john_morris_uk
Well-known member
Rather than drift the thread further in the OUZOU enquiry report thread, I thought I might pose a question and see what others think on the way we assess the risk of collision.
When crossing the channel with relatively novice crew, I am often called to give my opinion as to whether a ship is a 'threat' or not. The crew have taken bearings, but due to a mixture of their lack of skill with the handbearing compass and/or their impatience, they are not sure if the bearing is changing or not.
The reality is that the bearing often DOESN'T change very much at first, especially with a ship that is coming up fast and might be passing a mile or so ahead of you or behind you. As far as the ship is concerned he knows this from his Radar. He may even have tweaked his course a fraction to ensure that its a mile and a half and not just a mile. (He hasn't failed to comply with the IRPCS as he wasn't on a collision course anyway and is just enlarging the CPA) There is no risk of collision and nothing needs to be done other than monitor the situation carefully from the deck of the yacht.
Could this be one reason why we have ships who believe that yachts often don't know what they are doing? The bottom line is that people who 'give way to everything' are not obeying the IRPCS and are just as guilty of causing confusion as the ship that steams on regardless. And before anyone wades in, I too have been forced to avoid ships steaming up the channel with no-one to be seen on the bridge. I am not suggesting we stand on regardless - just make reasonable judgements.
When crossing the channel with relatively novice crew, I am often called to give my opinion as to whether a ship is a 'threat' or not. The crew have taken bearings, but due to a mixture of their lack of skill with the handbearing compass and/or their impatience, they are not sure if the bearing is changing or not.
The reality is that the bearing often DOESN'T change very much at first, especially with a ship that is coming up fast and might be passing a mile or so ahead of you or behind you. As far as the ship is concerned he knows this from his Radar. He may even have tweaked his course a fraction to ensure that its a mile and a half and not just a mile. (He hasn't failed to comply with the IRPCS as he wasn't on a collision course anyway and is just enlarging the CPA) There is no risk of collision and nothing needs to be done other than monitor the situation carefully from the deck of the yacht.
Could this be one reason why we have ships who believe that yachts often don't know what they are doing? The bottom line is that people who 'give way to everything' are not obeying the IRPCS and are just as guilty of causing confusion as the ship that steams on regardless. And before anyone wades in, I too have been forced to avoid ships steaming up the channel with no-one to be seen on the bridge. I am not suggesting we stand on regardless - just make reasonable judgements.