I spent 6-months on the USS LaSalle in the Persian Gulf back in the late 80’s.
As an Air Force guy on the staff of JTFME, it was an eye-opening experience.
What I do remember clearly was the huge tankers just plowing along and not paying anyone any mind. Had a few wander close by the ship and never respond to radio or other signals. . .like no one was home.
I asked a Navy black shoe about that and he told me third-world tanker crews would depart their station late at night or in the early hours, plug in the INS course guidance and then go to sleep. . .trusting the ships nav system and the fact they are so huge everyone would get out of their way.
Could be the US Navy ship had right-of-way but found out too late the tanker crew just wasn’t awake or gave a darn.
Small dogs are always nervous that someone will step on them or kick them and strongly tend to be always on the alert to scurry out of the way on short notice. Big dogs tend to just lie there as they know you are just going to trip over them if you don't know they are there..
Same with ships. In a small sailboat, stay out of the way of the commercial ships in the channel. If you are driving a destroyer and your carrier turns to start taking incoming planes, don't plan to cross the carrier's bow. Besides, carriers can easily win a race with shorter vessels if they hit the gas.
It ain’t just third world. I would invite you to visit some of the bars near Cherry Point in Washington state where the tanker crews hang. I’ve heard a number of conversations that go something like this:
“Hey Billy, what time is it?”
“Twelve-thirty.”
“What time do we shove?”
“One AM.”
“How far’s the refinery?”
“’Bout ten miles.”
“Hey honey! Me and my bud got time for two more apiece - then we gotta take off. We’re sailin’ with the tide...”
All that aside, given the location of the damage and the ships’ relative manuverability, it’s hard to see how the tanker isn’t the stand-on vessel.