Same as with the Porter. They probably thought they could pass in front until the last moment, then tried to turn away. If ACX Crystal’s bridge was negligently unattended, it would have done nothing to avoid the collision. Fitzgerald may have been able to turn far enough to make it a glancing blow that only contacted the container ship’s port bow.
Also, a correction to my last post: If it had been a deliberate attack at 17:30 UTC, that means they had remained in the area for an hour and a half afterwards, not just a half hour.
Since it is obvious that is not what happened, why would they state that in the articles ?