I have limited salt water experience, only a couple of bareboat
charters in the Gulf of Mexico... But I have a lifetime of sweet water
sailing on the Great Lakes... One thing I learned early on is that
ships/freighters don't change course, even in a thousand feet of water
and no land visible in any direction... There is no one looking out
the window, and no one will answer the radio - and if in some miracle
they did they don't speak any english anyway...

So, as a sail boat skipper I learned to automatically change course as
soon as I see it is going to be close...... I don't get all bent up
over regulations, or that as a sailing vessel I have the right of way,
or that the hired Captain is an arrogant ass... Opposing a large ship
is like a motorcycle challenging a semi at 70 MPH on a narrow road...
You may be dead right on your cycle, but you will still be dead...
Roger, take a deep breath and forget about it...

cheers ... denny