# ship high pitch noise **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876 "2013-02-10T15:07:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yellow\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Yellow\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yellow_Rose)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/1 "2013-02-10T15:07:23Z")
Recently went on cruise. What is the high pitch sound that ships make when leaving port and occasionally at sea? It was hard to listen to . ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/2 "2013-02-10T15:18:01Z")
With that much detail in your description it could be anything from the main turbine to a cranky child. Other candidates include venting of the air handling system, active (possibly gyroscopic) stability control, or lateral thrusters. Which ship? ---
**Author:** ![Yellow\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Yellow\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yellow_Rose)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/3 "2013-02-10T16:23:21Z")
Carnival triumph is the ship. It sounded more like a high pitch methodical fringing from front of boat. Thought maybe a auditory positional warning like a train horn. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/4 "2013-02-10T18:42:39Z")
WAG: A sound to keep birds off the ship while close to port? ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bob\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_X)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/5 "2013-02-10T19:32:49Z")
It’s intended to shut off your higher brain functions so that you enter the appropriate trance state for the duration of the cruise. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/6 "2013-02-10T19:34:22Z")
I was on her sister ship, the Victory, about five years back on a Canadian cruise. I don’t recall any high-pitched sounds, but I am an old man and my hearing might not be all that sharp these days. ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/7 "2013-02-10T21:08:43Z")
Bow thrusters?.. going in and leaving port they would be at least on stand by… ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/8 "2013-02-10T21:59:35Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I was on her sister ship, the Victory, about five years back on a Canadian cruise. I don’t recall any high-pitched sounds, but I am an old man and my hearing might not be all that sharp these days. your hearing isn’t ship-shape? ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/9 "2013-02-10T22:06:10Z")
> [@Yellow\_Rose](#): > > Carnival triumph is the ship. It sounded more like a high pitch methodical fringing from front of boat. Thought maybe a auditory positional warning like a train horn. What’s a “fringing”? Am I the only one imagining Gus Fring from “Breaking Bad” singing a high C note? Maybe you’re referring to a bell of some kind? ---
**Author:** ![steviep24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@steviep24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steviep24)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/10 "2013-02-10T23:26:18Z")
Don’t they do that high pitched whistle sound as a form of communication between different parts of the ship? Such as when the captain gives commands to the engine room. The whistle being a sort of alert tone. I don’t have a cite but I have heard this tone in films like “The Final Countdown”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/11 "2013-02-10T23:32:40Z")
Ship high-pitched noise? It’s easier to just email a .wav. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/12 "2013-02-10T23:42:46Z")
> [@steviep24](#): > > Don’t they do that high pitched whistle sound as a form of communication between different parts of the ship? Such as when the captain gives commands to the engine room. The whistle being a sort of alert tone. > > I don’t have a cite but I have heard this tone in films like “The Final Countdown”. That’s the [boatswain’s whistle](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MKY5ZSWHdA). I thought of it too but the OP described is as methodical and that it was hard to listen to, any I wouldn’t imagine a bosun’s whistle being either. Still, OP, was it anything like that video? ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-high-pitch-noise/649876/13 "2013-02-11T02:28:41Z")
I was on the _Carnival Magic_ recently. When in port, the thrusters were quite obvious. I didn’t so much notice a noise as much as a strong vibration throughout the ship. When we had a stateroom on Deck 1 Aft, the vibration was strong enough to shake glasses off the table. :eek: Aside from the noise of things rattling though, I didn’t notice any high-pitched sounds.