I read long ago that the Queen Mary, in ww2 as a troop ship, had bow decking pealed back "like a sardine can" by a freak wave during a winter crossing; maybe her successor will fare better ! In the 60s I watched the 'Mary leaving Cherbourg for her last transatlantic crossing before going to Long Beach.
When I lived in So. CA I loved to go to the Queen Mary for lunch. It was also a favorite place for photographers to film commercials. Also liked to see the fireworks at 9PM each evening.
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf109/sf109p11.htm ROGUE WAVE SMASHES THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II
September 11, 1995. North Atlantic. Aboard the Queen Elizabeth II enroute from Cherbourg to New York.
During this crossing of the Atlantic, the Queen Elizabeth II had to change course to avoid Hurricane Luis. Despite this precaution, the vessel encountered seas of 18 meters with occasional higher crests. At 0400 the Grand Lounge windows, 22 meters above the water, stove in. But this was only a precursor.
"At 0410 the rogue wave was sighted right ahead, looming out of the darkness from 220°, it looked as though the ship was heading straight for the white cliffs of Dover. The wave seemed to take ages to arrive but it was probably less than a minute before it broke with tremendous force over the bow. An incredible shudder went through the ship, followed a few minutes later by two smaller shudders. There seemed to be two waves in succession as the ship fell into the 'hole' behind the first one. The second wave of 28-29 m (period 13 seconds), whilst breaking, crashed over the foredeck, carrying away the forward whistle mast.
"Captain Warwick admits that sometimes it can be difficult to gauge the height of a wave, but in this case the crest was more or less level with the line of sight for those on the bridge, about 29 m above the surface; additionally, the officers on the bridge confirmed that it was definitely not a swell wave. The presence of extreme waves was also recorded by Canadian weather buoys moored in the area, and the maximum measured height from buoy 44141 was 30 m (98 feet.)"
The Queen Elizabeth II survived the onslaught with minor damage; no passengers or crew members were injured.
I hope no terrorists have signed on as crew members...