In a recent legal ruling, a judge has concluded that a Chief Officer, who was the sole person on watch on the bridge of a bulk carrier, was likely listening to audio clips on his mobile phone just moments prior to his vessel colliding with another ship off the Greek coast, reports Safety4sea.
New Ruling
On March 31, 2021, two vessels collided off the southern coast of Greece. The vessels were intended to pass each other safely with their starboard sides clear, but one of the ships unexpectedly turned to port, resulting in a near right-angle collision with the other. The impact caused flooding, and the two ships remained interlocked for several days during the subsequent recovery operations.
The Admiralty Court has now ruled that the watchkeeper on one of the vessels was distracted by his phone in the moments leading up to the collision. Court documents detail that recordings captured sounds consistent with a child laughing from a video clip, and another video-like clip of a baby and mother playing was recorded just before the impact.
The individual on watch at the time did not admit to possessing a phone or media device on the bridge, which would have been a violation of the ship’s regulations. Instead, he attempted to shift blame to another officer, an explanation deemed highly improbable given the timeline of events. Furthermore, according to the ruling, the Chief Officer provided conflicting accounts, which appeared to be attempts to avoid admitting to breaching the ship’s rules. He also failed to take appropriate action when another officer was allegedly using a phone on the bridge.
Misleading Statements
In addition to the aforementioned issues, the individual on watch provided further misleading or false statements. For instance, he claimed to have seen nearby ships on his equipment when he had not, and he feigned ignorance regarding the operation of some of the ship’s systems.
Court documents also reveal that microphones on the bridge recorded soft singing just minutes before the collision. When questioned about this, he offered contradictory explanations, first stating he was worried, and then claiming he believed the danger had already passed.
This singing, coupled with his delayed response to radio calls, indicated a significant lack of situational awareness regarding the impending danger. When he finally did respond, he made the critical error of turning the ship to port, directly contradicting warnings from the other vessel’s officer.
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Source: Safety4sea
