PONDICHERRY MARITIME ACADEMY

A recent grounding incident of a ship turned out to be fatal as the master declared “Abandon-Ship”. Though the decision to abandon the ship was, some say, dubious; it was nevertheless a-moment-of-panic and given the conditions the only chance to survive. Subsequently, as the crew managed to get away from the wretched ship, the fate had its own plans; the lifeboat which was carrying the survivors capsized under steep breakers and heavy surfs, while they tried ‘beaching’ it. Except a few crew members who went missing in the bad weather conditions, others found themselves extremely lucky to be alive. Beaching a life boat in good weather seems doable, although a bit tricky, but when it is to be done in a bad and inclement weather, it is a nightmare. A boat can easily be toppled over its broad side when approaching dangerous breakers and surfs near the shore, if not handled skillfully and of course, with a lot of patience. That’s what exactly happened to the folks in the life boat who w

How do cyclones form? The above figure shows how cyclones form. The green arrows show where warm air is rising. The red arrows indicate where cool air is sinking. •             Tropical cyclones form only over warm ocean waters near the equator. •             To form a cyclone, warm, moist air over the ocean rises upward from near the surface. As this air moves up and away from the ocean surface, it leaves is less air near the surface. So basically as the warm air rises, it causes an area of lower air pressure below. •             Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure pushes in to the low pressure area. Then this new “cool” air becomes warm and moist and rises, too. And the cycle continues… •             As the warmed, moist air rises and cools the water in the air forms clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows, fed by the ocean’s heat and water evaporating from the ocean surface. •             As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an e