Why recovery is harder than launch on an improvised carrier

What makes landing on a converted container ship harder than launching from one?

The aft superstructure, moving deck, and poor visual references complicate side-on hover recovery even if a launch deck can be installed.

A follow-up notes that Falklands merchant conversions launched aircraft without proving routine recovery and support. A viable conversion would need a prepared flight-deck structure rather than an improvised surface assembled at the last moment. The container ship's aft superstructure and funnel occupy the approach area normally left open on a carrier, forcing a vertical aircraft to recover from the side while the deck moves beneath it. Harrier pilots also used the carrier island as a visual reference, whereas a merchant superstructure behind the aircraft would not provide the same geometry. The result is a technically possible emergency deck whose recovery pattern remains far less forgiving than that of a purpose-built carrier.