UNIT 2. Human Errors in Accidents

Text 1. Human error in Greek ship sinking

I. Before reading the text try to remember the information about the accident the cruise ship Sea Diamond had. Below you can find some more facts explaining the mishap.

10 April, 2007

Human error almost certainly contributed to the sinking of a cruise ship off Greece's island of Santorini, a Greek minister said.

A remote-controlled submarine has been taking pictures of the Sea Diamond in the hope of finding two French passengers who are feared drowned.

Clean-up crews are working to prevent more oil spilling from the sunken ship.

Nearly 1,600 passengers and crew were evacuated from the Greek-flagged Sea Diamond when it ran aground, then sank.

The Sea Diamond's captain and five other crew have been charged with negligence.

The captain has told investigators that a current took him by surprise[25] and sweptthe boat onto well-marked rocks just before it was to dock at Santorini's harbour.

Efforts were now focused on trying to find the two missing French tourists and on protecting the environment from the oil spilling from the sunken ship.

The three-hour evacuation was criticised by some passengers as slow and chaotic.

The 143-metre cruise ship, built in 1986, is owned by Cyprus-based Louis Cruise Lines.

Vocabulary

human error	субъективная ошибка, "человеческий фактор"
to contribute	способствовать
remote-controlled	управляемый дистанционно
clean-up	очистка
to spill	разливаться
to charge	обвинять
to focus	сосредоточивать(ся), концентрировать(ся)
to sweep (swept)	сносить
to protect	защищать, предохранять
environment	окружающая среда

II. Vocabulary Practice

Find an odd word.

a) spill, lack, leak, escape;

b) protect, defend, cover, recover;

c) carry, trap, sweep, move.

III. Speech Practice

1. Explain in English what the following words and word-groups mean:

a remote-controlled submarine; clean-up crews; negligence; environment.

2. Rephrase the sentences using the words in bold.

1.	Human error almost certainly contributedto the sinking of the cruise ship.
	the cause	–Human error is sure to … the sinking of the cruise ship.
2.	The captain has told investigators that a current took him by surprise and swept the boat onto rocks.
	expect	–The captain has told investigators that he … to sweep the boat onto rocks.
3.	Efforts were now focusedon trying to find the two missing French tourists.
	direct	–Search operation … at finding two missing French tourists.

3. Answer the questions to the text above.

1. What are the aftereffects (последствия) of the Sea Diamond sinking?

2. What is the main task of the search operation now?

3. Who is engaged in protecting the environment from oil pollution?

4. What charge has been brought against the captain and crew members?

4. Speak about the accident using the above questions as a plan.

Text 2. A number of errors led to a collision between
a UK cargo ship and a Danish fishing boat

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

to display	to show, to exhibit
responsibilities	duties
appropriate	proper

The collision between the Scot Explorer, owned by Scotline, based in Romford, Essex, and the Dorthe Dalso took place in November 2004.

The Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) says the accident happened due to a lack of crew on watch and a failure to use radar properly.

The Scot Explorer was headingfor Sweden carrying timber when she collided with the fishing boat Dorthe Dalsoe, which was seriously damaged.

Investigators from the MAIB found the fishing vessel had a tired and inexperienced crew, and that it was not displaying proper lights.

However, those on board the Scot Explorer did not take the appropriate action.

There was only one person on the ship's bridge, and another crew member who also acted as a look-out was attending to other responsibilities in the galley.

The radar system was not being used properly – and if it had been, the collision probably would not have happened.

The report is recommending an independent study of safety levels for the manning of ships, and the use of lookouts on board.

Vocabulary

The Maritime Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB)	Отделение Морского Агентства Береговой Охраны Великобритании по Расследованию Аварий
to attend to	уделять внимание (чему-л.); следить (за чем-л.)
manning	укомплектование личным составом