Merchant Vessel, U.S. Navy Ship Collide in Persian Gulf

Navy Newsstand ^ | 3/26/2006 12:13:00 AM | Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Story Number: NNS060326-01

Release Date: 3/26/2006 12:13:00 AM

From Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs

NORTH PERSIAN GULF (NNS) -- The Kiribati-flagged merchant vessel M/V Rokya 1 and USS McCampbell (DDG 85) collided at 11:09 p.m., local time, March 25, approximately 30 miles southeast of the Iraqi coastline in the North Persian Gulf.

Two U.S. Sailors received minor injuries as a result of the collision. Two crew members from Rokya 1 also received minor injuries and were treated on-scene by McCampbell’s independent duty corpsman.

Rokya 1 and McCampbell, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, both received damage on the bow and are deemed seaworthy. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

McCampbell, homeported in San Diego and currently on a routine six-month deployment, is one of several coalition assets conducting maritime security operations under the direction of Combined Task Force (CTF) 58. CTF 58 is responsible for the security of the Al Basra and Khawr Al Amaya Iraqi oil terminals, which are the main sources of revenue for the Iraqi reconstruction effort.

For more news from around the fleet, visit www.navy.mil.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Bummer. :(

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

File photo of USS McCampbell:

050726-N-8213G-072 Pacific Ocean (July 26, 2005) - The guided missile destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) prepares to go alongside the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) to conduct a fueling at sea (FAS). Reagan and embarked Carrier Air Wing One Four (CVW-14) are currently underway conducting Tailored Ships Training Availability (TSTA). U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Konstandinos Goumenidis (RELEASED)

[The Electrician]

OK, I'll admit it, I had to look up Kiribati... Not exactly a household name...

[Doctor Raoul]

Trying to board? Intercept?

[meema]

Rokya 1 and McCampbell, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, both received damage on the bow...

Someone playing "chicken!" with us?

[Capt. Tom]

With the controllable pitch props they can stop the ship on a dime. Apparently they didn't use it.

Coincidentally: an e- mail I got last week:

Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2006 7:28 AM
Subject: Spin Test and lunch

Are you and your buddies still interested in a tour of our factory and lunch?

Sometime around the 1st week of April may be the time. We are scheduling 24Hr production spin test of an Arleigh Burke Class DDG controllable pitch propeller system. I think you would enjoy it.

Let me know if you still have interest. As we get closer, we can lock in the exact timing.

[Drew68]

Bummer. :(

Yep! Especially for the sailors that are going to have to deploy early while the McCampbell returns home for repairs. No POM period for them!

The Gulf is a tricky place to navigate. It is big but it ain't that deep.

[meema]

OK, I'll admit it, I had to look up Kiribati...

Me too. I do remember the Gilbert Islands...guess that gives a clue to my age?

[Oztrich Boy]

I had to look up Kiribati

I Knew where they were, but never realized they were a major maritime nation

Transportation in Kiribati
Merchant marine:
total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,291 GRT/1,295 DWT
ships by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.)

[Iscool]

They must have been playing 'chicken'...

[Publius6961]

Now there's a "news" report that says absolutely nothing...

[TXnMA]

Personal note to captain of USS McCampbell:

Be advised to initiate search for civilian job...

[Non-Sequitur]

With the controllable pitch props they can stop the ship on a dime. Apparently they didn't use it.

Nothing weighing 11,000 tons stops on a dime, controllable pitch props or no. From a ship handling perspective variable pitch props give you much better response time to engine room commands, but if you're going 15 or 20 knots then it's still going to take you a while to acheive a dead stop.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Oh yes, I'm sure he's uploading his resume to several defense contractors as we speak.

[2111USMC]

"Now there's a "news" report that says absolutely nothing..."

I agree. I'd would certainly like to know the real story of what happened.

A U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer unable to avoid a collision in open water?

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

And there you have it from the 5th Fleet admiral.

There are a lot of bosses who got to where they are because they've never been caught answering a question incorrectly or making a bad decision. The rules for promotion are:

1. Take credit for the good work of your subordinates.
2. If your subordinates screw up, claim you know nothing about it and say that they weren't keeping management informed.
3. Fully answer a question only if it's good news.
4. In the event that you have to report bad news, be as vague as possible. Say it's under investigation, slow-roll the final report as much as possible, and report the findings as quietly as you can get away with.

[libtoken]

Looks like CG 57 got peeled off the Reagan CSG to go replace the McCampbell.

http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=22980

[tanknetter]

Nothing weighing 11,000 tons stops on a dime, controllable pitch props or no. From a ship handling perspective variable pitch props give you much better response time to engine room commands, but if you're going 15 or 20 knots then it's still going to take you a while to acheive a dead stop.

Back in the 1950s the Captain of the USS Wisconsin (~58,000 tons) experimented with an emergency stopping procedure called "closing the barn doors" that allegedly stopped the ship (travelling at 25+ knots) within its own length (a bit less than 900').

The process was to back the engines (which took time, since controllable pitch props weren't around then), then transfer to local rudder control and order the rudders turn inwards.

It was apparently VERY effective (see claim to have stopped the ship within its own length), but also pretty damaging to the rudders and their mountings ... which apparently had to be rebuilt when the Wiskey was reactivated in the late 1980s.