Remembering the Andrea Doria: Confusion leads to catastrophe

On July 25, 1956, the Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish liner MS Stockholm and sank the next day. Rescue vessels saved 1,663 persons, with 51 determined to have been lost. The site of the collision was at the mouth of the New York Harbor, a busy area that mariners had dubbed “the Times Square of the Atlantic.” Given that this was an area where crossing traffic could be expected, the accident could have been avoided, its cause attributed to chance and a series of basic errors that resulted in tragedy. Each ship had the other on radar at different times, but contact was not maintained. If either ship had altered course or speed in reaction to an apparent, yet unrecognized, sighting of each other, then no collision would have occurred. It was determined that over-reliance on radar was a major culprit in this accident. This led to mandatory training for the use of radar becoming more systematized and widespread. Furthermore, approaching ships are now required to hail each other by radio communications, but most significantly, such vessels are always required to make a starboard turn. It is notable that the employment of these very measures would have eliminated any possibility of the collision that sank the Andrea Doria.

• Record URL:
  https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/Proceedings%20Magazine/Archive/2018/Vol75_No3_Wint2018.pdf
• Authors:
  • Sieg, Kent G
• Publication Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Photos; References;
• Pagination: pp 54-61
• Serial:
  • Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea, Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council
  • Volume: 75
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: U.S. Coast Guard
  • Serial URL: http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Lessons learned; Maritime safety; Navigation radar; Ocean liners; Search and rescue operations; Ship operations; Ship pilotage; Shipwrecks
• Identifier Terms: United States Coast Guard
• Geographic Terms: North Atlantic Ocean
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01705416
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 23 2019 10:23AM