Chapter 8: Situational Awareness for Master

Figure 8-01 Collision Avoidance simulator scene at SGP harbor pilot station

The scenarios of collision avoidance are set at Singapore strait outside the Pilot Eastern Boarding Ground Alfa as Figure 8-01. These exercises are conducted by senior master or junior OOW of well-known shipping company. In the exercise the seniority is not the guarantee of success.  Nor the seniority can cope with new concept as fast as junior OOW. Anyway, these exercises provide an opportunity for them to review their visual and radar lookout skill without real danger. In human element study real collision avoidance scenario will generate too much mental and physical pressure on our memory structure. Some important information may be lost for those knowers, some information may never be remembered for those unknown.  

For what instructor briefing before exercise, some captain can remember some cannot. For exercising, some instructor insists on no interference and some will intervene when they see first sign of flaw in exercising. I am latter and I will stop the exercise and summon all bridges to brief what is wrong or what we can do to improve the situation. I believe human are working with very limited short-term memories and long-term memories of procedures together. No need to wonder why someone could be a Captain. If they did not have correct long-term procedures with them anything they can learn from instructor’s briefing or lecture in class are very unreliable because it is short-term memory.  

“Steering was never physically lost. Rather, it had been shifted to a different control station and watchstanders failed to recognize this configuration. Complicating this, the steering control transfer to the Lee Helm caused the rudder to go amidships (centerline). Since the Helmsman had been steering 1-4 degrees of right rudder to maintain course before the transfer, the amidships rudder deviated the ship’s course to the left.

Additionally, when the Helmsman reported loss of steering, the Commanding Officer slowed the ship to 10 knots and eventually to 5 knots, but the Lee Helmsman reduced only the speed of the port shaft as the throttles were not coupled together (ganged). The starboard shaft continued at 20 knots for another 68 seconds before the Lee Helmsman reduced its speed. The combination of the wrong rudder direction, and the two shafts working opposite to one another in this fashion caused an un-commanded turn to the left (port) into the heavily congested traffic area in close proximity to three ships, including the ALNIC.

Although JOHN S MCCAIN was now on a course to collide with ALNIC, the Commanding Officer and others on the ship’s bridge lost situational awareness. No one on the bridge clearly understood the forces acting on the ship, nor did they understand the ALNIC’s course and speed relative to JOHN S MCCAIN during the confusion.” Report on the Collision between USS JOHN S MCCAIN and Motor Vessel ALNIC MC, UNCLASSIFIED.

In HELM class, I emphasized Commanding Officer have only one minute to correct his mistake. At real scene OOW are working with his short-term memory in ever changing information of course, rudder, speed, position, vessel outside and using his long-term memory in identifying these data priority in ship’s safety in current situation. It’s like a dream because we do it unconsciously like walking and eating. If the correct subconscious thoughts had not merged we feel panic, fear or confuse out of uncertainty.  It is why this book chapters are arranged in this way as a suspense. I don’t believe anyone can read it once and know what he can do in bridge watch keeping.             

Situational awareness has three layers as US navy defined: 

• Knowledge for our sense to detect the scene, focus our attention 
• Understanding for our subconscious to know key elements, know what is wrong
• Proficiency for our body to react in correct procedures, avoid unconscious error 
• KUP just like STCW had defined. 

Very often our eyes see it but cannot know what it means, like Sanchi case in Figure 3-1 Diagram of navigational track of SANCHI and CF CRYSTAL. Or just ignore any danger ahead like Ever Smart case in Figure 7-09: Two minutes before collision.  If we want to have situational awareness correct training in ourselves is need to 

• Verify those statement here to cultivate our attention in short term memory
• Practice the skill here to cultivate our long term context memory
• Follow the sequence here to cultivate our long term procedural memory 

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Figure 8-02 Collision Risk in Point, and Line 

Collision definition: Two targets arrived at same place at same time, just like figure 8-02. We can define 

• Collision Point Risk: The point of two vessels course line crossing each other which is the Yellow circle in above diagram. Collision point risk is not collision yet. We have to verify collision line.
• Collision Line Risk:  The line of two Ship 3 minutes speed vector crossing each other like the vessels in Figure 2-15. 3 minutes is the time needed for course altering. Speed vector crossed in this time frame means collision will easily occur due to steering difficulties. In another words, two vessels arrive collision point within 3 minutes difference deems collision risk exist.
• Collision Area Risk: The area of many ship speed vector overlapped in last three minutes as

• • figure 8-03 in the matrix of close crossing vessels outside harbour, 
  • figure 7-01: Merry Roundabout of long-distance crossing vessels, 
  • figure 6-06: in long array of outbound vessels 
  • figure 5-18: Rock the ship inside communist pocket tactics 
  • figure 3-04: dual targets crossing case
  • figure 2-19: Collision target merged in radar echo
• these multiple collision risk areas should be avoided by OOW (go around, if cannot call the master)
• these multiple collision risk areas should be sailed through by Captain (find proper sea room to do it)
• Vessels concentration are usually temporally. Reduce speed is best remedy when no enough sea room available.  

​​​​Figure 8-03 Collision Area Risk in Square 

The concept of Collision Point Risk:  Raise the Collision awareness of possible crossing situation.

• Collision Point are many near Harbor area. (statement is something for our knowledge)
• Not all collision points have collision risk. (statement)
• Only those points Own Ship arrived at same time with other has collision risk. (statement)
• Collision Point raises the Collision awareness of possible crossing situation in voyage planning. (Skill is to use our sense to check at least one criteria of concern for safety)
• If we want to know collision risk, it is on the end of our speed vector. (skill)
• The end of other vessel’s speed vector is that vessel’s position after the time setting by our ARPA setting. (skill)

Figure 8-04 How to read collision point risk from vessel’s 6 minutes speed vectors  

• In figure 8-04, the speed vector is set to 6 minutes. we can use longer time setting of speed vectors to raise collision awareness if needed. 
  • o   No.1 collision point did not have collision risk with Ownship (red line). 
  • o   Ownship will arrive collision point in Half length of 6 minutes.
  • o   Target vessel will arrive collision point more than 5 minutes from now 
  • o   Ownship will pass starboard side vessel’s bow after 3 minutes.  (skill by judging collision point on 6 minutes speed vector)
  • No.2 collision point involved collision risk are not very sure now. (sense is something uncertain)
    • o   Ownship will arrive collision point in 3.5 minutes. (measure collision point distance in ownship’s speed vector)
    • o   Target vessel will arrive collision point about the same time. (measure collision point distance in target vessel’s speed vector) 
    • o   Ownship have collision risk with this vessel.  (skill by judging collision point on 6 minutes speed vector)
    • No. 3 collision point involved collision risk are not very sure now. (sense is something uncertain)
      • o   Ownship will arrive collision point in 5.0 minutes. (measure collision point distance in ownship’s speed vector)
      • o   Collision point locate at end of target vessel’s speed vector. (measure collision point distance in target vessel’s speed vector) 
      • o   Ownship have collision risk with this vessel.  (skill as in Figure 2-15 space ship status)
      • No.2 and No. 3 collision risk may be avoided by reducing ownship’s speed.

Figure 8-05 How to read collision line risk from vessel’s 3 minutes speed vectors  

The concept of Collision Line Risk:  Raise the Collision awareness of Ownship when alter course is required by ownship or target vessel. (refer to Figure 2-8 Distance of Advance requirement.)

With 3 minutes speed vector length on APAR screen as figure 8-05, collisions Awareness are:

• No.1 crossing vessel is slower than ownship to arrive collision point: 
  • o  Own Ship will pass her bow. (sense)
  • o  Green circle covered by No. 1 vessel is the area where No.1 vessel may be in three minutes. (statement)
  • o  No matter what direction No. 1 vessel sailed, she won’t collide Ownship within three minutes. (statement)
  • o  The collision line (3 minutes speed vector) did not cross between Ownship and No. 1 Target.
  • o  There is no collision risk with no.1 target in these three minutes. (sense)
• If collision lines (3 minutes speed vector) had not crossed, there is no collision risk in these three minutes.(conclusion)
• No.2 vessel course 160⁰ (T) arrive red collision circle almost same time with Own Ship. (awareness)

• • This is the first priority for collision avoidance.  

If two vessels course line crossed there have a collision point risk.  Two vessels 6 minutes speed vector crossed does not mean collision line risk will happen. Two vessels 3 minutes speed vector crossed means they have collision line risk due to speed vector crossed in last three minutes means collision will easily occur due to steering difficulties. Using different speed vector length to get collision awareness as needed. (seamanship) 

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Figure 8-06 How to read collision Area risk from vessel’s speed vectors  

The concept of Collision Area Risk:  Collision Area is the Orange Square on picture below where 7 vessels will arrive at same time in same place.  (any ship’s movement is immediately interacted with other vessels nearby, every ship could be give way vessel and stand on vessel at the same time)

• Collision Area is the areas ownship should take other vessels’ dimensions and maneuvering requirement into collision consideration like COLREG “A vessel of less than 20 metres in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the safe passage of a power-driven vessel following a traffic lane. “. (seamanship as figure 6-06: in long array of outbound vessels)
• Collision Area is the areas where no guidance had provided by COLREG to prepare our seaman venture. (seamanship figure 7-01: Merry Roundabout of long-distance crossing vessels)
• Collision Area is the areas where ownship need to know why collision happened this way. (Seamanship as figure 5-18)
• Collision Area is the areas where ownship have to use our knowledge, skill and seamanship in one minute time. (seamanship as figure 8-03 Collision Area Risk in Square)

 Collision Awareness Exercise – 01 Safe Speed

The motto: Collision risk is proportional to ownship speed. (truth)