The hull that broke in half may have had a defect. It's not that hard to design a hull that will put up with the conditions they're subject to. It may cost too much or be too heavy, but it's not hard.

Think of work boats(even untold wooden hulls survived much more severe use-time), or submarines, space craft. Designed and built for severe conditions.

Hove to in that pic is a piece of cake to deal with in hull strength design.