[jeffwass]

That’s not the case here. In this case the ship was ‘hovering’ due to an atmospheric effect called Superior Mirage.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage#Superior_mirage

[treesprite82]

The image in the article looks more like a false horizon (change in color of sea makes it blend into the sky), as jeffmcmahan is describing. You can just about make out the real horizon in the image.

Clearer example of false horizon: https://i.imgur.com/WHzQJ3Z.png

A superior mirage would usually cause more distortion and likely wouldn't so cleanly cut out the ship.

Clearer example of superior mirage: https://i.imgur.com/pa16mOk.png