Near collision situation South of Messina Straits

The ship crossed the Suez Canal, and was on the way to Palermo. Just about a day before arrival in Palermo, the ship was approaching Messina Strait. The Strait of Messina is a narrow passage between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in the south of Italy. It was a clear day and I was the Officer in Charge of the navigational watch. The time was about 2pm. I saw another ship coming and as per the Radar it should pass around 1.5 n/miles on our Port side (Left side of our own ship).

When the vessel is in transit of this kind of narrow passages, the Captain usually visits the bridge and remains there. The Captain’s presence on the bridge does not relieve the Officer on Watch from his duties, unless he verbally informs the Officer that he is taking over the watch. Therefore, I continued with my work. Our ship was heading in a Northerly course and was around 7 N/ miles South of the strait. The ship ahead of ours was coming down. The distance between the two ships were approximately 5 N/miles. When the other ship got closer, as much as 2 N/miles, there was a sudden movement and the bow of our ship swung and almost head towards the other one. The Captain informed me that he was taking over. He immediately ordered the helm, "Hard over to Starboard” and increased the speed to Emergency Full Ahead. The other ship also altered course away from our ship, but the ships were very close to each other when they finally passed. And, definitely much less than 1 N/Mile. However, a dangerous, and a possible collision was averted due to the timely action by both ships. After so many years have passed I still remember this incident.

The reason for the sudden swinging of our ship could have been due to following:

 ‘The Naruto Whirlpools

The Naruto Straits are where the Seto Inland Sea meets the Kii Channel. These straits are amongst the three most dramatic in the world, standing alongside the Straits of Messina between Sicily and the Italian Peninsula, and the Seymour Narrows of Vancouver Island in Canada. The difference in height between tides here can reach up to 1.5m, with the currents moving at 15 to 20km/h. This generates whirlpools ranging up to 20m in diameter. You won't want to miss these wonders of nature - some of the largest in the world! The best time to see them is one and a half hours around the high or low tides. Prime viewing season is during tides in spring and autumn.’

The above is taken from a report about these unusual and dangerous situations at sea.

Have any of you encountered such situations? Please comment.

                                                                 Photo of a Whirlpool