Yet.... it was able to make these unexplainable and unimaginable 'turns'.
Posted on 06/17/2017 7:20:21 PM PDT by proust
YOKOSUKA, Japan -- A number of Sailors that were missing from the collision between USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and a merchant ship have been found. As search and rescue crews gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision this morning, the missing Sailors were located in the flooded berthing compartments. They are currently being transferred to Naval Hospital Yokosuka where they will be identified. The families are being notified and being provided the support they need during this difficult time. The names of the Sailors will be released after all notifications are made.
WTH were they doing?
Am I to understand that the container ship left the scene? If so, that is against maritime rules and that commander of that ship is in violation and will be taken into custody.
Correct but it matches the narrative of folks folowing the marine traffic site last night who noted the odd erratic course of the cargo ship while it was well off the vicinity of the Fitzgerald
And the comments starting to,come out from the Japanese Coast Guard about interviewing the cargo crew to investigate “ professional,negligence”
Supposedly the first call they got after the collision was ftom the Cargo ship which also seems odd
Prayers for the sailors and their loved ones.
There is a lot of speculation here that the USS Fitzgerald was rammed intentionally.
It is possible. But a nimble US Navy warship, a greyhound of the fleet with sensing systems able to acquire and target ballistic missiles, manned by highly trained personnel being rammed by a far larger, far less agile and speedy vessel is not the first hypothesis. If it did, it would be the first time a US Navy warship has been intentionally rammed by a civilian vessel. (This is not in any way similar to the attack in Yemen on the USS Cole). That is, it would be historic, so in that sense, it is possible.
However, as the saying goes, when you hear hooves in Arizona, you think horses, not zebras. Occam’s Razor indicates this is human error. When two ships collide in open waters under clear and calm conditions in the absence of an engineering casualty, it is human error, almost 100% of the time. Not even close.
Not like a submarine hitting an uncharted undersea seamount.
Not like a ship in a typhoon.
Not like a ship maneuvering in battle.
Not like a ship losing propulsion in the shadow of a lee shore during a gale.
All those things can be made worse by human failing, but each in its own is sufficient cause for calamity no matter how well the human error side is eliminated.
But this isn’t like that. If it is an historic event, yes. It could have been deliberately rammed by a hostile vessel, but that would fly in the face of modern US Naval history which is chock full of human error, so much so it dwarfs all other causes of mishap, but does not contain any instances of deliberate ramming by a civilian vessel.
That said, I recognize that prior to 9/11, there weren’t many civilian jetliners being used deliberately as missiles, either.
I wouldnt sail on anything with the name Fitzgerald.
I know they have radars but visional situational awareness is degraded at night at sea. Not knowing the weather orvsea conditionx ...
Having made several overnight offshore trips on clear nights and seas from 1 foot to 18 feet -.it was harrowing to judge other traffic especially barges!
Yes, ABC News Saturday evening broadcast reported this.
Anchors aweigh, Amen
"Japanese waters in fog are subject to radar "ducting" phenomena where the humidity blocks radar reception.When conditions of water humidity and temperature are right, and the antenna is high enough off the water, radar waves will be deflected higher into the atmosphere and reduce radar range to almost nothing for surface targets,
This "ducting" weather phenomena was a major problem for radar pickets during the 1945 Okinawa campaign."
Photos indicate structural damage to the hull, so the Fitzgerald may be out of service for two years. And another Aegis destroyer must be sent to Japan ASAP, as in within 3-4 weeks.
"There are unconfirmed reports that the Fitzgerald was stationary at the time, but without knowing the Fitzgerald’s own track (if any) and its position at the time of collision all we can do is speculate."
That may have been a sprint and drift ASW pattern. The Navy practices those a lot.
I was thinking the same thing. Those kinds of container ships do NOT turn on a dime and it may take them MILES to come to a complete stop. That’s the reason there are shipping channels and strict rules of navigation. I just don’t see how an alert US Navy destroyer would not have seen the potential for collision with all the sophisticated radars and detection devices they are equipped with. Something is missing in this narrative.
Looks like an attack.
“A veteran is someone who once wrote a blank check to the United States for any amount “up to and including my life.”
—
Even draftees?
.
“If our state of the art fleet can’t fend off a 29,000 ton (58 million pound) lumbering container ship, we should just discharge the sailors, sink the ships, and spend our money on something useful. “
Sobering analysis.
L
According to the course tracking, it wasn't stupidity. The person in command of the container ship purposely backtracked and then aimed for and rammed the Navy Ship, which was sitting still, and then left the scene of the crime.
That’s some expensive paint, by the way. Sort of wish I could lick it off.
Yet.... it was able to make these unexplainable and unimaginable 'turns'.
Not true. The destroyer tried to maneuver away from the oncoming ship. The Captain didn't know whether they were having trouble or not. He stopped the ship to allow the container ship to use any path it needed to pass by. Instead the commander of the container ship purposely steered into the Navy ship and rammed it midships, then left the scene without a care.
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