In message , at 11:59:38 on Thu, 9 Apr 2015,
Robin remarked:
Hasn't radar been around for oh , 70 years or so? And how do they
cope in the dark?

Just think of the the fuss there'd be if a ferry rolled over a
canoe/kayak in the fog. Radar doesn't show such things. So I can
understand the operators approach. I may not like it but they are just
responding to the risk-aversion/someone-must-be-blamed culture endemic
now in Britain.

Dark is different. The ferries have lamps. Canoers etc must have a torch
they can use in sufficient time to prevent collision and all but the
most stupid will have reflective clothing and show a light.

I highly suspect that things like the Woolwich Ferry are craft that
*everyone* has to aware of, and beware of, and give way to. A bit like
HSTs at level crossings.
--
Roland Perry