Do ships get struck by lightning?

Answer 1

Sailboats with high mast get struck every so often. Small fiberglass boats hardly ever get struck. in the last ten years, only 8 fiberglass boats under 35ft have been reported struck by lightning. Thats less than one per year! These studies have been compiled with using insurance/acturary statistics. Large steel vessels and tall sailboats with conductive mast's are more likely to get struck, but even those numbers are suprisingly low.

Answer 2

Any number of things. If there is a clear path to the water (like a satellite antenna grounded to a metal hull) nothing will happen if lightning hits the path to water. If, however, lightning hits something like wood or a person, it could either cause a fire, or damage to the person, respectively.

Answer 3

Yes, ships can get struck by lightning, especially if they are out at sea during a thunderstorm. The lightning can cause damage to the ship's electronic systems and pose a risk to the crew onboard. Many ships are equipped with lightning protection systems to help minimize the damage from a lightning strike.

Answer 4

Sometimes the damage from a lightning strike to a boat is minimal and sometimes it is catastrophic. There is no exact way of knowing in advance.

Answer 5

Absolutely lightning will strike a boat, aluminum, steel, fiberglass or wood it does not matter.

Answer 6

Only some ships get struck by lightning like aluminum but fibre glass doesn't

Answer 7

Yes, and depending on the boat's condition, it can strike harder

Answer 8

yes if you have a good size mass