Car Carrier Sinks In The North Sea

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

1,400 new cars, most of them Mitsubishis on their way from Japan and Thailand to Finland went to the bottom of an icy North Sea when the 485 foot car carrier Baltic Ace sunk off the coast of the southern Netherlands last night.

The ship had collided with the container ship Corvus J. According to Reuters, the collision was caused by “human error.” The ship had a crew of 24. Most of them were rescued by helicopters, at least five died, some are missing.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Mdub523 Mdub523 on Dec 06, 2012

    I think people should be aware that, unfortunately, this sort of casualty is not uncommon. Most people are not in tune with maritime news unless it intersects with some other interest they may have (i.e. car carriers) or is uncommonly terrible (i.e. Costa Concordia). One only needs to wikipedia shipwrecks of 2012 or any other year. As a maritime deck cadet I am constantly reminded about the importance of training, but until more facts come to light it is difficult to judge what may have happened. Just because they were flying a flag of convenience does not mean they did not have a qualified wardroom. As previously mentioned factors such as sea state, traffic density, light from the shore, visibility and countless others become intermingled with potentially conflicting information the deck officer may have been receiving from his lookout (probably only one), his radar, and his AIS to create a ambiguous situation. This of course assumes the radar was functioning properly and that both ships were broadcasting accurate AIS information. Also, something to consider regarding the rules of the road; One could potentially have two experienced watch officers who know the rules well enough to pass licensing exams but could look at the same situation and see entirely different conditions which would mean the two ships were applying conflicting rules. It will be interesting to see the extent to which they were communicating. This does not mean that mistakes were not made or that a well paid deck officer is not expected to overcome these hurdles just that ocean navigation is still a demanding trade.

  • JK43123 JK43123 on Dec 06, 2012

    Just about as likely to start. John

  • Thebanker Thebanker on Dec 06, 2012

    1400 Mitsubishi's at the bottom of the ocean... I guess that's Evolution.

  • Sector 5 Sector 5 on Dec 06, 2012

    Five year old ship TC'd in a very busy channel. She had eight large open decks that quickly flooded. Its the natural thing for vessels to pull apart after a collision. Its better to stay stuck together until damage can be better assessed while keeping inflow to a minimum. Rough weather may not have been conducive.

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