The master should write a full report describing all events leading to the collision, and gather the following: deck and engine room log books, movement books and contemporaneous notes;
graphs and print-outs from bridge equipment in use such as course recorder, echo sounder and sat-nav; statements from all witnesses to the collision including, where possible, pilots, tugmasters, etc.; full details of both ships, including names (correctly spelt), ports of registry, call signs and gross tonnages; exact location of the collision; exact time of the collision, stating whether UTC (GMT) or local time; difference between bridge and engine room clocks; estimates of speeds and courses of both vessels at the time of impact; estimates of angle of impact (this may have to be estimated by an expert surveyor); charts in use before and up to the time of the collision (unaltered and unerased); weather and tide conditions at the time of the collision; list of all navigation equipment in use at the time of the collision; records of all signals and communications made between the colliding ships (and any other ships in the vicinity) prior to the collision; names and positions of other ships in the vicinity at the time of the collision; details of any pilotage or vessel traffic control in operation at the time of the collision; in the case of a collision involving a moored vessel, details of moorings deployed.
