To purposely sink a ship is to 'scuttle' the ship.
it means to ship. to send someone or something, means to ship it.
That IS a sentence - A small leak can sink a great ship. It means that little things add up and cause big problems.
When a ship begins to sink, someone will usually shout "abandon ship!" which means jump off the ship before it sinks. There is a second part to this where the captain stays with the ship until the end..
Captain Arthur Phillip's ship did not sink.
to sink a ship is 'couler un bateau' in French.
It means to open valves to let sea water fill the ship, then to leave the ship to sink. In wartime, often done rather than let the enemy have the ship.
You probably are thinking of the word "scuttling" here. To scuttle a ship is to open holes in the hull and let in the water. It means to sink your own ship on purpose.
A Slip of the Lip - Can Sink a Ship - was created in 1943.
on the beam
It means that a small problem can ruin or damage something big
The ship unequivocally sinks.
The prow; the front of the ship.