The North Sea Has Become TikTok’s Main Character

For the last several weeks, TikTokers all over the globe appear to be caught in a FYP whirlpool of reels from the North Sea, the treacherous-looking waterway located between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

It’s one of the busiest bodies of water in the world, populated by cargo ships, fishing vessels, oil rigs, and summertime tourism — all of which have to navigate its high winds and fearsome waves. And TikTokers, most of whom are presumably watching from the comfort of their couches and beds, are hooked.

The sudden swirl of interest in the North Sea harkens back to the SeaShantyTok chokehold of 2021, when piratecore was everywhere and you couldn’t get that old-timey sailor song out of your head. Today, just one eerie shanty appears to be the soundtrack to #NorthSeaTok, which is populated by nightmarish videos of unruly seawater that would send most landlubbers running for the hills. But seeing as the #northsea hashtag has racked up more than 2.4 billion views, it’s safe to say TikTok can’t get enough of the high seas.

Heave-Ho, Thieves, & Beggars

The first viral North Sea video was posted on Nov. 27 by @ukdestinations, with stitched-together clips of undated footage of giant cargo ships getting jostled about by a series of unforgiving waves. The caption called the body of water “the most treacherous sea in the world,” and clip has since been seen by more than 113 million people.

Most NorthSeaTok videos are characterized by grown men being flung horizontally or knocked to their knees. Some have captured the moments when entire rows of shipping containers cascade into the watery depths. Other videos feature oil riggers dangling in harnesses above churning waters as they attempt to weld things.

Adding to the drama of the spine-tingling imagery is the haunting baritone audio behind so many of the reels. Ships slam into oncoming walls of water to the tune of “Hoist the Colors,” a Hans Zimmer song written for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. In 2022, a group known as the Bass Singers of TikTok released its own version, which has come to be featured in much NorthSeaTok content.

A Yassified North Sea

Given the majority of the reaction videos, morbid curiosity seems to be the primary draw to NorthSeaTok’s most harrowing clips. TikToker @mealideasbackup posted a video covering their eyes with their hands as “Hoist the Colors” played. The caption read: “It's so creepy but I can’t look away.” Another user, @move_with_megan, said NorthSeaTok is “both creepy and fascinating as sh*t.”

Some followers of the trend are offering their own rendition of the song — in a higher register with distinctly more flare — in what one commenter described as “the yassification of the North Sea.”

Others are more concerned about the contents of the shipping crates that have gone overboard. “So you’re telling me the fish got my SHEIN order tell them I’m Omw,” one commenter joked.

The Siren Song Of The North

A commenter on a video from @deepseamysteries wrote, “my toxic trait is thinking the North Sea isn’t all that dangerous.” Depending on who you ask, though, they might be right.

Roughly 250,000 ships pass through the Dutch portion of the North Sea every year, according to the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners. In the Dutch part, the government reported that there were 55 shipping accidents in 2022, but no fatalities, according to The New York Times.

The Times also spoke with an expert in wave conditions from a Dutch research institute, who said these swells are hardly record-breaking. “Waves can be high in the North Sea, but they are not the highest,” she said. Rougher seas and higher waves can generally be found in places like the North Atlantic and off the coasts of Iceland, South Africa, and Australia.

Still, it doesn’t take a Ph.D. to recognize the power of the North Sea. Part of what makes these waves so unruly is the fact that they’re shorter and choppier. For National Geographic, Chris Baraniuk wrote that “even though these waves might not be very high, around six feet, they can still cause a vessel to feel extremely unsteady.”

Lost At Sea

The internet’s fixation on the high seas has manifested in several ways over the years, from SeaShantyTok to a 2020 viral YouTube clip of the North Sea’s “monster waves.” Now, there’s CruiseTok, which is following a nine-month Royal Caribbean cruise on its journey around the world, as well as the harrowing footage of boats negotiating the Drake Passage en route to Antarctica.

As for NorthSeaTok, there might even be a new strain of influencers to come out of this trend, like Latvian crabber @Alvis Dornis or Norwegian fisherman @fisherbenny, who have each populated the NorthSeaTok hashtag with clips that are equal parts entertaining and terrifying, like when their fellow seamen try to stay upright despite their ship tilting practically onto its side.

Dave Byrne, head of creative services at the youth marketing and advertising agency Thinkhouse, told the Times that NorthSeaTok is a place for people to engage their wildest fears — like thalassophobia, a fear of open water — from a safe distance. But the trend is probably not long for this world.

Still, like the tides, any time one trend washes out, the thrill of the sea washes a new one in.