Distracted Boat/Ship Operation Expert Article

For the person operating a vessel, whether it be a large commercial vessel or a small recreational boat, safe navigation involves maintaining situational awareness, which includes but is not limited to being aware of other vessels, the prevailing conditions, and possible hazards that could be in the area.

This article explains the hazards associated with operating a vessel while distracted, marine standards of care, and the rules of the road that dictate relevant requirements for all vessels.

Operating a Vessel Distracted and the Risk of Collison/Allisions

For an operator to remain vigilant of possible hazards it is important to reduce distractions from things like cell phones and to maintain a proper look-out. The operator of a vessel maintaining situational awareness is one of the more important aspects to ensure the safety of the vessel, its crew and/or passengers and the other vessels, people, structures, and the surrounding environment.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and/or the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set forth the rules of the road for vessels operating on inland (USCG) and international (IMO) navigable waters. These rules cover steering and sailing rules, lights and shapes, and sound and light signals that vessels must comply with.

There are three Rules of the Road that directly require the operator of a vessel to maintain awareness of the conditions they are operating in including but not limited to other vessels, the amount of traffic in the area, weather, visibility, and the sea state.

• Rule 5 – Look-out
  Requires every vessel to maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means.
• Rule 6 – Safe Speed
  Requires every vessel to proceed at a safe speed for the prevailing circumstances and conditions so that they can take action to avoid a possible collision/allision.
• Rule 7 – Risk of Collision
  Requires every vessel to use all available means for the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if a risk of collision/allision exists. It also addresses the requirements for the use of radar equipment if it is equipped on the vessel, to help in avoiding a collision/allision.

What is a Look-Out?

Look-out is a term that is generally understood aboard commercial vessels but may be misunderstood when it comes to those operating a recreational vessel. A look-out may be any person on a vessel that is designated with the responsibility of ensuring the safe navigation and collision/allision avoidance of the vessel.

The operator of the vessel may be the primary and/or only look-out responsible for the safe navigation of the vessel. When the operator deems it necessary, they can assign another person(s) the role of look-out to aid them in the safe navigation of the vessel.

A look-out should have no responsibilities that could interfere with the keeping of a proper look-out and be trained in what their duties are as a look-out.

A look-out is to use sight and hearing, and all available means to aid in assessing the risk of collision/allision and including but not limited to detecting ships or aircraft in distress, person(s) in the water, wrecks and debris.

Example Scenario: Recreational Vessel Distraction Hazards

A group of people are out on a boat for a fun day on the water on a sunny clear day. The owner/operator of a boat is in a rush to get to the busy and crowded area that is popular with boaters. The owner has music playing loud and people hanging out all around the boat, some of them sitting on the bow right in front of the helm station.

As they approach an area with other boats, the owner/operator is not on a plane but still moving fast for the conditions and having trouble seeing clearly in front. The owner/operator hasn’t asked for help from anyone else on board to assist in safely navigating the area.

The boat owner/operator doesn’t see that there are people swimming in the area and can’t hear other boaters yelling for them to slow down. Because of the distractions, lack of sufficient look-out, and not maintaining a safe speed for the conditions, the boat strikes one of the many swimmers in the area.

The hazards encountered in this scenario and their effects will increase with the speed of the vessel, at night, and in obstructed and/or reduced visibility situations.

Example Scenario: Commercial Vessel Hazards

A tug is moving a barge just before sunrise on a foggy morning, and the wheelhouse crew has just changed watch. The barge has visual obstructions that block the captain/operator’s from having a clear view ahead and have not stationed a look-out on the bow of the barge.

The tug is running at full ahead, despite the reduced visibility condition. All the navigational electronics are on and working, but the operator has not tuned the radar since taking command of the tug.

As the tug and barge are approaching a spot that routinely has small recreational fishing boats, the operator cannot see any of the boats that are ahead because of the reduced visibility due to the fog, and/or obstructions on the barge. The radar, having not been appropriately tuned for the conditions, is not displaying any of the boats that may have shown up on the radar display had this been properly tuned.

When the operator of the tug finally sees one of the boats, they immediately take action to attempt to avoid the boats. However, due to the speed of the tug and the close proximity of the first sighted boat, the actions of the tug were ineffective to avoid a collision.

On a commercial vessel, the operator’s ability to assess a potential collision/allision situation can be compromised by a lack of training/familiarity with the navigational equipment, failure to post additional look-outs, safe speed, and distraction from possible cellphone use.

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C. Edward Scott

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Captain Edward Scott is a Marine & Marina Operations Expert with more than 20 years of experience as a licensed tug captain across inland, coastal, and ocean routes in some of the most demanding… read more.