VII. Home-reading. Read and translate the story orally and do all tasks in written form:

A tanker of some 27,000 tons gross was inbound in the Moline River for the port of Moline, and a general cargo vessel of some 8,000 tons was outbound from Moline for Pascagoula.

When fog came on the tanker reduced her speed to slow ahead and started sounding fog signals. She met and passed several other vessels port to port without incident.

The pilot boarded the tanker at the sea buoy some 30 miles from the point of the collision which later took place. She entered the channel. The length of the vessel was nearly double the width of the channel.

When the pilot of the general cargo ship boarded the vessel at the Alabama State Docks, approximately 3.5 miles from the scene of the collision, visibility was reduced.

The master of the tanker observed on-coming vessel on the radar. It was a general cargo vessel.The on-coming vessel was proceeding too close to the eastern side of the channel. She inquired over the radio, “Are you equipped with radar?” and received an affirmative answer. But the general cargo vessel's radar could not be operated properly because her booms were in an upright position. The scanner of the radar did not extend as high as the booms. The position of the booms prevented the radar from detecting ships which were passing dead ahead and off the port bow.

That is why the general cargo ship could not detect the tanker or the channel markers located on her port side. The pilots of both ships were equipped “with walkie-talkie” radios, and the pilot of the general cargo vessel communicated by voice with the tanker.

When the vessels were 1.5 miles apart, the pilot of the tanker contacted the pilot of the general cargo vessel and said: “Please move over to your starboard side of the channel to clear port to port”. The pilot of the cargo vessel answered: “We shall be moving over.” This request was again repeated when the vessels were about half a mile apart, and a similar answer was received. But the general cargo vessel was on the wrong side of the channel. And this brought about the collision.

Ex.1. Answer the following questions:

1. What did the tanker do when fog came on?

2. Where did the pilot board the tanker?

3. Why could the radar not be operated properly?

4. What was the position of the booms on the general cargo vessel?

5. What prevented the radar from detecting ships which were dead ahead?

6. Which vessel was on the wrong side of the channel?

7. When did the vessels sight each other?

8. What were the actions of each ship?

9. Which ship was guilty and why?

Ex.2. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Лоцман прибыл на танкер в 30 милях от места столкновения.

2. Капитан танкера заметил встречное судно на радаре.

3. Стрелы были в вертикальном положении.

4. Грузовое судно проходило прямо по носу.

5. Суда находились на расстоянии 1,5 миль друг от друга.

6. Танкер снизил скорость и начал подавать туманные сигналы

7. Столкновение произошло, когда танкер входил в канал.