USS Fitzgerald Collision Update (Sailors found, bad news)

U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs ^ | 6/17/2017 | U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

[proust]

YOKOSUKA, Japan -- A number of Sailors that were missing from the collision between USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and a merchant ship have been found. As search and rescue crews gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision this morning, the missing Sailors were located in the flooded berthing compartments. They are currently being transferred to Naval Hospital Yokosuka where they will be identified. The families are being notified and being provided the support they need during this difficult time. The names of the Sailors will be released after all notifications are made.

[rlmorel]

When a ship is taking on water and is in danger (when taking on water, the assumption is that you are always in danger)I think the drill is the same whether at peace or war. If you have a fire, you put it out. If you are taking on water, you dog watertight hatches.

They were probably at condition YOKE, in which some very important hatches are closed, but many are open to allow freedom of movement. Condition ZEBRA would have been set nearly immediately if a collision alarm sounded or if they went to GQ.

IIRC, once a condition is set, you have to officially ask permission to open a hatch to break that condition (so it could be logged somewhere, presumably so damage control assessments and decisions can be made with the correct assumptions.) I was never in a situation to do that since my battle station movement was freer (flight deck personnel) some of the others on this thread might know better.

And I agree with you, central_va. That would be a difficult and horrible thing to do, but men did indeed do it to friends in wartime. I think the point is, when QG sounds, you could be at war at that instant. As the sailors on the ships in Pearl Harbor in 1941 found, peace and war turn on an instant.

[central_va]

Nobody sleeps thru a collision like that. I am going to think/imagine they were killed on impact otherwise I will have nightmares of REFTRA at GITMO. Can berthing spaces be dogged down from the outside without someone the inside being able to open them? I can’t remember....

[Trueblackman]

Whatever you do keep this foreign containment ships away from U.S. NAVY Small Boys! Most of these foreign Captains of these foreign ship were garbage truck drivers the month before. I remember one time when I was on-board the U.S.S. Independence CV-62 off the Coast of Korea and this South Korean Fishing Boat cuts us off with less than 1/4 between us, in a feat that still amazes me to this day, the Captain had the ship go from 1/2 speed forward, to full reverse and then dead stop in all that space with a nearly 100,000 displacement! Sir? I was an enlisted Man and actually worked for a living.

[MIA_eccl1212]

YES.
Ramadan.
Muslims are sailors too.
The container ship was from Philippines.
They have serious muzzie problems in that nation.
Sailors on that container ship might have been muzzies.

YOu don’t accidentally hit a 530 ft long destroyer. They said that the container ship had just made a UTURN in the water.

Names and nationality of the sailors on the container ship... or are they already off board and disappeared into the Japan megatropolis.. because they are Philippine and can more readily blend in? Or perhaps, were there agents of Kim dum sim in the effort?

[datricker]

Yeah, coming up to speed on this story. How could either of these vessels fail to avoid this collison? This looks like Italian cruise line helmsmen-ship on both boats. Frickin surface - morons.

May the souls of the departed sailors find themselves with God and may the almighty be with their families in this horrible time of their lives.

[hanamizu]

or are they already off board and disappeared into the Japan megatropolis.. because they are Philippine and can more readily blend in?

---

While they might “blend in” to your eye or mine, not likely to Japanese eyes! My Japanese daughter-in-law can take one look at the waiters at the local Shogun and laugh, “None of them are Japanese.”

[BroJoeK]

crz: "I wouldnt sail on anything with the name Fitzgerald."

Mmmmmmmm... naw, no obvious connections between various well known Fitzgeralds.

1. John F. Fitzgerald, grandfather of President Kennedy (CV-76 & CVN-79).
   Note in 1975-6 CV-76 had exceptionally close encounters with USS Belknap & Bordelon, but ended service in 2007 honorably.

   Kennedy vs. Belknap:
   

2. Edmund Fitzgerald, Northwestern's chairman of the board after whom the ill-fated (1975) Great Lakes Freighter was named.

   Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald:
   

3. Navy Lt. William Fitzgerald, KIA Vietnam 1967 (DDG-62).
   Fitzgerald vs. ACX Crystal:
   

4. Of course, the most notorious disaster of this type was not a namesake of Fitzgerald at all, but of Moore -- in command of the USS Oldsmobile which dove into Poucha Pond on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969, drowning Mary Jo Kopechne and thus sinking the presidential hopes of its commander, Edward Moore Kennedy.
   Yes, this Kennedy was also John Fitzgerald's grandson, but surely, that can't be counted here, right?

   

;-)

[NotchJohnson]

I was talking to someone last night who said the Chinese had the capability to black out our ship. We had no navigation, radar etc. Also, the Chinese are going to make a move on Taiwan.

[Chuckster]

Judging from the AIS track and common practices in merchant vessels, the ship was on autopilot, almost certainly with no one on the bridge. On feeling the impact, someone said “Hey! we hit something!” and went up to the bridge to check it out. They eventually got the autohelm disconnected and turned the ship around to return to the scene. Just surmise on my part, but a plausible explanation.

[rlmorel]

Just because a ship is registered in the Philippines doesn’t mean the crew is Filipino or even has any Filipinos in it.

Are they indeed off board? I hadn’t heard that. I believe it is customary to keep sailors aboard until they have had a chance to be interviewed. It was a small crew by all accounts, so if there was any fishy business, we will likely find out.

[Seruzawa]

Still about 1000 times more agile than a container ship.

[unread]

Digital guidance system was hacked..???

[StAnDeliver]

5. Don't forget JFK Jr reporting for submarine duty...

[CGASMIA68]

We’re going to need to fire a lot (of unqualified EEOC PC Placed) officers promoted under him.

[sport]

Thank you.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[ColdOne]

Nice post.

[ColdOne]

Submarine duty...oh my! Sad he might have been the only Good Kennedy at the time. Sad they killed the family dog too.

[Bob]

Can berthing spaces be dogged down from the outside without someone the inside being able to open them? I can’t remember....

Unless things have changed drastically since I got out (several decades ago), watertight hatches were always able to be opened from either side.

[cva66snipe]

I would say GQ was sounded immediately after impact. You have a very short time frame to get to your station. 5 minutes IIRC on a carrier and Zebra begins. Yeah you're right you have to call DC Central to gain permission to open any hatch once Zebra is set.

A realistic movie to see the mayhem caused by a collision even though it was about a submarine is "Gray Lady Down". A sub surfaces at night on it's way into port and is hit by a commercial ship that has a busted radar. Charlton Heston played the sub Captain. I think the flooding part was filmed at a Damage Control Training Center.

As harsh and inhuman as it may sound to some the reality on a ship at sea is saving the ship takes priority over saving life. This is done to minimize overall loss of life by fast containment and to save the ship itself. An example would be a hose team fighting a fire. If someone is injured the next man steps up to take his position on the hose. The injured persons needs is addressed after the fire is out. You have no place to run whether it's fire of flooding. You have to regain control of the ship before it kills you. Steel heats up and transfers heat very fast. As for flooding? Compartmentalization on board ship is only effective when strict discipline is enforced.