200402 Collision with a Trawler

Collision with a Trawler
MARS Report 200402

The C/O arrived on bridge at 0358 for his routine morning watch. The Master was present in the wheel house as the vessel had altered course around 0330. The vessel was fully loaded with timber, which made her tender resulting in a constant gentle roll. He instructed C/O to calculate the GM, which took about 5 minutes. At about 0410 the C/O commenced taking over watch duties from 2/O. The vessel was on hand steering. In addition to the duty AB, a deck cadet was also on watch from 0400 hrs. During the course of handing over the watch, the 2/O informed the C/O about an inconsistent target on the radar about 7nm on the starboard bow. The Master and 2/O left the bridge at about 0415 hrs.

The C/O rechecked the target on the ARPA and found the closest point of approach (CPA) to be 0.2nm, which meant that the vessels were on a collision course. No immediate action was taken at that time. Although regular watch was kept on radar, it was difficult to locate the exact position of the target due to bad weather. It was drizzling slightly at that time and therefore the bridge wing doors were kept shut. Around 0420 the object on radar was noticed to be around 3nm on starboard bow. The C/O ordered 10° starboard helm in order to pass the vessel on the port side. At 0425 the target on the radar appeared to be at 1nm from the bow. The C/O immediately gave hard starboard but it proved to be too late and the vessel made contact with the fishing vessel on her port bow.

The following facts are to be noted:

1. The Watchkeeper was distracted when the Master instructed him to calculate the GM.
2. Taking over the watch was done hastily indicating a casual approach.
3. No immediate action was taken even though the ARPA indicated that the vessels were in collision course. This indicates a very complacent approach.
4. There was too much dependence on electronic navigational aids. No visual checks were made to confirm the location of the object. No efforts were made to keep a lookout from bridge wings.