Linked to GPS devices and sonar positioning beacons on the seafloor, the thrusters can keep the ship in a steady position even in 95mph winds.

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The weak signal can cause a ship's instruments to gradually drift out of true, without setting off any alarms, leaving the ship in a different position to where it "thinks" it is.

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The ship cannot stay in its current position, as it represents a danger for the environment, he added.

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