Photographer Scott Barnhill and I were delivering S/Y Downtime back from Block Island and the Chemical Pioneer was in the process of dropping off their pilot as we were approaching Beavertail Light at the mouth of Narragansett Bay.  We were looking as if we would pass them port-to-port, but after they dropped the pilot off, they turned  sharply to port and were crawling along at a couple knots of speed.  It was now a crossing situation.

There was deep water all around and from my perspective, it appeared we were the stand-on vessel.

I radioed the ship to clarify their intentions and to see how they held us for a CPA.  The english-speaking (quite likely American) mate on watch quickly responded and said that they were about to resume their outbound voyage and asked that we alter course and come down their starboard side.

Roger that.

It was a no-brainer situation, and taking their stern was the obvious choice, BUT, I knew that if I altered course to port without communicating that with the Chemical Pioneer, I would have been in violation of Rule 17(c) of COLREGS, and most certainly taken a severe beating from the gCaptain readership.

So, any comments from the peanut gallery?

The original gCaptain post is here.

The ABC post is here.

The bow and stern parts of the Seitoku Maru fishing boat are lifted onto the deck of a salvage barge Wednesday off Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture. Two fishermen from the boat were still missing on Wednesday. (TSUYOSHI TAKEDA/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)

A number of sources are beginning to flush out the circumstances surrounding the collision between the Japanese Aegis class Destroyer Agato, and the fishing vessel Seitoku Maru. The collision took place about 04:00. The two fisherman aboard Seitoku Maru are missing.

Here’s an excerpt from The Daily Yomiuri:

“Before the accident, a crew member went out on deck in readiness to replace the crew member on duty, taking a lookout position at about 3:45 a.m. to get used to the dark. The relieving crew member spotted a red light on a fishing boat ahead of the destroyer to the right. The crew member continued surveillance, but it is likely that the member failed to tell the radar crew or other crew members about the sighting. Having just taken over lookout duty, the relieving crew member may have incorrectly assumed that the crew member who had just been relieved of duty already knew about the light, thereby failing to recognize the importance of this information.”

While news sources do not refer to Bridge Resource Management issues, it is apparent that the collision developed around the 04:00 change of watch.

Google news links on the Destroyer Agato collision can be found here.

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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.

Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to dismiss Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) Chief of Staff Eiji Yoshikawa over failure to report a ship collision in time on Tuesday, Japanese media reported Friday. Yoshikawa waited ninety minutes to inform higher ups.

The full report is at ChinaView.cn

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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd of the net.

Last Tuesday, at about 04:00 Agato, a 170 meter, a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer and the fishing vessel Seitoku Maru collided about 28 km off Tokyo.

The bow of the Seitoku Maru floats off Nojimazaki, Chiba Prefecture, on Tuesday after the fishing boat was split in two in a collison with the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Atago destroyer. (THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)

What is know about the incident is:

Ten officers were on Atago’s bridge

Two crew members were monitoring surface traffic using radar

There were also lookouts on the port and starboard sides of the ship.

The visibility was about 10 km on a moon lit night

Another fishing vessel in the area had a visual on Atago.

Atago sighted Seitoku Maru two minutes before the collision

Seitoku Maru was to the starboard of Atago

An article in The Daily Yomiuri stated:

“A maritime official said: “It’s common to switch to the short-range mode when a ship approaches the Uraga Channel, a busy sea route. But the accident occurred about 40 kilometers from the shore so it’s debatable which mode they should have been using.” The radar system on the Atago can be switched between long- and short-range modes. The short-range mode is used to detect small vessels such as fishing boats. “

The 72 ColRegs state:

Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and be stopped within a distance appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions.

In determining a safe speed the following factors shall be among those taken into account:

(a) By all vessels:

1. 1. The state of visibility;
   2. The traffic density including concentrations of fishing vessels or any other vessels;
   3. The manageability of the vessel with special reference to stopping distance and turning ability in the prevailing conditions;
   4. At night, the presence of background light such as from shore lights or from back scatter from her own lights;
   5. The state of wind, sea and current, and the proximity of navigational hazards;
   6. The draft in relation to the available depth of water.

(b)Additionally, by vessels with operational radar:

1. 1. The characteristics, efficiency and limitations of the radar equipment;
   2. Any constraints imposed by the radar range scale in use;
   3. The effect on radar detection of the sea state, weather and other sources of interference;
   4. The possibility that small vessels, ice and other floating objects may not be detected by radar at an adequate range;
   5. The number, location and movement of vessels detected by radar;
   6. The more exact assessment of the visibility that may be possible when radar is used to determine the range of vessels or other objects in the vicinity.

It appears there will be some explaining to do.

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This post was written by Richard Rodriguez, Rescue Tug Captain, and US Coast Guard approved instructor for License Training. You can read more of his articles at the BitterEnd.