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? cer of the watch and sole watchkeeper

The Bottom Line had become inattentive shortly before

While the incidents described can be depressing for mariners to read, it must be acknowledged that the vast, vast majority of due to the effects of alcohol consump- watches are kept properly. Proper watchkeeping is so common that it does not attract attention and is seldom recognized. A tion.

mariner can keep the watch properly for 20 years, yet one instance of not keeping the watch may end a career. Life at sea, as with many professions entailing great responsibility, is rewarding, but also unforgiving.

Stress

The tug Caribbean Sea and its tow collided with an amphibious passenger vessel in the Delaware River at Phila- delphia on July 7 2010. The passenger vessel sank quickly, with a loss of two lives. The primary cause of the casualty was the stress being experienced by the mate on the tug leading to distraction as he almost continually utilized his cellular telephone and laptop computer, dealing with family matters.

Fatigue

On June 23 1989, the tanker World

Prodigy grounded on Brenton Reef in Rhode Island Sound, spilling sev- eral thousand barrels of diesel oil from its cargo tanks. The probable cause of the casualty was the impaired judgment of the master due to acute fatigue. The master had been on the bridge conning the vessel almost continuously for 33 hours.

Distraction

The cruise ship Costa Concordia grounded on charted rocks off the Ital- ian island of Giglio on January 13 2012.

The master, who was conning the vessel, wanted to pass close to shore as a treat to passengers and a favor to a crew mem- ber. He was apparently distracted from his navigational duties by the young

Moldovan dancer whom he had invited to dine with him on the bridge.

Complacency

The bulk carrier Oliva, carrying 60,000 tonnes of soya beans from Brazil to Chi- na, grounded off Nightingale Island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the

South Atlantic on March 16 2011. At the time, the vessel was travelling at full sea speed (about 12 knots). Undetected poor passage planning had resulted in a course tracking right through the obscure island.

At sea, the vessel was steered primarily by means of autopilot ? tted with GPS in- put. The of? cer of the watch at the time of the incident saw something ahead on the radar, but thought that it was mere- ly the return from the low-lying storm clouds that he had observed. He did not realize that the clouds were directly over 795 Marconi Avenue • Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 USA and obscured the large (and hard) island.

TEL: (631) 737-1500 • FAX: (631) 737-1497

The grounding ripped open the bottom of www.retlif.com the vessel, but the crew was able to evac-

NEW YORK • NEW HAMPSHIRE • PENNSYLVANIA uate to a passing ? shing vessel. The soya

WASHINGTON D.C. • NORTH CAROLINA beans and the 1,700 metric tons of fuel oil from the Oliva spilled into the sea. www.marinelink.com 29

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