With the O’bamanized navy, they may have to put in automated proximity warnings like the airlines have...
With the cost of these ships and the lives at stake, I would have thaught they would have computer systems monitoring the environment around the ship and warning of any collisions based on projected course. I mean we have self driving cars and cars with collision avoidance systems, a multi-billion dollar ship should have them.
It is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. I’m pretty sure some type of AIS would be in place. There may be security concerns but along with every other layer of security that should have been operating so close to known container ships at night.
There is a reason we say you are standing a WATCH. You are supposed to WATCH out and report possible dangers to the ship.
In addition to the OOD and JOOD there would have been fore and aft lookouts, possibly a signalman of the watch, and at least six people in Combat. That would have been the CIC watch officer, the enlisted supervisor one person manning the surface search radar repeater and two plotting the ship's position/ doing maneuvering board.
I am not counting the Quartermaster and Boatswains mates of the watch, and various junior enlisted on the bridge at the wheel or acting as messenger. There would also be a watch in engineering and sonar.
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