How do cruise ships with GPS satelitte navagation still manage to hit rocks and sink?

Question

channel markers, GPS, landmarks, and they still hit rocks and reefs causing damage and sometimes sinking...WHY?

Answer 1

Pure negligence. I've been in Icy Strait, this isn't some narrow little creek, it's miles wide and in most places, very deep. With GPS and radar there is no excuse for this. This same ship has had other problems in the past few years with groundings. The bottom line, this cruise line is getting the employees they are paying for.

Answer 2

A lot of times there is a mechanical failure, and then the wind and waves take over and the ship drifts helplessly to the rocs or on the beach. That happened in Coos Bay, Oregon a few years ago. Then you have the insane accident of a ferry boat hitting an island at full speed. Instead of leaving it on the Island, the crew backed it off and the ship sank in deep water. Two persons died. There was nothing wrong with the instruments. The Captain was asleep. The two people on the bridge were in a sexual relationship. They refuse to account for what they were doing while the ship went off course. I think they were either arguing in a lovers quarrel or banging.

Answer 3

Well, navigation and shiphandling is an art. But many possible reasons why this does and still happens.

1) markers out of place
2) GPS is not 100% accurate to the nearest foot!
3) Captain is not a great shiphandler
4) current set the ship on the reef - error in navigation
5) a malfunction onboard the ship of various systems - steering, propulsion, bow thruster, etc

Answer 4

A friend of mine who sails out of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island aboard "Daydreams" a steel-hulled Bruce Roberts 38 footer has pretty much been all over the Atlantic Ocean and as far south as Venezuela. He has told us that he's amazed that freighters and the like appear to have NOBODY ON THE BRIDGE! He has very powerful binoculars and has seen this more than once. Seems to me that failure to keep proper lookout is indicated here mainly due to the complacency of the Captain and crew relying too much on electronic navigation, (Chartplotters, GPS, radar etc.) which was NEVER meant to replace paper charts and a sharp lookout. As a matter of fact, our electronic chart program, (Cap'n Voyager) states on every chart "Not to be used for navigation".

Hope this helps

Answer 5

A basic reality of large ships is that there is often only one person at the controls, sometimes not even that. They mostly use an autopilot system and if no one is awake on the bridge the ship goes merrily about it's business.

Answer 6

There is STILL alot out there in the big old ocean that hasn't been marked or accurately marked !!

Others have pointed out that commercial vessels, particularly freighters aren't always maintaining the strictest bridge-watch.

It's just like asking since cars have brakes and steering wheels and windows... WHY do they get into accidents ?

Answer 7

Human Error.. Poor management , I am speaking on board
Not paying attention to details..Simple idiotic mistakes..

Answer 8

well not all ships have this although it is getting less and less likely that they will not. also they do not have everything marked on the satalite and gps systems. so it is still possible for them to run into stuff.

Answer 9

this is a total guess
i believe it is because these rocks etc. are not marked on maps. every rock cannot be marked. Things can grow over time too. Maybe 20 years ago and ice burg wasn't there and now it is. For the facts, look it up on a website try
ask.com
question.com
stuff like that.
I gave you my best answer

Answer 10

alcohol.