Use your downtime to read some Captain John Trimmer.
And make sure it's the 2nd edition, apparently Fitzgerald commanders were only issued the 1st.
Posted on 08/19/2017 8:37:40 AM PDT by Oatka
They were probably too busy their sensitivity and diversity training. The expanded trans section learning the proper use of pronouns is very time consuming.
There’s only 1 captain and subordinate officers.
Good seamanship is discriminatory.
Everyone who wants to be a seaman, uh... sea person, uh... sea cis genderbender...
... should be able to be one.
The 41 page report of what happened immediately after the collision is located here.
Use your downtime to read some Captain John Trimmer.
And make sure it's the 2nd edition, apparently Fitzgerald commanders were only issued the 1st.
On Page 4 and 5 of the report there is some new news regarding the Fitzgerald prior to the collision. The Fitzgerald had left Yokosuka the morning of June 16, at 2300 on June 16 the ship left the Yokosuka area and headed to sea. Until this report we did not know if the Fitzgerald was headed to or from Yokosuka. Now we know.
“”7. On the morning of 16 June 2017,
FITZGERALD departed Yokosuka, Japan for
routine operations. FITZGERALD began an
outbound transit to sea from the Sagami Wan
operating area at approximately 2300. By 0130
hours on 17 June 2017, FITZGERALD was
approximately 56 nautical miles to the southwest
of Yokosuka, Japan, near the Izu Peninsula
within sight of land and continuing its transit
outbound. The seas were relatively calm at 2 to
4 feet. The sky was dark, the moon was relatively bright, and there was scattered cloud cover and unrestricted visibility.””
This is a report of the post-accident happenings that focuses on the injuries and deaths of the sailors. Nothing specific on what events took place that caused the collision.
No specifics as to who, what, when, where.
There was definitely more going on than a single man on watch dozing off.
On page 22 of the report we now learn the Fitzgerald was going to Subic Bay on a course of 230 degrees at 20 knots.
We also learn from the report the ship was darkened except for required navigation lights.
We also learn the collision happened at 01:30. Remember the Navy was unwilling to explicitly state the time of collision in the hours after the event.
“””0000 FTZ underway in the Sea of Japan on the way to Subic Bay, Philippines. She
was on a course of 230 degrees (True) at 20 knots with modified ZEBRA set
throughout the ship. The ship was darkened, with the exception of exterior
lights required for navigation. The Commanding Officer was off of the bridge.
Approx. 0130 Collision with the ACX CRYSTAL on the starboard side. Berthing 2 is flooded
within 30-60 seconds.
0132 FTZ sounds collision alarm”””
As I’ve written on other threads, I think the other large ship in the immediate area, the Wan Hai, will turn out to have played a significant role in this accident. If statements I’ve seen thus far are accurate, the Fitzgerald was probably closer to the Wan Hai ten or fifteen minutes prior to the collision with the Crystal.
I suspect that the Wan Hai was the focus on the bridge of the Fitzgerald at the time and that the Crystal went undetected, or was possibly even confused with the Wan Hai, resulting in the collision.
But the current report, as noted in the report itself, doesn’t address the pre-collision events and actions leading up to the accident.
These three are “relieved.” What is that in Navy-speak? Desk job?
Here are my observations/analysis prior to the collision based on the new news in the report:
1. USS Fitzgerald is heading 230 degrees and its AIS system would tell the bridge the Wan Hai 266 and ACX Crystal are heading 70 degrees towards them.
2. USS Fitzgerald is darkened, save navigation lights, and does not have its AIS transponder on.
3. ACX Crystal bridge detects the ‘stealth’ Fitzgerald and flashes a warning light at them. This action indicates the ACX Crystal bridge was indeed manned and the bridge was indeed alert to see a darkened ship with no AIS transponder heading towards them.
Didn’t Gordon Lightfoot write a song about the “Wreck of the USS Fitzgerald”?
For now ... but their careers are over. They will never get promoted again and will be forced out because of the "up or out" policies in the military.
Having served as an officer in the Navy during Vietnam, the closest meaning to the word relieved was what happened when you go to the bathroom. It usually wasn’t pretty.
Why was the Fitz darkened?
“””I suspect that the Wan Hai was the focus on the bridge of the Fitzgerald at the time and that the Crystal went undetected, or was possibly even confused with the Wan Hai, resulting in the collision.”””
No, it was the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ a merchant ship, plying the Great Lakes.
Edmund Fitzgerald.
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