Roll-on roll-off (RoRo) ferries regularly transport thousands of vehicles and passengers safely. However, in an accident, RoRo vehicle decks contribute to rapid sinking. The RoRo vehicle deck is located near the water-line and is designed without subdivision. Although this vehicle deck design enables rapid vehicle loading and unloading, when hull flooding reaches the car deck, the lack of deck subdivision causes a sudden capsizing. The floodwater creates a free surface on the car deck that significantly reduces the RoRo ship's metacentric height. When this occurs, the ship's restoring arm is shortened and the ship heels over and capsizes.
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