202417 : Near miss in open water and good visibility

A loaded LNG carrier was underway at about 18 knots in open seas with low swell and waves near 1.5 m. Visibility was very good at approximately 15nm. The only traffic in the vicinity was a single fishing vessel. The bridge watch consisted of the OOW and one AB. The OOW had assigned the AB duties other than lookout due to the good visibility. The AB had seen the fishing boat earlier and had reported it to the OOW.

Some time later, the Master was on deck when he noticed the fishing boat abeam of ship’s port manifold at a distance of about 50 metres. The Master went to the bridge to inquire about the close passing. The answers of the OOW were, upon further investigation, untruthful. It appears the fishing vessel had either been forgotten about or otherwise ignored by the OOW. Further inquiries uncovered that subordinates and other officers had observed less than adequate performance from this particular OOW in the past, but these observations were not reported to the Master.

Lessons learned

• Safety for one is safety for all. Regardless of your rank, if you observe dangerous or less than adequate performance from a teammate, advise your supervisor. Your safety depends on every team member pulling their weight.