How do the container ships - All Is Lost (2013) Discussion

[–] nessman 10 years ago

Many of these ships are navigated by computer/GPS/radar once underway - so the 'captain' isn't at the wheel looking ahead (it's night after all - really nothing to see ahead), or could be in the bathroom, or tending to other captainly duties.

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[–] stgekng 10 years ago

Nonsense; there are always at least two crew members on any ship's bridge at any given time. Its nothing but a lazy plot device, like the lack of an EPIRB onboard.

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[–] paulhfromthedeep 9 years ago

I had that thought too. His voyage seemed incredibly vulnerable to a fairly localised bit of damage. His boat was fairly well stocked, an EPIRB or three is the first thing I'd be owning if I was goign to sail the India Ocean solo. And a bit of water gets in the cabin and everything fritzes out?

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[–] kustom135 8 years ago

"an EPIRB or three is the first thing I'd be owning if I was goign to sail the India Ocean solo."

You're not sailing solo, then. You're sailing with an armada of rescue personnel just waiting for your emergency call.

Where's the test of yourself in that?

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[–] paulhfromthedeep 8 years ago

its an intelligence test....

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[–] travinitrav 9 years ago

So then how did the Valdez have an accident?

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[–] codad1946 8 years ago

Incompetence and a fair bit of intoxication it seems

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[–] DurakSuka 7 years ago

You might want to read this book then - https://www.amazon.com/438-Days-Extraordinary-Story-Survival/dp/1501116304

Hama cheez ba-Beer behtar meshawad!

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[–] El_Guapo_Caballo 9 years ago

Maybe the captains were Italian.

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[–] Xcalat3 10 years ago

yeah it was night so the crew was probably a sleep.

Liberate tu temet ex inferis.
pro ego sum diabolus, pro ego sum nex.

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[–] Basiclife_0 8 years ago

When you're at sea, you have a watch keeper / similar on duty at all times (usually 3 watches doing 4 hours on / 8 hours off around the clock, possibly with "dog watches" where you do a 2x2 hour watches so the watches rotate)

It's inconceivable that any large ship with even a semi-competent crew wouldn't have someone awake at all hours. Even aside from the safety concerns, there are jobs that need to be done 24x7, like keeping the log book, maintaining a radio watch, etc.

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[–] scarlettsdad 10 years ago

I don't understand why he waited until the ship was already virtually past him before setting the flares off. Seems any chance he would have had would have been to set them off way in advance. Also, do these ship's radars not show an object in the water near them, or is a rubber raft too small?

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[–] rzid 10 years ago

A raft like his would not show on radar, but not due to its small size-it's due to the fact that the rubber material is non-reflective to radio waves. A small radar reflector would be invaluable in a raft like this.

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[–] Little_Tyke 9 years ago

Well, initially, he didn't seem to have a clue how to set off the flares! Talk about learning on the job. What did he do for a living, I wonder.

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[–] charlesdusk 10 years ago

They probably noticed. They just didn't care. Pay check comes first. Plus it apparently takes a lot for a boat of that size to stop.

I read a frightening article about how if a person falls off a cruise ship, the boat just keeps going. It's happened numerous times. It's policy basically.

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[–] stgekng 10 years ago

More idiocy; ships are required by international law to render aid. If it can be proven that those on watch deliberately ignored a distress signal the company can be fined millions of dollars and the captain would have his master's license yanked, not to mention the possibility of criminal charges and civil litigation.

Are you sure you read a 'frightening article' about cruise ships? Are you sure it wasn't nothing? Its not policy, you absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

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[–] charlesdusk 10 years ago

Get lost with the insults. *beep*

It doesn't matter what the law is. What about that black or asian guy lost at see and he was completely ignored by multiple ships?

The article I was talking about was this one. But it's mostly what people say in the comments:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/nov/11/rebecca-coriam-lost-at-sea

Carver says the numbers have reached epidemic proportions and nobody realises it because it's in the industry's power to hush it up. He lost his own daughter, Merrian, back in August 2004, from the Celebrity Mercury. Even though the cabin steward reported her missing on day two, Carver said, no alarm was ever raised. "He reported her missing daily and they told him to forget it."

You're naive if you think money doesn't come first before a person's life.

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[–] stgekng 10 years ago

Obviously your time spent on a cruise ship is limited to none whatsoever; the railings are five feet high & there is no way to 'accidentally' fall over them. This article is nothing but fear mongering, and clearly they hooked another media lemming. 25 million people cruise every year; that adds up to 275,000,000 during the time frame referenced. 171 dissaperances out of 275 MILLION constitutes an 'epidemic' to you? Not to mention the article relies almost exclusively on asking random crewman about an investigation they are not only not involved in but are not given details to; you might as well rely on the hot dog vender at the ballpark for information on future player signings.

The point is that this film ignores maritime realities in favor of lazy plot devices.

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[–] acboolsen-22-78012 8 years ago

You're the one throwing insults! You know the saying "it takes a thief..."? Your comment says more about yourself than anything else!

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[–] mb113944 10 years ago

It's not a boat; it is a SHIP.

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[–] VBeretta 9 years ago

Actually, that's a short story by... Winston Churchill.

http://www.darkromance.com/gothic-arts/gothic-literature/classic-gothic-literature/004-man-overboard-by-churchill.html

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[–] julesrulesny 10 years ago

This is very common. Many survival stories have people encountering ship after ship after ship.. and they nwver get seen. many in shipping lanes.. they frankly just do NOT see the flares. You have to remember.. these decks on a container ship are 50-150 feet abov the water.. it is nearly impossible to see a raft or a flare unless it is right in front of you..
has nothing to do with money or laws..jus cant see the flares or the tiny raft..

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[–] BigBabyDirtFace 10 years ago

They should put air horns in the survival gear. Would have been more helpful than flares with all 3 boats he saw.

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[–] bdickus 8 years ago

Tom Hanks's character in 'Castaway' lucked out. ;) But yes it does take quite a distance to stop a ship, similar to a train. It happened here in Toronto on a party boat. A lifeguard of all people fell overside (probably drunk) and the the boat took a while to stop and the lifeguard drowned before the boat could turn around and the Harbour police could reach him. Now imagine a ship. However if flares were seen they could have put out a call...

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[–] !!!deleted!!! (52483620) 10 years ago

You'd think they'd not only notice the lifeboat, but also the huge film crew boat that was there too!

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer

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[–] riverlynx 10 years ago

I have kayaked for many years on the Columbia River NW USA and the Pacific Ocean; I encounter these container ships everyday when I go out to paddle. It is totally realistic from my experiences with these ships -- to not be seen. When a transoceanic ship nears land a Bar-Pilot will board the ship to cross the dangerous River Bar, further upriver they change to a River Pilot that will steer the ship 100 miles upriver.

Out on the Ocean, or on the River -- it is difficult to catch the attention of the ship crew. I carry a loud air-horn, whistle, flares, laser, marine band radio, cell phone to help contact help in an emergency. Heck, they crash into each other and bridges all the time. A small boat, raft not expected, in the middle of nowhere -- is out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

The crew work hard and are either working, sleeping, watching videos, listening to music, writing letters or email -- they are seldom outside sight-seeing like tourists; even tourists stay inside drinking most of the time from what I have witnessed.

I just don't understand why people need to find fault with every little thing. I like to use the movie, or book to stir my imagination, I fill-in the plot-holes for my enjoyment. I am a creative partner with the film-makers.

I basically agree with the following view, ▼

by julesrulesny » Wed Sep 24 2014 19:56:44
IMDb member since June 2006

This is very common. Many survival stories have people encountering ship after ship after ship.. and they never get seen. many in shipping lanes.. they frankly just do NOT see the flares. You have to remember.. these decks on a container ship are 50-150 feet above the water.. it is nearly impossible to see a raft or a flare unless it is right in front of you.. has nothing to do with money or laws..just cant see the flares or the tiny raft..

≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈~~~≈≈≈
I Voted YES today by mail for Oregon, USA measure 91, END Prohibition NOW.

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[–] canadamelody 9 years ago

Getting crap to WALMART is what matters you can drown !

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