Da Vinci proposed the double hull for naval vessels as a defence against ramming, and protection from underwater damage from reefs or wreckage so that even if the outer hull was holed, the ship would stay afloat.
The SS Great Eastern, built to the design of English mechanical and civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, launched in 1858 was the biggest ship built to that time and the first double hulled ship.
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea now requires all passenger vessels to have either a complete double hull or at least a double bottom.
IMAGE: Double hulled ship Photo: Sinisa Botas / Shutterstock.com
