Velasco report

 Intro “An accident that happens when radio communication failed in maritime”

- problems of communication contributing to a lack of mutual confidences, suspicions and

misunderstandings, then the opportunities for human errors leading to dangers to the ship,
the people on board and the environment, are greatly increased.
- Here are some of example scenarios, and example accident happen when
miscommunication and radio communication failed

Example 1: “Ship and Shore Communication”

- VTS Centers monitor the traffic in many highly frequented areas. They also give
instructions and advice in critical situations.
- Note: Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) are being used in waterways worldwide as a means of
diminishing operational and environmental risk in maritime transportation. Their
functions include:
- Vessel traffic management, by an active and passive traffic organization service.
- Visual and electronic aids to navigation
- Crisis management for search and rescue and pollution -Information services including
publications, radio broadcasts, navtext, satellite acquisition of safety and traffic data for
commercial and military purposes and port state control implementation surveillance.
- But VTS operators are also human beings and mistakes may occur in their analysis. It has
to be taken into consideration that a VTS operator only has a restricted view of the
situation. He can only follow the movements of the participating vessels on the radar
screen. He does not know, for instance, the characteristics of the ships. Therefore it is
difficult for him to give exact advice to avoid dangerous situations. Communication
problems and neglect of radio calling procedures make the situation even worse. Due to
communication misinterpretations accidents occur as the following examples show.

Example 2: “Insufficient Details from VTS”

 In May 1995 the German motor vessel „Aphrodite" collided with the Maltese motor
vessel „Anglia" in the entrance to the port of Rostock (Germany). One of the reasons
was that the VTS-operator did not inform the vessels involved sufficiently well about
the traffic situation in the narrow entrance, it remains unclear whether this was due
to a lack of English skills or for other reasons.

Example 2: “Communication hampered by panicking radio-operator”

 An officer or radio-operator in panic can also cause external communication

problems. When the Polish Ro-Ro Ferry „Jan Heweliusz" capsized in 1993 near the
isle of Ruegen the watch officer at first gave a wrong position to the rescue center,
probably due to panic. Similarly, when the officers of Polish motor vessel „Boleslaw
Krzywousty" was ablaze and under heavy rocket fire from the Eritrean Coast of the
Red Sea on 05th January 1990. The officers failed to radio their correct position
 although being repeatedly asked to do so by responding coast radio stations and
vessels. The position they gave was not geographically possible and long delays
resulted. (A voice record of this extraordinary event is kept at Wismar University-
Germany, Dept. of Maritime Studies Warnemuende, and Maritime Communications
Section).

Article 50
Working hours of stations

Explanation:

50.1
 every station of the maritime mobile service and the maritime mobile-satellite
service shall have an accurate clock correctly regulated to Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC)
- NOTES: MARITIME MOBILE SERVICE A PERSON IN CHARGE IN WATCHING THE
VTS MACHINE AND ALSO THE NAVTECH TO NAVIGATE
50.2
 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), reckoned from 0000 to 2359 h beginning at
midnight, shall be used for all entries in the radiocommunication service log and in
all similar documents of ships compulsorily equipped with radiocommunication
apparatus in compliance with an international agreement; this same provision will
apply, as far as possible, to other ships.