Tag: COLREGs

ATSB issued a report on the collision between the container ship 'Beijing Bridge' with the fishing vessel 'Saxon Onward', in the Tasman Sea, off Gabo Island, on 23 January 2018. The report identified the ship's alteration of course and the insufficient lookout in darkness as the key causes of the accident. 

In the short educational video in cooperation with Standard P&I Club, CHIRP Maritime analyzes a very good example of non compliance with collision avoidance regulations. CHIRP comments that, in open waters, there is absolutely no need for vessels to be in close proximity to one another.

All vessels, regardless of whether they are autonomous or not, should comply with the COLREGs, was the key message of Captain Ghulam Hussain FNI, head of The Nautical Institute’s delegation to the IMO, during the Maritime Safety Committee in May.

French CMA CGM announced collaboration, since the beginning of the year, with San Francisco-based startup company Shone, specializing in the use of artificial intelligence for maritime transportation. The collaboration enables Shone to finalize the development of artificial intelligence systems onboard container ships.

Rolls-Royce's MAXCMAS research project found that the use of newly developed algorithms allowed existing COLREGs to remain relevant in a crewless environment, and that Artificial Intelligence-based navigation systems can comply with the rules to avoid collision effectively, even when approaching manned vessels were interpreting the rules differently.

Taking consideration of various court claims involving maritime casualties, Harry Hirst of Ince&Co. law firm discussed the importance of "the use of time" by duty officers in collision avoidance. Namely, in the latest edition of Signals Newsletter, Mr. Hirst notes distance is often a criteria that OOWs apply when taking action, however avoiding action should always be about timing and not about distance.

In the latest of UK Club's 'Lessons Learned' articles, Captain David Nichol analyzes the collision of a tanker with a yacht while underway, due to insufficient look-out during hours of darkness. Midway through the watch, the OOW permitted the AB to perform cleaning and housekeeping duties, therefore becoming the sole lookout.

In its monthly safety scenario for January, the Swedish P&I Club describes a collision of vessels caused by insufficient combination of VHF communication and a proper maritime traffic look-out by sight and hearing.

As explained, there have been a significant number of collisions where subsequent investigations have found that at some stage before impact, one or both parties were using VHF radio in an attempt to avoid collision. The use of VHF radio in these circumstances is not always helpful and may even prove to be dangerous.

Setting out good practice to avoid major casualties in future The Nautical Institutes latest book looks at major casualties and the lessons that can be learned, setting out good practice to avoid them in future. The book, launched (21 September), examines nearly 30 casualties and the problems of fatigue, bridge resource management, Colregs and other issues where human factors contributed to the accidents.In his Foreword to the book, Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General, International Maritime Organization, said: This timely publication from The Nautical Institute should provide a crucial guide for every mariner serving at sea and serve to assist in reducing collisions and groundings.The publication is written in maritime English for international mariners. Each chapter can be read individually, thus forming a valuable onboard resource.An international group of authors, including accident investigators, Master Mariners, navigation specialists and university lecturers, used their experience and knowledge to look at the mistakes that have led to collisions and groundings. Previous casualties have been used to illustrate where failures have occurred and lessons which can be learned. The need for risk assessment in advance of a voyage is highlighted in many ways, including bridge resource management and passage planning.The authors looked into the future, to identify ...