Master and Commander
On June 8, the historic schooner No. 5 Elbe collided with the Cypriot container ship Astrosprinter in the Elbe River just outside of Hamburg, Germany, and became an instant YouTube sensation (the video can be viewed at passagemaker.com/technical/MasterandCommander). Ich spreche überhaupt kein Deutsch, so I am not certain what is being said in the video, and the best local reporting I’ve found on the incident, I’ve read only as mangled through Google Translate.
Nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned from the information we already have.
Based on early reports, because the schooner was in the wrong part of the channel, but the schooner did not respond. Elbe vessel traffic system was informed via radio that the schooner was impeding safe navigation, and attempted to hail the schooner. All efforts were unsuccessful.
