How could such a collision happen? How is it possible that in the age of radar-driven navigation, AIS, and increasingly comprehensive and efficient electronic instrumentation, two such ships could have collided in the open sea, among other things in non-prohibitive marine weather conditions? Yet it happened between a container carrier, the 294-meter CSL Virginia, and a ferry, the 162-meter Ulysse, off Cape Corso, Corsica’s northern end.
According to initial findings on the dynamics of the accident, it appears that the CSL Virginia was stationary at anchor at the time of the collision. The Ulysse, for reasons that need to be clarified, did not see the freighter and hit it on the starboard broadside. Below are photos of the incident.
The collision produced a dangerous fuel spill and related pollution threat in Corsican and Italian waters. The oily spot is forecast to move westward in the coming hours. It remains, however, still unanswered any questions about the dynamics of the event, which
