Radar

[Captain Kong]

We did the Stockholme/ Andria Doriua collision at College as a good example of a Radar Assisted Collision
Also I was on the old Franconia, I think the date was around 26 July 1956, when we followed the Stockholme out of New York. About five hours later, The fog on the Nantucket Shoals was incredibly thick , Never ever saw it so dense before or since.
The RADAR on the old Franconia was fixed to a window frame and was around six inches in diameter. Possibly the one that was fitted during WW2. it was just a screen and a `spiders web` over the top of it.
Cant remember too much about the operation of it as it is now over 56 years ago. then we had a Mayday from the two ships ahead after the collision. We never saw anything. the Ille de France got there first and took over the rescue operations, The Andria Doria sank the following day. She was hit amidships by the bow of the Stockholme.
We believed that they saw each other on RADAR ahead , so they both altered course to Starboard, then a while later the radar screen showed the opposite ship now abaft the beam so both ships altered course to Port to the original course and then they were both on the collision course again. and so the Stockholme hit her amidships. 51 passengers and crew were killed in the Collision, The was a movie Star, Ruth Roman, on the Andria Doria, she survived.

[Gulliver]

Tony , it's more a lack of appreciation as to what the screen is telling you.

One of the cases I was refering to concerned two tankers off the SA coast. They were on NEARLY
opposite courses but slightly converging. One saw the other on her starboard bow and the other the one
on her port bow. Both altered by 5 deg to give the other more room but all the first ship did was alter
into the second ships course. Very easy trap to fall into with small alterations , lack of radar
appreciation and a lack of proper plotting. Both thought they were on opposite courses which was not
the case .
The situation ended up with a number of small alterations by both ships , one always to port and the
other to stbd. By the time both realised what was happening , it was too late to avoid the disastrous
collision which then took place. they only saw each other when a couple of cables away.

I remember the one that you refer to: a classic example of a radar-assisted collision.

At about 5 a.m,local time on 21st August 1972.. 93 km.east of Cape Aghulhas,South Africa,…..two Liberian-flag steam turbined super tankers collided, the 4 year old 106,518 dwt American-owned OSWEGO GUARDIAN,( fully laden with crude oil from the Persian Gulf, collided with the 5 year old ,100,613 dwt-ton Greek-owned TEXANITA (bound to Ras Tanura in ballast). The Texanita, exploded with such violence that it was reported that it shook windows and woke people several miles inland from the coast,which itself was twenty-three miles distant from the accident.
The Texanita broke in two and vanished within four minutes.
Forty three crew died with the Texanita, and one aboard the Oswego Guardian.There were only three survivors from the Texanita, including the master, Captain Juorios Salvuardos and only 10 bodies from her were recovered from the sea.
Both ships were travelling at their usual sea speeds speed through fog so dense that the master of the Texanita, who survived, couldn't see the masts of his own ship.Although they had observed each other on radar, neither ship reduced speed. Texanita made only two attempts to plot the course of the approaching ship, the second when it was only four miles off, and the Oswego Guardian made no attempt whatever to plot the course of the other ship.
The chief officer of a Norwegian freighter, the Thorswave, later provided what might be the first electronic eyewitness account of a major maritime disaster. His own ship was in the vicinity and had watched the accident develop on his radar screen. 'I saw these two dots coming closer together together,' he told the Cape Argus newspaper in Cape Town. 'Then the two dots came into one. just then we heard this terrific explosion and felt our own ship shake twice. I thought there was something wrong with our own ship because the explosion was so loud. A minute or two after this I saw two dots coming away from each other. Then one dot suddenly disappeared from the screen.'

There were reports that immediately after the collision, the master of the Oswego Guardian ordered his ship at full speed away from the scene ! Heavily damaged at the bow, she was escorted into Cape Town by the salvage tug Arctic for drydocking.
　
　
　
　


　

[John Cassels]

That's the incident David. I purposly refrained from mentioning names.

What you also could have mentioned that they hit bow to port side showing that they had eventually
steered into each other. The ironic thing is ; if both had done absolutly nothing , they would have
cleared each other.

[Captain Kong]

Another one I remember was the VENPET and VENOIL, two sisiters, of 300,000 tons each, one full load 300,000, and one in ballast, They collided off Plettenberg Bay on the Cape Coast. One big collision was that 600,000 tons, BANG.
Again in thick fog, another Radar assisted collision.this was in December 1977.
they set on fire but it soon went out due to the inert gas system. A few crewmen were killed. Both tankers were abandoned,
I remember Court Helicopters, who I was flying with out of Cape Town the year previous, 1976, took a lawyer with them and claimed Salvage, I believe they copt for a few quid for that.
Wish I had been with them then.

[Tony Wilding]

Could not get much bigger than that, the closest shave i had was when on mv wanstead, off canada in thick fog 1961, could hear a ships siren, getting closer, we stopped our engine, i suppose to listen for other ships engine, suddenly it loomed out of the fog , not going slow a ships length away accross our bows, dont know if we had radar, ? Tony wilding.

[Gulliver]

Another one I remember was the VENPET and VENOIL, two sisiters, of 300,000 tons each, one full load 300,000, and one in ballast, They collided off Plettenberg Bay on the Cape Coast. One big collision was that 600,000 tons, BANG.
Again in thick fog, another Radar assisted collision.this was in December 1977.
they set on fire but it soon went out due to the inert gas system. A few crewmen were killed. Both tankers were abandoned,
I remember Court Helicopters, who I was flying with out of Cape Town the year previous, 1976, took a lawyer with them and claimed Salvage, I believe they copt for a few quid for that.
Wish I had been with them then.

Thanks for that Brian.

More details then:

VENOIL16.12.77 Kharg Island to Nova Scotia with crude oil.(2* killed in explosion after collision with sister VENPET .Remaining crew picked up by helicopter and P &O bulk carrier Jedforest.
Cargo transhipped onwards to Nova Scotia by Litiopa(Shell(Bermuda)
Repaired at Sasebo
Broken Up Ulsan 15.1.84
VENPET
16.12.77 in ballast Nova Scotia to Kharg Island.Collision with VENOIL , 22 MILES off Port Elizabeth.Crew rescued by Clan Menzies.
Repaired at Nagasaki.
1980 named ALEXANDER THE GREAT
6/1984 Hit by Iraqi Exocet missile in Gulf(Kharg Island).Broken up Kaohsiung 6.10.84
　
Interesting eventual fate of the VENPET IN 1984 !

I think the collision is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records? ?…. something like the greatest mass (450,000 tonnes) involved in a collision by 2 man-made objects?

I believe they were passing each other at close range to get a better view for the crews on each other. Perhaps the Captains wanted to shake hands?….. A very expensive and tragic handshake it turned out to be.
Gulliver

[Arthur John Harvey]

R235941 None of the ships I served on during the war had radar; but some of the RN ships were so equipped,however, the Queens Mary and Elizabeth were equipped with the Admiralty 261 or 281. Being one of the old school when I took my radar certificate in 1947 with revisions at a later date, we where told that when you changed course ensure it was six points as within ten minutes such a large alteration clearly indicated your movement; as at that time I was on cross channel service to the islands it was frequently necessary with channel traffic. Recall when I was bringing a naval reserve inshore sweeper back from the continent to Hull, all our power failed and we were in dense fog; however we still had a battery echo sounder working along with a magnetic compass. I asked for some tracing paper and there was a silence on the bridge wondering ‘what the hell is that for’; when I plotted a line of soundings onto the paper and then lined it up on the chart all were surprised. Needless to say we made the Humber by the old fashion method of identifying fogs signals.

[Captain Gordon Whittaker]

We had a radar on the "Arabia" in 1958, but it was locked in a wooden cupboard, and the key kept by the Master, who did not hold with these "New-fangled" gadgets. It was never used so we always obeyed the Colregs to the letter, aand sounded fog signals, after doubling lookouts. Watches doubled for several days, sometimes. (2 hours before watch & 2 hours after. 8 hours in all). Apprentices almost lived on the Bridge.

[Capt Bill Davies]

Gordon,
There were a few Masters in the BF who were a little apprehensive in their embrace of new technology. Many only used the Radar at night, when the vessel was in hand steering. Iron Mike was off at sunset. Watches were doubled up in the Irish Sea. There was no end to it.

Bill