Clashing crafts’ conundrum

By

KT Rajagopalan

The question:

A British ship and a German ship collide head-on against each other and sink in the high seas. The findings of the enquiry instituted by the maritime authorities are:

(1) The British ship was carrying cutlery from X to Y and the German ship was carrying ship textiles from Y to X.

(2) The distance between X and Y is 528 kms and the ships had started from their home ports exactly at the same time.

(3) The two ships were on exactly the same straight linear path.

(4) The British liner was cruising at a speed of 84 kmph.

(5) The German ship was slower, at 48 kmph.

(6) The accident took place at 03:07 am.

(7) The night-watch on the British liner noticed the German ship at 02:59 am and alerted the captain and the chief engineer without any delay.

(8) The accident could have been averted if the officials on the deck had been more alert and noticed the oncoming ship latest by 02:52 am.

What was the distance (in kms) between the ships at 02:52 am?

(a) 25           (b) 40           (c) 30           (d) 33           (e) 40    

Would you like a hint?

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