As one who also takes sailing seriously, I tend to agree except for the fact
that the company which owns the ship dictates how many are on the bridge at
any given tims. If one were to have a fully manned bridge with similar
electronics it would be much safer than a similar bridge with no
electronics, as history shows. It is the simple hunt for the almighty
corporate dollar that makes for such situations, not the presence of
intigrated systems.
"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
The trouble with one man bridge operation (OMB0) on large ships is
one man cannot possibly pay enough attention all the time he's on watch.

Rather than making navigation safer these integrated bridge systems (IBS)
make it more dangerous. You can have an IBS costing in the millions and
still the weak link in the chain is the human factor. OMBO exists for one
reason and one reason only - to save the shipping company money by
cutting vital personnel.

As demonstrated here in this very group by people such as otnmbrd,
Shen44 and Jeff Morris the weak link can be weak indeed.

Increased safety, increased cost-saving and increased efficiency in
navigation are the major concerns for all vessels so Furuno sells
systems that make Furuno lots of money but actually make navigation
more dangerous because Furuno doesn't recognize the weak link in
the system - the Ocean Master.

S.Simon
(A Captain who takes sailing seriously)

references: http://www.furuno.co.jp/english/mari...r/voyager.html