Running aground

If a ship sails into a location in which the water depth is less than the draught of the ship, it will run aground. The ship then rests on the sea floor instead of floating on the water.

Picture 29 The passenger ferry ‘Marco Polo' grounded on the Northern tip of the Island Sit, Croatia while en route to Split, carrying around 100 passenger and crew onboard (October 2009) Copyright photo SMIT

Apart from the ship being ‘stuck’, grounding may also cause serious damage to the ship’s structure or hull shell.

Damage resulting from groundings is usually located low on the ship’s hull. This combined with the fact that the ship is resting on ground means that in most cases stability is not at stake.