Why doesn’t a steel ship sink?

 

               A ship, or any other floating object, displaces (pushes away) water. You can see this for yourself if you fill a bowl with water right up to the brim, and then float a smaller dish inside it. Water will spill over, and the amount spilled will be the same as the volume of the smaller dish. A vessel will float if it is lighter than the amount of water it displaces.

               A very small boat built of steel would probably sink like a stone. However, a very large ship built of steel would be so buoyant that it could also carry huge amounts of oil or other cargo. The capacity of a cargo ship is measured by the weight of water that it displaces.

Picture credit: google