When the ship is at sea, it may be regarded as an independent isolated system that can only rely on
its own means to maintain safety in what can be an extremely adverse environment, such as the ocean.
In most of the cases, when accidents occur with consequent flooding of compartments, salvage is not
possible within the next hours. Therefore, it is very important to keep stability as intact as possible to
allow enough time for external help to arrive, or at least to evacuate the ship in the best possible safety
conditions.