Collision At Sea

There are many factors that contribute to events that result in ship collisions. Some of these are set out below¹:

• Haste to arrive at a port in daylight or on a certain tide.
• Reluctance to 'lose face' when doubt is creeping in.
• Reluctance of a watch officer to disturb his captain who may be snatching a tiny rest after many hours on the bridge.
• Steaming too close inshore to give passengers a good look at some exotic island.
• Mistaking one navigational mark for another.
• A failure in understanding between a captain and his navigational officer or pilot.
• Excessive economy – mindedness causing a captain to cut corners.
• British or American charts used by someone not thoroughly conversant with the language — or for that matter say a Japanese chart used by a European.