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“You really need to think ahead.
A normal braking distance is around 25 kilometers.“
Eckart Scharff, Captain
The vessel measures a total length of 320 meters and weighs in at 100,000 tons –
without cargo, that is. Taking the helm of such a ship means that you really have to think ahead. Especially
as even an emergency braking maneuver still takes 7 kilometers. While Captain Scharff has been at sea
for more than 40 years, he readily admits to being impressed by the developments in recent years. No
wonder, he experiences globalization first hand: “I feel as if the number of ships at sea is doubling every
6 months.” And in fact, it is getting increasingly crowded on the world’s oceans. Perhaps this is why he
sees his home in quite a different place: “The mountains – they don’t roll from side to side.”