The main reasons for a typical colli-
sion include the Officer Of the Watch
(OOW) not following the COLREGs or
the company’s Safety Management
System. Collisions are often caused
by a combination of inexperience and
systematic issues in the organisation.
This could manifest itself in the at-
titude that it has become acceptable,
within the shore-based organisation
(or onboard), to take unsanctioned
risks and make shortcuts.