Opinion ID: 2959866
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Onboard the Tricolor

Text: Built in 1987, the Tricolor was a 190 meters-long roll-on roll-off Norwegian flagged carrier, with a capacity to carry over 3,000 cars. On the day of the collision, the Tricolor was on a voyage from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Southampton, England, and headed westward in the East- 3 These distances are taken from a computer simulation of the collision based on data collected by radar in Dunkerque, France. A compact disk (“CD”), showing the positions and movements of the three ships, was presented at trial by the Clary’s expert, Captain Boyce, and is agreed by all parties to closely reflect the occurrences of the night in question. The CD permits plotting alternative courses and speeds and reveals the consequences of various combinations of actions. 5 West branch of the TSS. There were three men on the bridge of the Tricolor: Captain Knutsen, Second Officer Cabanda and Able-Bodied Seaman Matel. After 2:00 a.m., Captain Knutsen was aware of the Kariba, as well as two other ships, ahead of him. At 2:12 a.m., Captain Knutsen noticed he was beginning to overtake the Kariba—and indeed, could see her lights. Knutsen was also aware of the Clary and its being on a collision course with the Kariba. Then suddenly, Captain Knutsen noticed the Kariba had abruptly and without warning turned to starboard, and was heading straight for him. In the moments leading up to the collision, Captain Knutsen had the Tricolor on autopilot. Seeking to avoid the collision, Captain Knutsen and Cabanda simultaneously converged on the wheel, hurriedly disengaged the autopilot and sent the vessel hard to starboard. Despite their efforts, the Kariba struck the Tricolor, which listed hard, capsized and sank.