In this age of radar, computers and GPS technology, why would any ships ever collide?
I didn’t read the article (not clicking and giving CNN hits), but it most likely happened at the port.
They were parking/already parked. They were looking right at each other.
Supposedly they were pushed together by wind but the water looks pretty calm.
Ask the U.S. Navy.
Unfortunately it happens more than you think.
“In this age of radar, computers and GPS technology, why would any ships ever collide?”
Google “GPS Hacking”. It’s become a major problem in Chinese waters in particular. Ship locations are being inaccurately displayed all the time. There’s even a suspicion that this may have contributed to collisions involving US naval vessels last year.
None of them could read English.
“In this age of radar, computers and GPS technology, why would any ships ever collide?”
1. Huge error in judgement by the man at the Helm.
2. High wind and currents. The Gulf Stream pushes a high speed current past Cozumel.
3. Thruster failure used for docking.
4. Incompetence
Most accidents are function of many errors coming together at the same time. Pick any two of the above and an accident can happen.
As a deck officer in the merchant marine I would suggest the answer is quite simple at times: too much reliance on all that equipment and not enough reliance on one’s own eye sight.