Decision in the TRICOLOR Case

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued an opinion as to the cause of the collision between the M/V KARIBA, a container vessel and the  M/V TRICOLOR, a car carrier which resulted in the sinking (with no loss of life) of the TRICOLOR in English Channel in December 2002.  In short, the Court found that the cause of the collision was solely the sudden turn of the KARIBA to starboard  in the close quarters of  a traffic separation scheme, to avoid a potential collision with the M/V CLARY which was tracking to be crossed by both the TRICOLOR and the KARIBA.

The opinion contains numerous references to the technological tools available to the Masters of the three vessels involved including ARPA, radio communications and fog signals,   Yet, despite all of the technology available, and perhaps because of the  misuse or non-use of those tools, human error raised its ugly head and this incident occurred.

Thanks  to Dennis Bryant and his Haight's Maritime Items for pointing out the issuance of this decision.