[quote="MichaelB"]How can two modern ships equipped with radar, GPS, and assuming AIS, come to such a stunning collision?[/quote]
There are many possible explanations for this. Over-Reliance on technology. Sometime around 2000, a Cruise Ship went aground on the East Coast. Why? Because the officers Blindly followed their GPS, which was malfunctioning. Had they looked out the pilothouse windows, they would have seen they were way too close to shore (they were 56 miles off-course). Before radar plotting was practiced, radar often led ships into collisions. Officer on watch would look at the radar screen, and seeing that his ship and another vessel were a safe distance apart - relax and go back to his other duties. Unfortunately, without accurate plotting, the other ship's course & speed as well as his own, weren't taken into account. What looked like a safe course could actually be a collision course. Now most ships are equipped with ARPA radar, which calculates and shows Actual projected course and distances. However, it doesn't help if used improperly, or ignored by those on watch.
This may have happened in a congested, resrictive area, such as the English Channel or the Bosporous Streight. Lakes officers and wheelsmen are accustomed to operating close to other ships, Deep Sea sailors are not. Many of them (I have seen this myself - a Deep-Sea A.B. steering a laker getting panicky when he must wheel when close to another ship) get very nervous when near other ships. This nervousness makes mistakes more likely. The result is a collision. There are many other possibilities - too many to list here.
Renate Schulte collision?
Re: Renate Schulte collision?
Looks like this happened last June. Thanks for the link WT.
How can two modern ships equipped with radar, GPS, and assuming AIS, come to such a stunning collision?
How can two modern ships equipped with radar, GPS, and assuming AIS, come to such a stunning collision?