Editing Scuttling (section)

{{Short description|Act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull}}
{{About|scuttling ships|the 19th-century British youth gangs|scuttlers}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
[[File:Scuttled ships.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.590|The [[Monument to the Sunken Ships]], dedicated to ships destroyed during the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855)|siege of Sevastopol]] during the [[Crimean War]], designed by [[Amandus Adamson]]]]
A ship is '''scuttled''' when its crew deliberately sinks it, typically by opening holes in its hull.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-12 |title=Definition of SCUTTLE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scuttle |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Merriam-Webster |language=en}}</ref>

Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of [[self destruct|self-destruction]] to prevent the ship from being captured by an enemy force; as a [[blockship]] to restrict navigation through a [[Channel (geography)|channel]] or within a [[harbor]]; to provide an [[artificial reef]] for divers and marine life; or to alter the flow of rivers.