People have been left with the same question on their minds after seeing footage of mega cruise ship Icon of the Seas arriving at a US harbour.
The Icon of the Seas – also known as the world’s biggest cruise ship – has been making headlines since it set sail earlier this year as people simply cannot get over its size.
The Royal Caribbean International ship first set sail on 27 January and constantly amazes people by the fact it’s so bl**dy massive.
Measuring 364.75 m (1,196.7 ft) long and 66 m (217 ft) at its biggest points, the Icon is often referred to as a sailing city, thanks to the fact that it has a water park, a mini shopping mall and even an ice arena.
The mega ship even comes with its own waterpark. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The ship was recently filmed arriving at the Port of Miami, showing off its phenomenal size for all to see. The clip has since circulated across social media, with the majority of viewers absolutely baffled as to how a ship of this size is able to remain afloat in the ocean.
“How tf does this float,” one person wrote on X, while a second person added: “World’s largest Cruise Ship. Icon of the Seas, somebody tell me how does this thing manage to float.”
“You could explain it to me in a billion different ways… I still don’t understand how this thing can float,” a third person commented.
Of course cruise ships are specifically designed not to tip over, but it’s still difficult to see a picture of Icon of the Seas and not worry that a large wave or strong gust of wind would flip the boat sideways.
Thankfully the beauty of the internet means there is always an engineering expert readily available to spell things out in layman’s terms.
The insane height of ship leaves many people wondering how it doesn’t tip over. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Replying to a tweet asking someone to explain to them ‘like a five-year-old’ how the ship manages to stay upright and afloat, an engineering student replied: “The water is pushing up on the ship with a force equal to the weight of water it pushes aside. Because the ship is so big, it pushes aside a lot of water, creating a strong upward force.”
Explaining why the bottom of the ship doesn’t need to be majorly submerged in water, they continued: “The ship only needs to sink a little bit into the water to float. You can see the waterline – everything below that is pushing water out of the way, creating the upward force that keeps it afloat.
“While parts of the ship (like the hull) are very dense, the overall density of the entire vessel is less than water due to its largely hollow design. This lower average density is what allows such a giant structure to float effortlessly on water.”
So there you have it, the Icon of the Seas is perfectly safe to travel the world’s oceans – no matter how ginormous it looks.
