A recent report on a collision between two relatively small ships in northern European waters should provide food for thought for anyone involved in the operation of vessels.

The basic facts of the case are that the two vessels were sailing on similar courses in daylight, one ahead of the other. The ship in front stopped due to an engine breakdown and was drifting. However, it did not display the correct shapes to identify itself as a vessel “not under command”.

That term comes from the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), which also provide general rules for avoiding collisions. Rule Five of those regulations stipulates: “Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation, and of the risk of collision.” 

That translates into the need to maintain “situational awareness”. The officer of the watch (OOW) should always know what is going on around him.

For the case in question, nobody was keeping a proper lookout. There was a crew member on duty – theoretically as the lookout – on the other ship approaching the stopped vessel. As is common practice in daylight, he was working on deck. Very late on, he saw the stopped ship and rushed to the bridge to inform the master (captain) who was acting as OOW.

The OOW took immediate action, although arguably not in the most effective way. He did, nevertheless, manage to turn what could have been a much more serious incident into a glancing blow that caused relatively minor damage and no injuries. The OOW on the struck vessel also failed to keep a proper lookout. 

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Surely this was an open-and-shut case. Both ships were not keeping a proper lookout – awful failures by the OOWs and masters. End of story. Well, not quite – but let’s return to that in a minute.

I mentioned the term “situational awareness” just now. It is a concept that is fundamental to safe navigation and collision avoidance. It just so happened that last week, I received a press release from marine liability insurer (P&I club) NorthStandard announcing that it would encourage its members to adopt an automated situational awareness solution provided by specialist firm Orca AI that uses artificial intelligence (AI).

NorthStandard says that the platform is designed to ensure vessels can navigate safely in challenging weather conditions and through congested waters. It asserts: “The enhanced real-time situational awareness tool enables rapid and more informed operational decision-making, reducing the likelihood of accidents or delays and ensuring a safer voyage.”

The AI-based solution incorporates NorthStandard’s new Get SET! suite of innovative digital resources and practical risk-reduction tools “to protect members, their crews and assets”. NorthStandard says it will incentivise its members to adopt the Orca AI solution by subsidising their investments.

P&I clubs don’t often subsidise their members to adopt new technologies, so the insurer must expect the move to cut claims and eventually save money. That is borne out by its global head of loss prevention, Colin Gillespie, who says: “Having seen how Orca AI supports the bridge team by improving their situational awareness, we are confident that it reduces the number of close-quarters situations. By extension, this must reduce the number of collisions, so it was an easy decision to partner with them to support NorthStandard members in enhancing the safety of their operations.” 

So, to return to the ships in the earlier incident, could this system avoid a collision occurring in similar circumstances? Yes, probably it could. As long as the people on the bridge respond appropriately. That is always easier if they are well-rested and not distracted by other tasks.

However, let’s take a step back and ask why nobody was keeping a proper lookout. On the struck vessel, perhaps all attention was on the mechanical issue. But on the other ship, there are hints of the big underlying problem that bedevils much of shipping, a race to the bottom when it comes to manning, especially of, relatively small vessels.

The crew member theoretically available for lookout duty was doing something else on deck. That left just the OOW on the bridge. Unfortunately, the OOW in this case was the master, who not only had to keep the watch but also complete a load of administrative work. And this was what he was focused on during the incident.

It is easy to say that, in such circumstances, the lookout should be called to the bridge. Moreover, the master should make sure that he doesn’t have to do administrative work while acting as OOW. And there is no getting around the fact that OOWs have an absolute responsibility to obey the COLREGS.

However, things are not that simple due to the pressures of the real world. Ships are sailing with too few deck officers on board. Masters are expected to do too much.

Fifty-ish years ago, I sailed as second mate on ships trading around Europe, as far north as Archangel in Russia, and south to the Mediterranean. We had a master and two deck officers on board. On some ships, the master might do a four-hour watch in the morning, but essentially, two officers worked and watched about, for up to a week or more.

That was not too bad, although it did mean very long hours for the OOWs. It did, though, also mean that the master was available to come to bridge if circumstances required, such as during a fog. Since then, in general, the second mate role has gone, and a master and one mate are expected to cover the watches.

Some years ago, I talked to the director of a company that I had worked for. He didn’t know my background and mentioned that he was so glad to have gotten rid of the ships that used to have two deck officers, referring to the second mates as “passengers”. I refused to share the thoughts that went through my mind at the time with him.

So, will AI on the bridge solve all the problems? No – it might well help, but manning levels and fatigue are big issues that need addressing.