Bulk Atalanta vs Forest Pioneer: Collision Near Gibraltar
In the dark early morning of 27 November 2003, two big cargo ships were moving near Gibraltar. One was the Bulk Atalanta, a very large bulk carrier coming in to pick up a pilot and then head across the ocean. The other was the Forest Pioneer, which had just finished taking fuel while at anchor and was starting to leave the bay. The weather was windy with bursts of rain, but they could still see the usual navigation lights. Both ships were in ballast, which means they were not carrying cargo and rode higher in the water.
Bulk Atalanta turned slowly into the bay to make a safe place, called a lee, for the small pilot boat to come alongside. As the pilot boat approached, the captain of Bulk Atalanta reduced speed and even stopped the engine for a moment, because picking up a pilot is a delicate job. He also called Gibraltar Port Control on the radio and asked them to tell the other ship to keep clear, since he was busy with the pilot boarding.
Meanwhile, Forest Pioneer had been weighing anchor near other anchored ships and a very large tanker. After she got her anchor up, her master chose to turn the ship to a heading around 210 degrees and increased speed to get away from the anchorage. He knew there was an inbound ship coming to pick up a pilot, but he did not keep a sharp enough radar watch before changing course and speed. That turn and speed-up put Forest Pioneer on a path that crossed ahead of Bulk Atalanta. On the radar, the two ships were now set on collision courses.
Because of rain and confusion, the people on Forest Pioneer could not pick out Bulk Atalanta’s lights at first, and they assumed Bulk Atalanta would soon turn to starboard (to the right) to head north to the pilot station. That assumption was wrong. Bulk Atalanta needed to maintain a steady north-westerly course to shelter the pilot boat and could not just swing away. On Forest Pioneer, there were short, uncertain helm orders—first to starboard, then to port, and then hard to starboard again after someone overheard a radio call saying “hard to starboard,” whose source and purpose were unclear. What Forest Pioneer really needed to do at that point was to stop and go full astern to kill her speed, but she did not do that in time.
On Bulk Atalanta, the lookout also was not good enough. If the bridge team had tracked Forest Pioneer’s radar echo earlier, they could have taken more way off sooner. When the captain finally saw Forest Pioneer close ahead on the starboard bow, he first ordered a small increase (dead slow ahead with hard to starboard) to try to swing clear, and then the pilot, who had just climbed aboard, shouted for full astern. Even so, by then the ships were too close. The starboard bow of Bulk Atalanta struck the port side of Forest Pioneer at a shallow angle. Bulk Atalanta suffered significant damage; Forest Pioneer had little.
Final Judgment Summary
- Forest Pioneer created the danger by turning and speeding up without confirming Bulk Atalanta’s position.
- She compounded the risk by relying on a wrong assumption, reacting to unclear radio chatter, and failing to slow or stop in time.
- Bulk Atalanta was not blameless—her radar lookout was insufficient, and she should have reduced speed earlier.
- However, she was constrained by the pilot operation and could not safely turn to starboard.
- Apportionment: 85% fault to Forest Pioneer, 15% to Bulk Atalanta.
The court confirmed that ordinary collision rules applied, not special fog rules. The result: Forest Pioneer bore the majority of liability for the collision near Gibraltar, while Bulk Atalanta carried a smaller share due to delayed response.
