Real Life Incident: Collision Causes 15 Fatalities

A loaded bulk carrier was underway at about 13 knots in a busy marine waterway, in poor visibility and in darkness. The bridge team consisted of the Master, the OOW, a helmsman and a pilot assisted by a co-pilot. Neither pilot had the con; both were advising the Master. At 21:09, the co-pilot advised the bridge team that a radar target was observed near 11° on the starboard bow at a range of 2.5nm and a speed of 10 knots. Visibility was about 2 nm and there was a slight drizzle.

The bulk carrier was steadied on a course of 260°. Both from the radar and visually, the target was fine on the starboard bow at a range of about 2nm. The target showed two masthead lights which were slightly open and a red sidelight. The co-pilot tried to attract the attention of the target vessel by flashing the Aldis lamp. By now, buoy CP-1 was fine on the starboard bow at a range of about 0.9 nm, while the target vessel was very fine on the starboard bow at a range of about 1.6 nm, showing a red sidelight. Th…

CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM MarineInsight HERE