In 2007 another cruise ship ran aground off Santorini Island in the Greek isles. The vessel went close to the island鈥檚 picturesque cliffs to give the passengers a good view, but struck rocks and sank.
鈥淪houlda, coulda, woulda,鈥� says Mr. Loh. 鈥淵ou go close but you don鈥檛 go too close."
Stopping a boat or quickly changing course to avoid an immediate collision threat is not a realistic maneuver for most cruise boats, says Mr. Loh. 鈥淵ou have to understand when you鈥檙e at sea and in a large vessel like this, the bridge is extremely high up in the air, and you can鈥檛 see the entire vessel or over the side of the vessel 鈥� and you can鈥檛 stop on a dime鈥�
鈥淚n order for you to avoid [a collision] requires a lot of prior planning to figure out where you are at any particular time,鈥� Loh says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e really close [to land] you have to be in a position that no matter how much momentum you have at that time the forces of inertia could not possibly put you in a position to rub up against a large rock.
鈥淲hich means you have to be fairly far away to avoid [collision],鈥� he says citing a full boat length, at least, from any known hazard.
Gregorio Borgia/AP
