P & I club warns about inappropriate technology use on ship bridges

While modern technology allows mariners to keep in touch with family and friends back home, its use at the wrong time can distract a watch officer from safely navigating the vessel, says the London P & I Club.

The Club’s Stop Loss Bulletin cites two dangerous examples of the inappropriate use of technology: the case of a tugboat pilot involved in the fatal collision on the Delaware River with a tourist “duckboat”—the pilot was distracted by cell phone and laptop use—and  a pollution incident where the watch officer missed a radar target while trying to make a Skype call on his laptop.

The Club reminds navigators that any distractions from maintaining a safe watch should be minimized or eliminated.

Source: gCaptain.com