Maersk

And sometimes a "NON CLLISION" is just that

Posted on www.sailinganarchy.com: Oct 5 2007, 03:48 AM

After several back and forth emails to various offices of the Maersk shipping line, and, although they were all very polite in their correspondence, I was unable to acquire the desired information concerning any so-called “collision”. They could/would neither confirm nor deny. So last night (my time, working hours their time) I phoned a long time Danish sailing friend of mine in Copenhagen who happens to be a (not unsubstantial) shareholder of Maersk shares, and who also has a close working business relationship with Maersk.
After briefly describing to him the antics relating to the “Anne” and the short version of what has been occurring here on Anarchy, and overcoming his initial belief that everything that I was telling him was in someway a “practical joke” that I was trying to play on him, (he has always considered my sense of humor warped, by his Danish standards), he promised to view this thread to verify my recounting. About 20 minutes ago, after he had spent some hours of reading he phoned me to say that he had “skimmed” a large portion of this thread and that even after “seeing” it in black and white he had still found it all “strange” (I took that in understated Danish for, absolutely unbelievable and weird). Anyway, as a favour to me and as his own curiosity had also been aroused he made a few phone calls to associates of his connected with Maersk. This is a brief account of what he has conveyed to me.

1 The Maersk Dunneden is equipped with a surface, radar system that automatically scans for any surface object that could be a “collision” hazard.
2. Any surface object (he believes down to the size of a “row boat?) That comes within approximately a 12nm radius of the Dunneden is automatically computer logged
3. If any floating object that comes within that 12nm radius and is computer calculated to be on a collision heading, an automatic proximity alarm is activated.
4. Over a twenty-four hour period on the day in question there was no collision proximity report registered on the ships computer log
5. The records of the computer log are “locked” (in a similar way to the “black box” on all aircraft) and can be read but cannot be “tampered with or removed” at sea.