Oil tanker v Cargo ship.

[motorbiking]

So you are going with it wasn’t an accident?

It’s definitely plausible, but in reality you’d need the watch leader on the target vessel to also be neglecting his duty.

In the case of this crash we have failings on both vessels.

 

[JohnD]

So you are going with it wasn’t an accident?

I haven't seen anybody say that.

Maybe the enquiry will tell us more.

Accidents and coincidences happen, such as ships accidentally dropping anchor as they sail through the baltic and snagging subsea cables and pipelines at just the right depth for the anchor to drag. Such accidents have by chance become much more common in the past few years.

 

[JohnD]

For example these two spots of bad luck

A Chinese-Flagged Ship Cut Baltic Sea Internet Cables. This Time, Europe Was More Prepared.

Complex security challenges to undersea communications infrastructure are forcing NATO, the EU, and individual European governments to adapt, yet many efforts remain in their infancy.

carnegieendowment.org

 

[JohnD]

If anybody seriously thought there was a campaign of deliberate attacks, they might start keeping watch.

Oops

They did.

Nato launches 'Baltic Sentry' mission to protect undersea cables

The announcement comes following a number of incidents in which infrastructure has been damaged.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JohnD]

More bad luck

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/estonia-says-chinese-ship-is-main-focus-probe-into-cables-damage-2023-11-10/

 

[motorbiking]

You don’t need to be shy about expressing an opinion. Of course we can wait for the MAIB report but that will be a few months away.

I don’t think it’s irrational to believe this accident was orchestrated. The jail time for this negligence is much lower and I could imagine a captain threatened by his state to comply.

 

[Notch7]

I can't speak for the tech onboard a cargo ship. But I would expect them to have similar capability to the chart plotter on my boats.

I can set a Course and ask my auto pilot to navigate to it. I can also set an AIS target and the auto pilot will take me to it.

But given a start time & date, known speed etc and position of the vessel, I could manually set a course to steer and use even the most basic of autopilots (magnetic heading) to get me there. Given the light wind I would expect to be spot on. Course to Steer allowing for tide is a required skill for the most basic qualification (day skipper)

btw those attempting a coastal skipper course are required to do this blind, using nothing more than speed, time, tide and depth. For yacht master you'd be expected to do it in a navigation channel.

But - if someone wanted to sink/damage a US military supply, the penalty for failure to maintain a watch or failure to maintain a safe speed would be a lot less than a deliberate attack. Who knows what pressure might be applied to the Russian skipper?

thank you for your insight, thats very interesting

 

[motorbiking]

The same theory applies when estimating a position. Except for EP, you add tide on at the end, as you are calculating the impact of the tide, not adjusting for it. A lot of navigation "maths" is designed so that you can do it without a calculator, with a pencil.

 

[motorbiking]

orca AI is a situational awareness vision system that uses thermal imaging to spot hazards. This was released by a nearby vessel. Looks like there was a bit of mist/fog. There does seem to be a timestamp discrepancy however.

 

[Doug99]

Sea charts tend to show where the sea bed has cables/pipelines and areas are marked 'No Anchor Permitted' so there is no excuse for dragging anchors damaging the cables.

 

[JP_]

Captain of the Solong is a Russian national. Conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day.

No conspiracy. Russian actors everywhere. We're already at war.

 

[motorbiking]

Sea charts tend to show where the sea bed has cables/pipelines and areas are marked 'No Anchor Permitted' so there is no excuse for dragging anchors damaging the cables.

Its also 100m deep.

 

[motorbiking]

It's very difficult to legally protect submerged cables laid in international waters. Nobody has the right to restrict anchoring outside territorial waters, so while the cables are marked on the chart, you are relying on the good will of the captain, vessel and state to observe them.

 

[fillyboy]

Just got the go ahead to hold the Captain for a further 36 hours. Any evidence could take months so they'll have to let him go or charge him. by then

 

[motorbiking]

They will charge him and remand him in custody. Clear flight risk.