the Andrea Doria

[franksolich]

Following in the footsteps of Ptarmigan (hey, Ptarmigan, I'm joking), another disaster:

The SS Andrea Doria was an ocean liner for the Italian Line (Società di navigazione Italia) home ported in Genoa, Italy. Named after the 16th century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the Andrea Doria had a gross tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and 500 crew. For a country attempting to rebuild its economy and reputation after World War II, the Andrea Doria was an icon of Italian national pride. Of all Italy's ships at the time, theAndrea Doria was the largest, fastest and supposedly safest. Launched on June 16, 1951, the ship undertook its maiden voyage on January 14, 1953.

On July 25, 1956, approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts bound for New York City, the Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound MS Stockholm of the Swedish-American Line in what became one of history's most famous maritime disasters. Struck in the side, the Andrea Doria immediately started to list severely to starboard, which left half of her lifeboats unusable. The consequent shortage of lifeboats might have resulted in significant loss of life, but improvements in communications and rapid responses by other ships averted a disaster similar in scale to the Titanic disaster of 1912. All passengers and crew (1660 people) were rescued and survived, while 46 people died as a consequence of the collision. The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning.

The incident and its aftermath were heavily covered by the news media. While the rescue efforts were both successful and commendable, the cause of the collision and the loss of the Andrea Doria afterward generated much interest in the media and many lawsuits. Largely because of an out-of-court settlement agreement between the two shipping companies during hearings immediately after the disaster, no resolution of the cause(s) was ever formally accomplished. Although the majority of blame appeared initially to fall to the Italian liner, more recent discoveries have indicated a likelihood that a misreading of radar on the Swedish ship may have initiated the collision course which lead to some errors on both ships which resulted in the disaster.

The Andrea Doria was the last major transatlantic passenger vessel to sink before aircraft became the preferred method of travel.

read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Andrea_Doria

Okay, now, remember, I'm a professional civilian here, never a sailor.

How was it possible for two large ships to collide in broad daylight?

I mean, these weren't tiny boats; these were ships.

Nobody aboard modern ships looks out to see what's ahead in the water?

[Lord Undies]

I've wondered that too, Frank.  Were they playing Chicken?  Was the other boat getting bigger and bigger not a clue they were getting closer and closer?  I know those boats don't stop or turn on a dime, but still, people have eyeballs.

On the other hand, being an Andrea Doria survivor can get you bumped to the top of the list for a Manhattan apartment.   
^^ obscure TV reference.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I believe the collision occurred at night, may have been fog too.  There were many post-mortems analyses written over the years, I even remember seeing one in National Geographic long ago.

Large ships respond extremely slowly to the helm, and their speed is not easy to judge precisiely.  I believe there were also issues about which mode the radar was in on one ship, leading to a quite inaccurate belief about the remaining amount of ocean separating them, off by a factor of five or ten as I recall.

[Ptarmigan]

Many divers dive inside the Andrea Doria wreckage. It is one of the "Mt Everest" of diving because it is hazardous due to all the broken parts inside and many fishing lines and nets. In addition, there is strong currents and sediments that reduce visiblity. This was different from Titanic, in which more than 1,500 people died and they all could of been saved.

[franksolich]

I believe the collision occurred at night, may have been fog too.  There were many post-mortems analyses written over the years, I even remember seeing one in National Geographic long ago.

Large ships respond extremely slowly to the helm, and their speed is not easy to judge precisiely.  I believe there were also issues about which mode the radar was in on one ship, leading to a quite inaccurate belief about the remaining amount of ocean separating them, off by a factor of five or ten as I recall.

I wondered about that; the article doesn't specify the collision taking place at night, but I thought perhaps it might have.

HOWEVER, the Andrea Doria, being a large passenger liner, surely must have been lit up like a Christmas tree, and even in the darkness easily visible to the human eye.

But perhaps the fog was heavy enough?

[Chris_]

On the other hand, being an Andrea Doria survivor can get you bumped to the top of the list for a Manhattan apartment.   
^^ obscure TV reference.

Seinfeld 

[Lord Undies]

What we do know is that the people involved in this event witnessed heroism, death, destruction and panic. Many fought for their lives. Covered in oil and grease they climbed from the lower decks. Some were barely dressed, some not dressed at all. Others were on the upper decks and were not as frightened, they just waited for the rescue. Some struggled to return to their cabins to retrieve loved ones or lifejackets. A number of people died, never knowing what had happened. It was a night of terror and a night of miracles.

http://www.andreadoria.org/TheEvents.htm

For some reason, Frank, I always thought the wreck happened in the late afternoon. 

[VelvetElvis]

The real  question is, can George W. Bush account for his whereabouts on July 25, 1956? 

Perhaps Dan Rather can come up with some documentation....

[asdf2231]

A collision course
On the evening of Wednesday, July 25, 1956, the Andrea Doria, commanded by Captain Piero Calamai, carrying 1,134 passengers and 572 crew members, was heading west toward New York. It was the last night out of a transatlantic crossing from Genoa which began on July 17. The ship was expected to dock in New York the next morning.

At the same time, MS Stockholm, a smaller passenger liner of the Swedish American Line, had departed New York about midday heading east across the North Atlantic Ocean toward Gothenburg, Sweden. The Stockholm was commanded by Captain Harry Gunnar Nordenson, though Third Officer Johan-Ernst Carstens-Johannsen was in command on the bridge at the time. The Stockholm was following its usual course east to Nantucket Lightship, making about 18 knots (33 km/h) with clear skies. Carstens estimated visibility at 6 miles (11 km if they are nautical miles).

As the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria were approaching each other head-on in the well-used shipping corridor, the westbound Andrea Doria had been traveling in heavy fog for hours. The captain had reduced speed slightly (from 23 to 21.8 knots), activated the ship's fog warning whistle, and had closed the watertight doors, all customary precautions while sailing in fog. However, the eastbound Stockholm had yet to enter what was apparently the edge of a fog bank, and was apparently unaware of it.

The waters of the North Atlantic south of Nantucket Island were frequently the site of intermittent fog as the cold Labrador Current encountered the Gulf Stream. As the two ships approached each other at a combined speed of 40 knots, although each was aware of the presence of another ship, guided only by radar, they apparently misinterpreted each others' courses. There was no radio communication between the two ships.

In the critical minutes before the collision, the original inquiry established that Andrea Doria gradually steered to port (left), attempting a starboard-to-starboard meeting, while the Stockholm turned about 20 degrees to its starboard (right), an action intended to widen the passing distance of a port-to-port meeting. In fact, they were actually steering towards each other—narrowing rather than widening the passing distance. Compounded by the extremely thick fog which enveloped the Doria as the ships approached each other, they were quite close by the time visual contact had been established, and each realized the ships were on a collision course. By then, despite last minute maneuvers, they were unable to avoid the collision.

In the last moments before impact, the Stockholm turned hard to the starboard and was in the process of reversing its propellers attempting to stop. The Doria had remained at its cruising speed of almost 22 knots engaged in a hard turn to port, its Captain hoping to outrun the collision. At approximately 11:10 PM, the two ships collided.

In addition the Watch Officer on the Stockholm had his radar display set wrong, so he had a flawed distance on the vessels as they approached one another.

[Chris_]

A collision course
On the evening of Wednesday, July 25, 1956, the Andrea Doria, commanded by Captain Piero Calamai, carrying 1,134 passengers and 572 crew members, was heading west toward New York. It was the last night out of a transatlantic crossing from Genoa which began on July 17. The ship was expected to dock in New York the next morning.

At the same time, MS Stockholm, a smaller passenger liner of the Swedish American Line, had departed New York about midday heading east across the North Atlantic Ocean toward Gothenburg, Sweden. The Stockholm was commanded by Captain Harry Gunnar Nordenson, though Third Officer Johan-Ernst Carstens-Johannsen was in command on the bridge at the time. The Stockholm was following its usual course east to Nantucket Lightship, making about 18 knots (33 km/h) with clear skies. Carstens estimated visibility at 6 miles (11 km if they are nautical miles).

As the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria were approaching each other head-on in the well-used shipping corridor, the westbound Andrea Doria had been traveling in heavy fog for hours. The captain had reduced speed slightly (from 23 to 21.8 knots), activated the ship's fog warning whistle, and had closed the watertight doors, all customary precautions while sailing in fog. However, the eastbound Stockholm had yet to enter what was apparently the edge of a fog bank, and was apparently unaware of it.

The waters of the North Atlantic south of Nantucket Island were frequently the site of intermittent fog as the cold Labrador Current encountered the Gulf Stream. As the two ships approached each other at a combined speed of 40 knots, although each was aware of the presence of another ship, guided only by radar, they apparently misinterpreted each others' courses. There was no radio communication between the two ships.

In the critical minutes before the collision, the original inquiry established that Andrea Doria gradually steered to port (left), attempting a starboard-to-starboard meeting, while the Stockholm turned about 20 degrees to its starboard (right), an action intended to widen the passing distance of a port-to-port meeting. In fact, they were actually steering towards each other—narrowing rather than widening the passing distance. Compounded by the extremely thick fog which enveloped the Doria as the ships approached each other, they were quite close by the time visual contact had been established, and each realized the ships were on a collision course. By then, despite last minute maneuvers, they were unable to avoid the collision.

In the last moments before impact, the Stockholm turned hard to the starboard and was in the process of reversing its propellers attempting to stop. The Doria had remained at its cruising speed of almost 22 knots engaged in a hard turn to port, its Captain hoping to outrun the collision. At approximately 11:10 PM, the two ships collided.

In addition the Watch Officer on the Stockholm had his radar display set wrong, so he had a flawed distance on the vessels as they approached one another.

I was but a mere lad when this happened, but I remember the TV coverage, which included photos taken from a Coast Guard helo shortly after the collision, and the fog was very visable.......

I also seem to remember the results of the maritime inquiry wherein the Stockholm's watch officer testified that he had the "short range gracticle" up on his scope, which would have given him incorrect ranging if the transmitter was in long range search mode (the normal mode for a vessel entering open ocean).....apparently coming out of the port of NY, where the radar was used in short range mode, the operator correctly changed the operating mode, without changing the ranging overlay......one should bear in mind that there was no such error in radar operation on board the Doria, so she should have been well aware of the range to the Stockholm.....

The Dorias' capitan also erred by not reducing speed as the vessels closed, and his last minute emergency turn to port was also held as improper considering the circumstances.

Contributary error on the part of both vessels......*****happens sometimes, but as these things go, the outcome was fairly good.....

doc

[NHSparky]

How was it possible for two large ships to collide in broad daylight?

Fog.  REALLY HEAVY FOG.