08.06.2018 – Onboard video showing the No. 5 Elbe on starboard, in a breeze, heading toward container ship.
No. 5 Elbe is driving to weather on the northern side of the channel. Also clearly visible is the “Astro Sprinter”, which the pilot is heading for. Clearly heard are the warning signals of the container ship. Possibly after a command several people push the tiller of the ship towards port – and thus steer further in the direction of “Astro Sprinter”. Whether the command was misunderstood or given incorrectly is not clear…
Looks like they were on a starboard tack. Why didn’t NO5 ELBE fall off and leave the approaching freighter to starboard? Instead it looks like the crew paniced and tacked onto a port tack to pass in front of the firefighter’s bow to clear her. In the approach the the Elbe’s starboard quarter, her danger zone and first area of responsibility. Regardless, freighters have the ultimate right of way in, especially in close quarter situations. We deal with this issue frequently on the Chesapeake Bay with a narrow deep water channel.
Agreed. Tacking across the path of the containership was a mistake. Falling off, easing the sheets, would have allowed them to pass stbd to stbd.