COLREGs – Sound Signals
Intent, warning, and why ignoring sound signals still causes collisions Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. Why Sound Signals Still Matter Sound signals are often treated as obsolete on modern bridges. This is a serious error. Sound signals exist because there are times when: Sound cuts through uncertainty. When sound […]
COLREGs – Shapes
What vessels are telling you in daylight — and why daylight collisions still happen Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. Why Shapes Still Matter in Modern Navigation A persistent myth on modern bridges is: “Shapes are obsolete — we have AIS and radar.” This belief has contributed directly to daylight […]
COLREGs – Lights
What vessels are telling you at night — and how misreading lights causes collisions Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. Why Navigation Lights Exist Navigation lights exist to answer three operational questions at night: They are not decorative, and they are not optional. At night, lights are primary information, not […]
COLREGs – Principles & Conduct of Vessels
How collision avoidance actually works on a real bridge Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. What COLREGs Really Is (and What It Is Not) COLREGs is not a checklist.It is not a decision tree.It is not something you “apply after identifying lights.” COLREGs is a behavioural framework governing how vessels […]
Bridge Watch Handovers
Why most navigation accidents begin at the moment nobody owns the ship Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. What a Bridge Handover Really Is A bridge handover is not a conversation. It is the controlled transfer of legal responsibility, situational awareness, and decision authority from one Officer of the Watch […]
Bridge Team Roles
Who does what on the bridge — and why accidents happen when roles blur Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. The Bridge as a Team, Not a Rank Structure The bridge is not run by hierarchy alone — it is run by clearly defined functional roles. Rank establishes authority and […]
UMS Fundamentals for Bridge Watchkeepers
Contents Use the links below to jump to any section: 1. What UMS Really Means in Practice How “Unattended Machinery Space” actually works, what the bridge must monitor, and what actions win (or lose) the first 60 seconds. 2. Why UMS Exists and What It Changes Operationally 3. UMS vs “No Engineers Onboard” 4. The […]
Titanic Disaster (1912)
Passenger liner collision and sinking in the North Atlantic. Structured brief covering key facts, timeline, technical context, lifeboat reality, wireless/Californian controversy, investigations, and the safety legacy that led to SOLAS, lifeboat rules, 24-hour radio watch, and ice patrols. Passenger linerNorth AtlanticMajor accidentSOLAS legacy On this page Key facts At a glance Vessel: RMS Titanic (White […]
Permits to Work & LOTO
The System That Physically Prevents People Being Killed by Machinery Why Permits and Isolations Exist at All Every fatal machinery accident at sea shares the same root cause: Energy that should have been controlled was not. Not misunderstood.Not unknown.Not mysterious. Simply present when people believed it was not. Permits to Work (PTW) and Lock-Out / […]
Piper Alpha Disaster (1988)
Incident dossier Piper Alpha Disaster (1988) A technical narrative of failure, escalation, and regulatory change. Written as an engineering case study — not a blog summary. Offshore Process safety Major accident On this page The story What happened Escalation Barrier failures Emergency response What changed Official sources Date: 6–7 July 1988 Location: North Sea (UKCS) […]