Posted on 05/18/2024 7:43:35 AM PDT by DFG
A Navy supply ship was run aground by a junior officer off the coast of Bahrain shortly after the ship's master -- or captain -- left the bridge to eat dinner, an investigation revealed.
The USNS Alan Shepard had finished up a maintenance period on July 15 and was on the way to a port in Bahrain when she was directed to an area just off shore to wait on a pilot. The master took the ship there and then went to eat dinner, leaving the ship in the hands of a much more junior third officer.
Less than 30 minutes later, the Alan Shepard was grounded on a shoal.
The investigative summary that was provided to Military.com found that after the ship's master -- as well as the navigator and the chief mate -- left to eat, the ship's third officer "became distracted by a fishing vessel" and tried turning the Alan Shepard to avoid it.
However, the officer, who was not identified in the summary, "was not cognizant of the ship's position in relation to the shoals and shallow water while he was maneuvering the vessel."
It wouldn't be until the next day when, helped by rising tide and tugs, the ship would be freed from the sand.
The investigation noted that the Alan Shepard's standing orders dictate "the master will be on the bridge" when the ship is in shallow water. It cited the failure of the ship's top officers to follow their own rules as one of the factors that led to the incident.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
should have got a grilled cheese samich delivered to the bridge
What, no Uber Eats?
They were directed to the area so it the fault of whoever did that
Well, the water wasn't nearly as shallow when the master left the bridge as it was when he returned to it.
“They were directed to the area so it the fault of whoever did that”
The Jr officer on the bridge was trying to avoid a fishing boat. It pays to read before opining.
“ship’s master”
Civilian licensed by Coast Guard.
No, once in the area the Junior officer started maneuvering without referring to charts.
Well…. Ship happens….
Well, there's soon to be three jobs opening up.
Obviously, the Junior Officer failed to recite the Al Shepard prayer before taking the con.
“the officer, who was not identified in the summary”
Wonder why.
As a Third Mate on his first trip to Europe in the late 40s, my father was trusted with navigating his merchant ship at night through the busy and fogbound English Channel -- without radar. He did so without incident and had an exemplary record as a merchant marine officer and as a naval officer during the Korean War. Merchant marine academy graduates continue to be prized by the US Navy for their ship handling skills.
In contrast, I was told once by a Captain in the Norwegian Navy that if a captain didn't run aground at least once in the fjords that it was assumed he lacked aggression and that was bad. If he did it twice it showed that he didn't learn. Of course, you will learn that Norwegians are a jokey lot and you can never be entirely sure if their stories are true or not but still...
At leat one, maybe two careers ended. -m3
“USNS” ships are not manned by US Navy crews.
Lets get a look at the Jr. Officer left in charge; probably an Annopolis grad and WOKE.
Also it appears that by reacting to a nearby fishing vessel he forgot about the Law of Gross Tonnage.
Not sure but do they fall under the MSC (Military Sealift Command)
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