Two US Navy ships collide near South America

bbc ^ | 02/12/2026 | Brandon Drenon

[BenLurkin]

A US Navy warship collided into a Navy supply vessel during a refuel operation, the US military's Southern Command confirmed to the BBC.

Two people reported minor injuries during Wednesday's replenishment-at-sea operation, Southern Command said, and are in stable condition.

...

The exact location of the crash between the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Truxtun and the Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply was not immediately clear.

...

The exact location of the crash between the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Truxtun and the Supply-class fast combat support ship USNS Supply was not immediately clear.

The USNS Supply ship has been operating in the Caribbean, according to the Wall Street Journal, which is part of Southern Command's area of responsibility. Southern Command is also responsible for parts of the South Atlantic and the South Pacific.

[Freee-dame]

Political science should not be allowed as a major at the US. Naval Academy. The very term “political science” is an oxymoron.

[rlmorel]

In cases like this, I reserve judgement. It happens, no matter how good you are. Sea conditions, wind conditions, current, etc. I happened to be on a carrier that collided with a destroyer during refueling it, one guy on the destroyer was severely injured, and the destroyer ended up being scrapped instead of repaired.

It just happens. I don’t recall our Captain or the other ships Captain was reprimanded or punished.

Now if two ships collide during maneuvering, yeah. Someone is going to get punished, and I do consider DEI.

[dagunk]

OK. You got almost 60,000 tons of boat doing a slow dance and trying to kiss each other. What can go wrong?

Seriously, UNREPS are dodgy anyway but at the same time extremely useful and necessary. Navy does it all the time but lots of things to go wrong.

Air Force does mid-air refueling - same thing. Lotsa ways to go wrong, just a lot less weight. A C-5 can air refuel....

I don’t envy any of these guys, air or sea.

[rlmorel]

"...Exactly! This was a destroyer and a supply ship. Try a carrier and supply ship, its like a slow dance with a cactus..."

I can attest to that, and that is a great way to characterize it!

In late September 1976, I was aboard the USS JFK heading up to the Arctic Circle for an exercise, my first time on a deployment, and that day,, in the afternoon, we had an F-14 go over the side due to a fuel control malfunction. I was sleeping in my plane next to the waist cat when it went over.

When that Tomcat went over the side, my plane was parked right along the starboard side just abreast of the island and the plane went over the side, it's full throttle exhaust made my plane rock all over the place as it swept across my plane, and it woke me up in time to turn and see the plane drop off the side with everyone running over the edge of the flight deck.

Oddly enough, you would think losing a plane over the side would be enough drama for one day, but thing was, I was working the night shift as well because we needed bodies riding brakes because they were moving planes all over the place that night. We green, rookie plane captains were the ones who got to ride brakes, so you had to sit in the damn plane all night, trying to catch some sleep, and because my squadron (VA-46) came up from Florida, I wasn't used to the cold, so it was uncomfortable, but I managed to get some sleep.

At some point, I awoke to a banging sound, and I nearly crapped my pants, it startled me that badly. I turned, and outside the canopy of my plane, one of the Crash Crew guys who wears the silver fire suit had climbed up on the ladder and was banging the nozzle of a CO2 extinguisher against the canopy to wake me up.

I opened the canopy, and the guy yelled at me: "We're at General Quarters, we hit a ship! You better get below and check in!" I think it all happened pretty close to me (my plane was spotted right above where it happened with the tail hanging out over the catwalk!) and I slept right through it, the GQ alarm and everything!

So...fortunately, my Line Shack (compartment where all of us Plane Captains worked out of) was literally less than 30 seconds from the plane, so...I didn't show up late enough to have people in panic mode wondering where I was.

Crazy. Losing a plane and wiping out a destroyer, both in the same day.

Here is the USS Bordelon (DD-881) in better days (same class, technically, that my Dad was an XO on during the Cuban Missile Crisis Blockade; USS Bristol DD-857-she started her life as a Gearing class destroyer, but had her hull extended to match the Sumner class length, so she was neither fish nor fowl):

And here she was after the underway refueling collision:

[rlmorel]

I ALWAYS found it impressive to watch. It made me proud to be in the US Navy, because we did that kind of thing far better than any other Navy, and those black shoes doing it were extraordinarily competent at what they did.

[philman_36]

An easy reminder...port and left both have four letters.

[RinaseaofDs]

UNREP can be a challenge for the OOD’s. Gotta be glad you aren’t transferring people. We did that once. His pants stayed dry.

[rlmorel]

Right. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the crews of those ships (both large and small) as they sailed into Typhoon Cobra in the fall of 1944 near the Philippines and were trying to top off the Little Boys...

That must have been terrifying trying to accomplish that replenishment, but the real terror occurred a short while later in the heart of that typhoon where nearly 800 men lost their lives.

[Ezekiel]

“CDR Koffi reported in November 2009 as Damage Control Assistant in USS COWPENS (CG 63) Forward Deployed in the 7th Fleet AOR. During his tour, he led historical and unprecedented efforts to mitigate radiological contamination while USS COWPENS participated in OPERATION TOMADACHI, March-May 2011.”

That reminds me...

Anyone remember the “Sea Hag”?

>>>

From 20 March 2008 to 13 January 2010, Graf was the commanding officer of the guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG-63), based in Yokosuka, Japan.[1][9][10]

Relieved of command

On 13 January 2010, Graf was relieved of command of USS Cowpens by Rear Admiral Kevin Donegan, commander of Carrier Strike Group Five, as non-judicial punishment stemming from an admiral’s mast. The punishment followed an investigation which verified allegations of cruelty and maltreatment of her crew, and conduct unbecoming an officer. Graf was found to have violated articles 93 and 133 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice during her tenure as commanding officer of Cowpens. The investigation was initiated after multiple allegations and complaints of physical and verbal abuse were made to Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Navy Inspector General by members of the crew. Graf was subsequently replaced as the ship’s commanding officer by Captain Robert Marin.[8][9][11]

The report found that Graf frequently abused members of her crew verbally and physically, creating what one crew member described as “an environment of fear and hostility”...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Graf

[philman_36]

UNREP can be a challenge for the OOD’s. Gotta be glad you aren’t transferring people. We did that once. His pants stayed dry.

I was a quartermaster. I was at the helm for DOZENS of unreps on both an LHA and a frigate. From big to small we never hit another ship.
The only incident the LHA ever had was off the Phillipines. We were trying to refuel before a hurricane and the superstructure was acting like a giant sail. The span wire snapped, the refueling line ripped apart and that was the end of that unrep. Nobody got hurt, per se, but the fueling team got drenched with fuel.
Needless to say the wind was from starboard so we pulled up to port of the supply ship. The wind just blew us away from each other so it wasn't really hard to steer clear.

It isn't just the OOD who has to be on their game.

[ansel12]

We’ll see, this War Department is more likely to look at it and evaluate it without just automatically doing what had become routine firings.

[Thud]

I agree. It’s always a tricky maneuver. The Navy practices and practices, but the law of averages always applies. Too bad for the captains involved, but there are lots of good reasons for this sort of collision always being career-ending.

[Thud]

Political science is a useful and proper major for future intelligence officers.

[JimRed]

...those black shoes doing it were extraordinarily competent at what they did.

Bluejackets in black shoes...hadn't heard that term in a long time!

[Lou L]

I’m curious why the ships don’t stop for these operations (other than that would make them sitting ducks in wartime).

Underway replenishment was the US Navy's "secret weapon" for many years following WWII. Not so much as it was a secret, but the technology and the process required the utmost coordination and seamanship. There's a reasonable risk, but the payoff is high...fuel and supply up an entire Carrier Battle Group in an hour or two while on-station? Yes, logistics goes a long way in wartime.

[central_va]

The Navy trains like it fights. Stopping for unrep is not even a concept. If you want to stop refuel head into port.

[rlmorel]

Indeed! Some folks took that quite seriously back in the day…:)

[central_va]

The frigate I was on did a rare unrep with a CVN. Yes CVNs can refuel escort ships. Well it was rough with a deep trough. Even the CVN was pitching slightly. Our FF was jumping . They wanted to call off the unrep. Our co was able to convince their co that this was normal for us we are always bouncing around like that. So we unrepped that day. Our FF along side the CVN bouncing like a cork and the CVN barely pitching. Those were the days.

[Thud]

Admiral Nimitz was the officer who developed and tested underway replenishment from oilers in the period between World Wars One and Two. It was regularly practiced by the Navy in the 1930s.

It was by no means a secret when World War Two started. The Japanese developed underway replenishment before the war. The Pearl Harbor striking force refueled its destroyers from oilers on the way to Pearl and again on the way back.

But the Japanese method could only replenish one ship at a time, trailing behind the oiler. The US Navy could replenish two ships simultaneously in 1939, one on each side of the oiler. Nimitz was responsible for that.

[vis a vis]

Looks like fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvnTrA8AbtA

Double replenishment looks even more hair raising.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7nI1n7Udhw