200129 Keeping a Good Lookout and the use of GMDSS

Keeping a Good Lookout and the use of GMDSS
Report No. 200129

Reading the MARS reports lately concerning the maintaining of a good lookout and the loss of yachts, I was reminded of a recent discussion I had with the Master and Chief Officer of a handy sized bulk carrier. They were reiterating what I had also heard from other sources. Their observation concerned the way in which the maintenance of a good lookout at sea was adversely affected by GMDSS.

They observed that officers were often so absorbed by their task of sending or receiving signals by GMDSS that they appeared to forget, for significant periods, their prime role of looking out of the bridge window. If this practice is widespread at sea and carried out at times when a second man (if on watch) is also preoccupied in other duties, it is small wonder that yachts and small boats are knocked down.

I well remember during my days as watch keeping officer, taking frequent breaks from other mundane duties (such as correction of charts and publications or planning of cargo operations) to pace up and down the bridge. Looking out of the window is just one of the responsibilities of the officer of the watch. Not only did this frequent pacing keep me awake and break the tedium, it kept me continuously aware of the situation round the vessel, of the weather, of the course being steered and of the activities of the crew on deck.

Are today's watch keepers being seduced away from their prime duties as OOW by the techno-attraction of the GMDSS terminals?