The only thing that a U.S. Naval Ship has to "give way to"; is a:
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 ...
My late father had the practice as a merchant marine officer of going to the bridge about fifteen minutes before his watch started in order to get acquainted with the position, course, and condition of the ship, the sea and weather conditions, and any ship traffic.
Here is how that can matter. One night, years ago, on a coastwise run in the Gulf of Mexico, the mate on watch wanted to bug out as soon as my father arrived. He insisted that the mate stay to the end of his watch and started asking questions about the ship's position and where they were in relation to ship traffic.
My father realized that the answers he got did not jibe with the lights that he was seeing in their direction of travel. Instead of being shrimp boats, they were ships in their correct lanes, which meant that their ship was badly off course and at risk of a collision. The mate started arguing, so my father ordered the helmsman to make a change of course and called the captain to the bridge to explain what had happened.
The next day, the ship put into Mobile on schedule. The captain had a quick telephone call with the shipping line's office. Within a few minutes, the derelict mate was gone and a replacement was on the way. Screw up in the Navy or as a federal civil service mariner and you may get an investigation and a hearing. Screw up on a commercial maritime vessel and you get sent home.
A couple of years ago, problems with GPS interference led to the US Navy to reinstitute a long discontinued course at the Naval Academy in traditional celestial navigation. To do so, the Navy went to the Merchant Marine Academy for help. They had kept such training and a large supply of sextants even after the Navy had dropped it.
See my comment # 41.
Wait, wut?
It's a joke?
Not yet.
Captains are allowed to eat. That’s why there’s 1st 2nd and 3rd officers. 3rd officer screwed up. Captain left somebody who had presumably earned the rank on the bridge, that’s supposed to be OK.
The captain stole the grits?
Ahh but the strawberries, that’s where he had them.
Sounds like he didn’t earn it.
Diversity?
Darn straight. If they're wearing the rank, they're doing the job. If they're not able to do the job - replace them.
/and, in doing so put the ship into shallow water. He should have called downstairs as he was doing that. Not to wait, can’t hit a fishing vessel, just to give the Cpt a heads-up so he can sprint for the bridge if he suspects something.
He ran aground on sand. Geesh. Chill out.
Sounds like he didn’t earn it.
= = =
‘he’ ?
The only thing that a U.S. Naval Ship has to "give way to"; is a:
Wonder why.
I, too, wonder why they didn't name her.
When two ships are on a collision course, or danger close course, the smaller ship maneuvers, and the larger ship maintains course and speed. You don’t want ships, especially very large ships, with a turning radius that may be measured in kilometers, playing Alphonse and Gaston, with both ships altering course at the same time, each towards the other.
I learned that while reading about the U.S. Navy’s recent streak of at fault collisions with civilian vessels.
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