Tanker Sola and Norwegian navy frigate Helga Ingstad collide off Norway

Jesus, old people get boring quick.

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What about Sola TS trying to contact southbound KNM Helge Ingstad with Aldis lamp at 03:58.

You really had to be focus on the 4 inch square AIS display for not seeing that, no !

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5 posts were merged into an existing topic: Frigate Helga Ingstad Design - Damage Survivability

Well, if you can assume the watch didn’t see the tanker it’s not that much harder to assume they did not see the tanker + Aldis lamp.

As far as the AIS, if the watch was unaware that tanker was there there’d be no reason to look up the name.

In any case if OOD or JOOD was conning and wanted information they would have asked another member of the watch to provide it rather than leaving the conning position.

That was my experience at least when I went to sea in the military, very serious about watching forward at all time

Here’s what really happened :

349185c122a3a7d450c674a260a260c1

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ACX Crystal apparently tried to raise the FITZGERALD with a signal lamp. There might have been a half dozen people on board who would have had any chance of reading Morse Code, assuming they were looking for it in the first place. That would be my absolute last method of trying to communicate with a warship. Did the Sola sound the danger signal? I don’t remember hearing it in the VTS radar video overlay.

We can assume as much as we can possibly do, but not perceiving the powerful flash of an Aldis lamp at such a close range, during nighttime, in perfect visibility and straight in the direction of the incoming traffic, make me assume… that the techno-crew must have been utterly distracted ! Was AIS & ECDIS even existed in your time in the navy ? Nowadays, how can a master be assure that his subalterns are «very serious about watching forward at all time» knowing that while the cat’s away, the mice will play. Where there are men, there is manhood…

• 03:58 : Pilot called Fedje VTS and requesting information on southbound vessel. VTS had «no» information to give. Sola TS tries to contact southbound vessel with Aldis lamp. Pilot order a 10 degree starboard turn to 000°…

Nothing to do with Morse code, the light is just flashed to get attention. It’s used often to get the attention of fishing boats for example. Flashing, sweeping or like a flare up light, whatever works, no code.

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Rule 34 : Manoeuvring and Warning Signals

(d) When vessels in sight of one another are approaching each other and from any cause either vessel fails to understand the intentions or actions of the other, or is in doubt whether sufficient action is being taken by the other to avoid collision, the vessel in doubt «shall» immediately indicate such doubt by giving at least five short and rapid blasts on the whistle. Such signal «may» be supplemented by a light signal of at least five short and rapid flashes.

I agree, departing during daylight and daytime is safer. Vessel on short trips have problem with rest.

Because I think that its easier to ask Equinor than the Navy.

By logic, Occam’s razor, inexperience and lack of training is more than sufficient explanation.

Occam’s razor (or Ockham’s razor ) is a principle from philosophy. Suppose there exist two explanations for an occurrence. In this case the one that requires the least speculation is usually better. Another way of saying it is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely an explanation.

I don’t want to get into this type of discussion but I don’t think unsubstantiated insinuation of unprofessional conduct has a place in a serious discussion.

The most obvious cause is: lack of effective use of AIS.

Hubris, no AIS, high speed down a narrow fjord with traffic, at night, after exercises. Fatigue, inexperience, lack of training. Change of watch, unexpected, confusing situation.

That’s laying the groundwork for specific errors and lack of time, ability and skill to recover from those errors, common errors that we all make but normally catch before they lead to an incident.

When I studied marine accident investigations 40 years ago (at Rotterdam to become an average adjuster), I was told there was only one proximate cause of any incident. I investigated 100+ incidents at R’dam and it was always only one proximate cause. I never had any problems with that. If I were investigating this HI collision with Sola TS, I would conclude the that the proximate cause was a crew member on HI turning port in front of Sola TS.

Maybe the cause was a loose left-hand (anti-clockwise) thread metric wingnut!

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No! Heavy weather, i.e. a big wave, bla, bla, is a good cause. Crew negligence is another good cause. Hidden defects not known in spite of due diligence done are also good causes. But in the HI case somebody, a cadet?, turned port in lieu of starboard and caused a collision. No big deal. Happens all the time. No ship sank due to it. But why did the HI sinks hours later? We don’t know. It is like Costa Concordia 2012 . http://heiwaco.com/news8.htm . The ship, CC, contacted a rock below water and capsized 2 hrs 47 minutes later so 32 persons drowned. The CC bridge was fully manned, a turn was done and - BANG - a contact occurred. It has happened to my ships a couple of times. In the CC case, the ship survived the contact, etc, etc, but capsized later.
What was the proximate cause of the capsize? Well, during evacuation of CC some watertight doors were opened, by mistake, and they couldn’t be closed later due lack of power. Progressive flooding occurred and CC lost stability and capsized and sank. Poor Master/Captain. A friend of mine. It was his fault. He spends 16 years in jail today and must pay plenty fines when getting out, etc. Of course his life is destroyed. But he just followed orders and ISM.
I wonder what will happen to the person on the HI bridge that made a wrong turn? And the boss? He is His Royal Majesty the King of Norway. He must react! His ship was destroyed … by mistake.

It is hard to understand how this particular stretch of the route should be a challenge for any navigator.

Hjeltefjorden is among the easiest stretches of the Norwegian coast to navigate. It is relatively wide, with deep water and no obstructions, or shallows, except close to land.
It is also one of the longest stretches on a straight course anywhere along the inshore route.

Admittedly it has more traffic than along most of the coast, especially of large vessels, but it is not exactly “dense traffic” by comparison to many places in the world.
When southbound there are not much crossing traffic after passing Fedje.

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Because of hindsight bias the correct explanation will sound implausible.

Understanding the El Faro required believing that an experenced ship captain would not understand the basics of hurricane avoidance.

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