The 'Alexandra 1' and 'Ever Smart'

摘要

On 11 February 2015 a collision occurred between the claimant's VLCC Alexandra 1 and the defendant's 75,246 grt container vessel Ever Smart. The collision took place within the pilot boarding area, just outside the dredged entrance/ exit channel to the port of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates (the channel), at 23.42:22. Ever Smart was outbound from Jebel Ali laden with 48,564 mt of containerised general cargo and, until shortly before the collision, was proceeding along the channel. Alexandra 1 was the inbound vessel, laden with 113,915 mt of condensate, and was, although not stationary, waiting in the pilot boarding area to pick up a pilot being released from Ever Smart before entering the channel. The channel was a "narrow channel" for the purpose of rule 9 of the Collision Regulations. Weather conditions were benign with clear night skies and good visibility of 10 to 12 miles.