He was listening to music on watch and a few minutes later, he collided with a sailboat. At sea, mistakes are not easily forgiven. A moment of inattention on the bridge can lead to tragedy.
At sea, mistakes are not easily forgiven. Anyone who has traveled and stood watch on the bridge knows that a moment of inattention can be the cause of a tragedy.
This is yet another incident that clearly shows how easily routine on the bridge can turn into danger. A ship underway, an officer who thought “everything is going well” and a warning that was ignored… this is the chain of events that led to the accident.
While a cargo ship was underway, the officer of the watch was listening to music from his personal computer, humming along, and conversing with the lookout. The weather was good, visibility excellent, and there was no other ship or vessel nearby. The S-band radar, the AIS and both VHF radios were all operational.
A little after 21:00, the lookout reported a white light ahead on the port bow. The officer replied that it was a lighthouse at a distance of about 30 miles. Eighteen minutes later, the lookout reported that the same white light began to flash. The officer looked at the radar but did not see a target in that direction and said again that it was the same lighthouse.
At 21:42 the lookout saw a green light in the same direction. The second mate thought it was some isolated danger light and said it was probably a buoy. In reality, however, the green light was the starboard sidelight of a sailing yacht sailing about 4 miles ahead, directly in the ship’s path.
At about 21:49, the target alarm on the sailing yacht’s AIS was activated. The skipper’s wife, who was in the cabin, called him to look at the screen. From the data they saw that the cargo ship was coming on a course of 122° and a speed of 11.5 knots.
The sailing yacht’s skipper came up on deck and indeed saw the ship’s green light on his starboard side. He tried to change course to port, to about 280°, to avoid the collision.
A little after 21:53, the cargo ship’s lookout reported that the green light seemed very close. The sailboat was now less than a mile away, with the two vessels approaching at a combined speed of about 18 knots.
The bridge officer looked at the radar and AIS again but detected no target. Two minutes later, the sailboat called the cargo ship on VHF, on channel 16. It was now only 200 meters from the ship’s bow.
Startled by the call, the second mate stopped humming. After a few seconds, he responded on the VHF that the ship was altering course to starboard and gave the order to the lookout for manual steering.
He could no longer see the sailboat’s green light when he gave the order “hard right rudder”. At 21:56, on a course of about 130°, the cargo ship collided with the sailboat, which slid along the starboard side of the ship.
When the captain arrived on the bridge after the collision, one of the first things he did was to adjust the radar correctly. Then the sailboat appeared clearly on the screen.
If the officer of the watch had set the radar correctly from the beginning, he would have realized that the green light was not a buoy but another vessel.
Perhaps in this way he had perceived the danger in time and had managed to avoid the accident.
Those of us who have spent countless hours on the bridge know that boredom and routine are insidious enemies. When visibility is good and the sea is calm, you relax without realizing it. You think you see everything, that nothing can go wrong. And yet, it is precisely then that the unexpected happens, where everything seems quiet. After all, we must always remember that no one among those who collided and had accidents wanted it. Everything happened in a moment of inattention.
This incident is not just another maritime accident. It is a reminder for all of us that vigilance at sea is not optional but mandatory. It is everyone’s duty.
Technology can help, but nothing replaces the judgment, attention, and discipline of the person on the bridge. A flashing light can be the last warning before the fatal, before the point of no return.
Furthermore, it is unacceptable for the officer on the bridge to be listening to music. The officer on the bridge must have all his senses alert and dedicated to the safety of navigation and the ship.
What we learned from this accident
While the lookout spotted the sailing vessel’s starboard sidelight, the officer of the watch did not properly assess the situation. He made a series of assumptions based on limited information instead of following a systematic approach to confirm that the green light was indeed a vessel. This resulted in him not concluding in time that the lookout had spotted a sailing vessel and that there was an immediate risk of collision.
If the officer of the watch had set the ship’s radar correctly, he would have been in a better position to make a full assessment of the collision risk, allowing for timely and valid maneuvering. It is very likely that the officer of the watch was distracted from his primary duty, which was the safety of navigation, by his conversations with the lookout and the music.
The master of the sailing vessel, on the other hand, did not properly monitor the navigation of his vessel. He did not visually identify the navigation lights of the cargo ship in time to make an effective assessment of the situation and did not set the AIS to a range scale that would provide sufficient warning of approaching vessels. When alerted by the AIS of the approaching vessel, he misinterpreted this information.
Conclusion
In a collision at sea, both vessels or craft are at fault. Nevertheless, the officer of the merchant vessel should have assessed and managed the situation better, being a professional seaman with proper training and the appropriate electronic instruments.
One of the first things I tell an officer standing watch on the bridge is that it requires great attention, no complacency, while in case of even the slightest doubt, the captain should be called to the bridge in a timely manner.
