Ocean-going sailor here. Some people might be surprised how often some people have trouble avoiding huge ships. These days, we have modern systems such as AIS, Doppler radar, proximity alarms, and all can be integrated into autopilot. Yet there are still so many stories of near-misses with tankers, freighters, and container ships.













This is actually a very significant factor. The guideline is that an ocean freighter spotted on the horizon will be on you in five minutes (guideline, we know the math doesn’t exactly check out). That doesn’t leave a lot of margin for being away from the helm or distracted while on watch.