In the "good old days", the look out was placed on the forecastle, and this rating rotated on watch with the helmsman while at sea. Kind of nice duty in nice, calm tropical nights, but doubtful how effective a lookout it was during stormy north-atlantic nights, but most Master's(I've been told) put the look out on the bridge wings during the worst wheather. Although...did they see any more/better from the bridge wing during a hefty storm? I have seen these look-out boxes fitted on ships with just a hand-cranked phone, no heater or window or chair. The argument was that if it was "too comfortable" the look-out would fall asleep :-) .

Never seen the IMO on the bow before.

Not often, and yes ,equipped to survive, but anytime better than without the box

How often that lookout is used normally? I assume inside of it there's only a chair, heater & binoculars + radio? :D

That type of fwd look-out box was a Flag-rule for Norwegian ships some years back, on "all" type of commercial vessels. So you could also see tankers and bulkers with this peculiar little box in the fwd mast :-)

@Denis
160 mt is considered heavy lift but heavy lift means not always small pieces,,think of bulky pieces. Doors for locks like now in the PanCan for examples, yards etc , all so big that visibility is obscured.
And the lookout in the foremast is not necessarily for the visibility as in looking from the bridge obscured but more for ice navigation because from there the lookout can see much better which direction the ice cracks. Remember those old style builded Russian ships, they had almost all that lookout post forward.

Could be, but she's not really a heavylifter with 2x80t cranes & the bridge us high enough there.
And hah! Just noticed the ship is actually my favourite ex-Southern Moana! :D

Built for heavy out-size loads - often created probems for bridge visibility.

Why would she have a lookout on foremast?
Other than that, fine shot of a fine freighter (my fav ship profile, btw)!