Deep Eddies or Underwater Whirlpools produced by ocean currents flowing around terrain features like submerged mountains are a hazard to underwater navigation. Tidal currents can produce giant whirlpools. In 2014, Chinese Submarine 372 started plunging unexpectedly into an ocean trench and its pressure pipe burst. Only prompt action in closing valves and releasing gas to increase buoyancy prevented it from being crushed. The destructive power of eddies fuels mythology; Maelstrom, off the Norweigian coast, is spoken of as the home of the mythical Kraken, which drags ships down, while regular whirlpools in the straits of Messina are blamed on the fearsome Charybdis.
Monsters of the Deep: Underwater Whirlpools
