increase the likelihood of rogue waves tenfold.

Self-amplification manifests as whitecaps – frothy, aerated crests of choppy waves – but until now, there has been no evidence that it can make rogue waves more likely in the ocean.

Recent experiments suggest wind can make extreme events like rogue waves more common. However this aspect has not been thoroughly explored.

What did we find in the Southern Ocean?

We used a new three-dimensional imaging method for scanning the ocean surface throughout the expedition. It mimics human vision: closely located sensors record sequences of simultaneous images. Computer algorithms then match pairs of them to reconstruct the three-dimensional depths – the wavy surface.

As our ship passed through several storms, the sensors captured data during various phases of wave growth – from the early stages of young waves fuelled by the wind to mature waves that aren’t influenced by it.

Our results show young waves display signs of self-amplification and an increased likelihood of rogue waves. We recorded waves twice as high as their neighbors once every six hours.

This mirrors what lab models have reported: sea conditions theoretically more prone to self-amplification would produce more rogue waves.

In contrast, mature seas don’t show an increased probability of rogue waves. We detected none under those conditions.

Our findings challenge previous thinking: that self-amplification doesn’t change the likelihood of rogue waves in the ocean. We have also shown that when developing tools for predicting rogue waves, we need to take wind into thorough consideration. After all, it’s a natural feature of the open sea.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Alessandro Toffoli at The University of Melbourne. Read the original article here .

• Environment

Rogue waves in the ocean are much more common than anyone suspected, says new study

Professor in Ocean Engineering, The University of Melbourne

Disclosure statement

Alessandro Toffoli receives funding from the Australia Research Council.

University of Melbourne provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

View all partners

We used three-dimensional imaging of ocean waves to capture freakish seas that produce a notorious phenomenon known as rogue waves. Our results are now published in Physical Review Letters*.

Rogue waves are giant colossi of the sea – twice as high as neighbouring waves – that appear seemingly out of nowhere. Stories of unimaginable mountains of water as tall as ten-storey buildings have populated maritime folklore and literature for centuries.

Recent technology has allowed scientists to spot rogue waves out at sea , making legend become reality. The first and most famous measurement was of the Draupner wave , a 25.6-metre monster recorded in the North Sea on January 1 1995.

Despite observations, we still don’t know how often rogue waves occur, or if we can predict them. A record of a rogue wave doesn’t include specific features that distinguish the sea around it, so we can’t make comparisons or predict the conditions needed.

Our team set sail on the South African icebreaker S.A. Agulhas-II to chase rogue waves across the Southern Ocean, where mighty winds shape Earth’s fiercest waves .

Read more: The South African ship that found Antarctica's Endurance wreck is vital for climate science

What creates rogue waves?

In the random environment of ocean waves, several mechanisms give rise to rogue ones. One primary source involves the overlap of multiple waves at the same location and time. This results in concentrated energy, leading to tall waves.

Under consistent ocean conditions, rogue waves generated this way may occur once every two days at a set location. But the ocean is dynamic, so conditions are rarely consistent for long – making it less likely for rogue waves to occur. The overlap of waves may be minimal or non-existent even during prolonged and intense storms.

Numerical and laboratory studies suggest strong winds also contribute to the development of rogue waves, because they push harder on some already tall wave forms. But wind has seldom been considered in rogue wave analysis.

Wind prompts ocean waves to grow progressively higher, longer and faster. During this stage, waves are “young” and hungry for wind input. When waves go faster than wind, they stop being accelerated by it and reach a “mature” stage of full development.

Through this process, the wind creates a chaotic situation where waves of different dimensions and directions coexist.

Our recent observations show that unique sea conditions with rogue waves can arise during the “young” stage – when waves are particularly responsive to the wind. This suggests wind parameters could be the missing link. However, there’s even more to consider.

Powerful waves amplify each other

Ocean waves are one of the most powerful natural forces on Earth and could become even more powerful in the future due to climate change. If the wave field possesses an extreme amount of energy – when waves are steep and most of them have a similar amplitude, length and direction – another mechanism can trigger the formation of rogue waves.

This mechanism involves an exchange of energy between waves that produces a “self-amplification”, where one wave grows disproportionately at the expense of its neighbours. Theoretically, studies show this could increase the likelihood of rogue waves ten-fold.

While self-amplification manifests as whitecaps – frothy, aerated crests of choppy waves – until now there has been no evidence it can make rogue waves more likely in the ocean.

Recent experiments suggest wind can make extreme events like rogue waves more common. But this aspect has not been thoroughly explored.

What did we find in the Southern Ocean?

We used a new three-dimensional imaging method for scanning the ocean surface throughout the expedition. It mimics human vision: closely located sensors record sequences of simultaneous images. Computer algorithms then match pairs of them to reconstruct the three-dimensional depths – the wavy surface.

As our ship passed through several storms, the sensors captured data during various phases of wave growth – from the early stages of young waves fuelled by the wind, to mature waves that aren’t influenced by it.

Our results show young waves display signs of self-amplification and an increased likelihood of rogue waves. We recorded waves twice as high as their neighbours once every six hours.

This mirrors what lab models have reported: sea conditions theoretically more prone to self-amplification would produce more rogue waves.

In contrast, mature seas don’t show an increased probability of rogue waves. We detected none under those conditions.

Our findings challenge previous thinking: that self-amplification doesn’t change the likelihood of rogue waves in the ocean. We have also shown that when developing tools for predicting rogue waves, we need to take wind into thorough consideration. After all, it’s a natural feature of the open sea.

• Southern ocean
• Oceanography
• Ocean science
• ANZ new research

Senior Lecturer - Earth System Science

Operations Coordinator

Sydney Horizon Educators (Identified)

Deputy Social Media Producer

Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy

How to Survive

How to Survive a Sinking Ship

Posted: April 21, 2024 | Last updated: April 21, 2024

You’re enjoying a nice day on an ocean cruise. You're relaxed and secure. Too bad that a rogue wave, human error, high winds or mechanical failure just ruined your trip. Suddenly, a huge spray of water douses your clothes. People are rushing around, shrieking and falling over deck chairs. The floor underneath your feet is lurching. Your ship is sinking. So, how do you survive?Transcript and sources: <a href="https://whatifshow.com/how-to-survive-a-sinking-ship/Produced">https://whatifshow.com/how-to-survive-a-sinking-ship/Produced</a> with love by the makers of What If. Check out What If: <a href="https://bit.ly/youtube-What-IfHow">https://bit.ly/youtube-What-IfHow</a> to Survive is a web series that takes you on a journey to the most dangerous places in the Universe and human mind. Enjoy the show and learn how to survive whatever awaits you. A show by Underknown: <a href="https://underknown.com#howtosurvive">https://underknown.com#howtosurvive</a>

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Rogue waves are more common than we thought – and could get worse

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Far out to sea, beyond the horizon, lie real sea monsters . Long thought to be a myth imagined by sailors, these killers have now been seen and studied in real life.

They are rogue waves .

Rearing out of the sea up to 30 metres high – taller than three London buses end-to-end – rogue waves have swallowed up dozens of ships, and damaged many more, some being lucky enough to limp back to port after an encounter.

Now it seems they may be even more common than previously thought, and scientists may know where they come from.

Dr Alessandro Toffoli, a professor in ocean engineering, says: ‘Rogue waves are giant colossi of the sea – twice as high as neighbouring waves – that appear seemingly out of nowhere. Stories of unimaginable mountains of water as tall as ten-storey buildings have populated maritime folklore and literature for centuries.’

Professor Toffoli and his team at the University of Melbourne have been studying these monsters, which are still something of a mystery.

‘Recent technology has allowed scientists to spot rogue waves out at sea, making legend become reality,’ he says, writing for The Conversation . ‘The first and most famous measurement was of the Draupner wave, a 25.6-metre monster recorded in the North Sea on January 1, 1995.

‘Despite observations, we still don’t know how often rogue waves occur, or if we can predict them. A record of a rogue wave doesn’t include specific features that distinguish the sea around it, so we can’t make comparisons or predict the conditions needed.’

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

To try to better understand how and why massive waves form, the team set sail on the South African icebreaker S.A. Agulhas-II to chase rogue waves across the Southern Ocean, ‘where mighty winds shape Earth’s fiercest waves’.

Previous thinking suggested that rogue waves were purely a result of statistics – most waves are of average height, but some will be much smaller and some, particularly when they cluster together, will be much bigger.

A rogue wave mystery

On April 10, a giant cluster of waves more than 25 metres high spanning 2,000 miles appeared off the coast of Africa. For 24 hours the waves raced through the ocean, before vanishing.

The freak Texas-sized phenomenon was picked up by meteorological app Ventusky, which allows users to observe weather patterns, winds and waves as they happen.

Online, the reason behind these monstrous waves was obvious – aliens.

Many argued the waves were caused by an alien craft, or ‘unidentified submersible object’ – USO. 

Others joked it was the Kraken, a mythical giant squid that terrorises sailors, or a portal opened up following the April 8 solar eclipse.

Unfortunately, the mystery turned out to be much less out there. Not only were the waves not caused by aliens, they weren’t actually waves at all.

An error in the program that creates visualisations invented the 24-hour storm. 

So really it was rogue software, not rogue waves.

However, lab experiments and theoretical models suggest there is more to rogue waves than simple stats, and that they could be more common than the maths would suggest.

By studying the Southern Ocean, a famously rough and violent sea, Professor Toffoli and his team found that ‘young’ waves were taller than old waves, reaching almost five metres, and that these were gaining energy from the wind. Younger waves were also steeper – not good for boats in their path – and were more likely to break, forming ‘white caps’.

‘When waves go faster than wind, they stop being accelerated by it and reach a “mature” stage of full development,’ says Professor Toffoli.

‘Through this process, the wind creates a chaotic situation where waves of different dimensions and directions coexist.

‘Our recent observations show that unique sea conditions with rogue waves can arise during the “young” stage – when waves are particularly responsive to the wind.’

However, they also discovered that wind is not the only factor.

Every so often, one wave will ‘self-amplify’, by stealing energy from those around it. Studies suggest this could make rogue waves ten times more likely, but again, it was all theoretical.

But by measuring waves in real life, Professor Toffoli and his team found hungry young waves showed signs of self-amplification and an increased likelihood of turning rogue.

‘This mirrors what lab models have reported,’ he says. ‘Sea conditions theoretically more prone to self-amplification would produce more rogue waves.’

All of this not only means that rogue waves are much more common than previously thought, but could become even more powerful in the future as climate change leads to stronger winds – meaning younger, rogue-prone waves can absorb more energy.

No longer a myth, these sea monsters could pose a growing threat to sea travel, making it all the more important to be able to predict when they may appear.

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