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But changing up a ship’s power configuration is fairly routine, even if it’s been several months, said Neil J. Gallagher, a professor at the Webb Institute, a school that teaches naval architecture and marine engineering.

Thomas McKenney, a University of Michigan professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, said the tragedy in Baltimore raises questions about whether most cargo ships have enough safeguards.

Warren Smith, an associate professor in naval architecture at the Australia Defense Force Academy at the University of New South Wales, said that, generally speaking, warships are built to withstand waves of such heights.

Chengi Kuo, a professor of naval architecture at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, said that usually a ship’s exhaust pipes have a mechanism that prevents water from entering.

The mental challenges were more difficult, especially for someone with an analytical bent, like O’Donnell, who graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering.