Perhaps the first thing that needs to be clarified in order to begin to understand the mysterious sinking of the Bayesian, with 6 confirmed dead and one missing, at the port of Porticello is what the natural phenomenon of the waterspout is, which, according to testimonies, seems to have caused it.
A phenomenon known since ancient times and not rare in the Mediterranean, including the Greek seas, made the ancients consider it a demon, and Aristophanes used it in his work (“Frogs”). Aristotle had observed and explained it, while scientists today warn that climate change will intensify its occurrence.
Is one waterspout enough to sink a superyacht?
After explaining what a waterspout is, the question arises whether the unexpected strike of a strong waterspout (simply put, a sea tornado) is enough to cause a sturdy 56-meter vessel to disappear from the surface of the sea?
How then did the luxurious superyacht of British tycoon Mike Lentz, newly refurbished in 2020, equipped with the world’s tallest mast (72m of aluminum and the ability for rapid reduction) and fitted with the best navigation and weather warning systems, sink within seconds? Additionally, a seasoned captain and excellent connoisseur of the Mediterranean waters had been hired to manage it?
And how can the first reaction of the New Zealand captain, who was hospitalized on Monday with very light injuries and said, “we didn’t see it coming,” be credible? It is certain that in his initial statement, lasting over two hours, during the investigations conducted by the Italian authorities, 51-year-old Jamies Catfield has said much more.
But for now, the question focuses on the rather common weather phenomenon that erupted early Monday morning near Palermo.
The Economist, in a detailed article, explains that “these high-intensity columns of water can be extremely dangerous, especially for vessels caught in their path.”
Waterspouts grow out of powerful thunderstorms, many of which have battered Italy this summer. Just how dangerous are they? 👇
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) August 21, 2024
The same article cites a very interesting statistic: According to the Safety & Shipping Review of the insurance company Allianz for 2023, “extreme weather events are responsible for about 20% of total losses of large vessels worldwide each year.”
What is a waterspout and how is it caused?
Waterspouts are vertical vortices of condensed water vapor that protrude from the base of storm clouds and interact with a water surface.
We say waterspout and not tornado because, although they have several similarities with tornadoes, i.e., the funnels above land, most of the time, waterspouts have different formation mechanisms.
Tornadoes are produced by violent storms, from cumulonimbus clouds (the largest and most dangerous types of clouds) when particular weather conditions prevail, such as high instability, namely a sharp drop in temperature and strong or stormy winds at lower altitudes in the troposphere.
The ideal conditions for their formation are initially weak winds at low levels, near the water’s surface, especially after the cessation of rainfall. There are also waterspouts that form just like tornadoes, and these are the most powerful, called “mesocyclonic waterspouts,” but they are the rarest in Greece and the Mediterranean region.
Can they be easily detected?
This is a question that is more difficult to answer. The Italian meteorological service recorded strong winds and intense lightning activity at the time the superyacht capsized.
Scientific opinions converge on the fact that the phenomenon provides little warning time.
Why are they related to climate change?
To explain why the phenomenon matters for the planet, The Economist notes that while waterspouts are natural phenomena, their increasing frequency due to climate change, which is responsible for abrupt and intense weather changes, could create greater risks for maritime activities and coastal communities.
And it is summarized as follows:
* Waterspouts pose significant risks for maritime activities due to their intense winds, which can exceed 100 mph, form quickly, and provide little warning
* Additionally, their unpredictable nature makes them particularly dangerous phenomena for maritime operations, especially in coastal and open areas
Etymology and what Aristotle said in “Meteorology”
A tornado, or siphon, is a violent swirling column of air in contact with the ground, either hanging from a cumulonimbus cloud or located beneath a cumulonimbus cloud and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud. Tornadoes occur both over land, in which case they are called land tornadoes, and over the sea, in which case they are called sea tornadoes or waterspouts and are identical phenomena.
Etymologically, the word siphon derives from the ancient Greek word σίφων, which means pipe. However, this name was soon given to the meteorological phenomenon that people saw as resembling a pipe connecting the clouds with the ground or the sea. Tornadoes and waterspouts were known in antiquity.
Essentially, the entirety of classical philosophers have tried to explain these phenomena. Indeed, Aristotle around 350 BC, in his “Meteorology,” provided a complete description of the siphon, particularly its successive stages from creation to its final phase of exhaustion, giving the following description:
“The tornado arises from the failure of a newly formed cyclone to escape from its cloud. Due to the resistance created by the vortex, it emerges when the spiral descends toward the ground carrying along cloud that cannot be detached. When it blows in a straight line, it carries along whatever originates from its circular motion, overturning and trapping whatever it encounters.”
Source: thetoc.gr