M/S Explorer

I've been following the story of the ill-fated M/S Explorer since it struck submerged ice in the waters of Antartica. While it's fortunate that no one was injured in this incident, it's still a sad thing. For some reason, I find photos and video footage of sinking ships, especially large ships, to be disturbing at a deep emotional level. There is something forlorn and lonely about a ship in the process of going under. Maybe it's the idea of something once so powerful brought to it's knees that triggers this feeling of isolation. I'm at a loss to explain it.

The odd thing is that I find footage of ships at the bottom of the ocean i.e.: the well known videos of the Titanic and the wreckage of WWII planes and ships in Iron Bottom Sound off Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, to be both fascinating and peaceful.

Maybe that's it. A ship in the process of sinking is still in the losing struggle between life and death. It has not yet been enveloped by the dark stillness of the ocean bottom.