Posted on 08/22/2017 4:45:32 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
The USS John S. McCain suffered a steering failure as she was beginning her approach into the Strait of Malacca, a U.S. Navy official has told news agency CNN. The destroyer collided with a tanker on Monday.
“The official said it was unclear why the crew couldn't utilize the ship's backup steering systems to maintain control,” reports CNN. Steering control was apparently regained after the collision.
The destroyer arrived at Changi Naval Base o Monday afternoon with significant hull damage. The damage resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery and communications rooms. Divers have started searching the flooded areas of destroyer for 10 sailors reported missing after a collision.
Admiral John Richardson, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations, has called for a global operational pause as well as an operational review and a comprehensive review. The comprehensive review will “examine the process by which we train and certify our forces that are foward-deployed in Japan” including both tactical and navigational proficiency, and it will be in addition to the investigations that look into the details of the collisions.
The review will be headed by Admiral Philip Davidson, and Richardson says its scope will not only span the Navy, but look outside the military as well.
Some defense analysts have warned that longer deployments and less time and money for maintenance and training are a concern for the Navy. The crew of the USS John S. McCain had recently completed over 350 maintenance and repair jobs while at sea, at least 100 of which would usually be conducted at a ship yard. USS John S. McCain's Repair Division conducts an average of 180 hours of preventative maintenance a week.
There have been four incidents involving U.S. Navy vessels in the region this year: the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan in June, killing seven sailors, USS Lake Champlain hit a South Korean fishing boat in May and the USS Antietam ran aground off the coast of Japan in January.
An opinion piece in China Daily stated that the U.S. Navy was becoming "a hazard in Asian waters” and “a growing risk to commercial shipping."
Great title ....so did the senator himself
the more puzzling question in both collisions: the nav systems and AIS all provide a lot of led time on collision. so what happened? i would imagine the collision alarms are impossible to silence or ignore, to the helm had to know they were on a collision course. did the other ship alter course? if they were struck on the port side it would appear they likely had right of way, but how could a combat ship with five minutes at least of warning fail to avoid?
the only thing i can think of is a murky chain of command and inability of those directly on deck to take action quickly.
I don’t care WHAT the excuses may be. A competent CO should have been able to figure out how not to get into a collision with another ship. This indicates that political correctness rather than merit is determining who we hand commands to.
Wrong. From Wikipedia:
"This warship is named after John S. McCain, Sr., and John S. McCain, Jr., both admirals in the United States Navy. John S. McCain, Sr. commanded the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, and later the Fast Carrier Task Force during the latter stages of World War II. John S. McCain, Jr. commanded the submarines USS Gunnel and USS Dentuda during World War II. He subsequently held a number of posts, rising to Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Command, before retiring in 1972. These men were, respectively, the grandfather and father of retired U.S. Navy Captain, Naval Aviator, and former Vietnam Prisoner of War, Senator John S. McCain III."
Looks more like another ship hit them. I expected damage on the bow from the news descriptions.
The ship has variable pitch props, two shafts, and turbines. It ought to have a reasonable amount of maneuverability without any rudder input.
That is a different situation, and more troubling, than someone asleep on the deck.
I guess the freighter lost steering control as well and was lucky to Tbone the McCain?
Is the crew rowing and using a sail to navigate to port for the repairs and investigation?
So they’re saying the McCain is a rudderless ship?
Thanks, but those paying attention have known that for years.
Electronics be dammed, no excuse ... no substitution for the ole Mk2020 eyeballs...
in harbor approaches, lookouts are doubled, a messenger makes the rounds to keep every lookout on his toes, a entry into the ships log is required in the ships log every 5-10 min.(don’t remember)
Emergency steering is manned and ready, and in a real pinch maneuver with props only.
And usually the old man wants to be on the bridge.
This from a OOD qualified officer for 3 Carriers.
TROOPER: Why were you going so fast?
DRIVER: Because my foot was on the floor.
Good info on maneuvering a Navy ship. Too bad the media doesn’t bother telling us anything. I guess they’re busy hyping click bait stories.
That would portside. :)
very good questions. Nav systems only help you from grounding the ship, not hitting another ship. Does your car GPS tell you anything about the big semi barreling down on you at 70 mph, no it doesn’t. Neither does the Navy’s GPS, it tells you where you are, not where the 50,000 ton tanker is. Naval vessels are not required to have AIS. I do not know if our ships have AIS or not. Surface search radar, tactical data systems computers, compass pelorus, eyeballs and binoculars are the tools to avoid a collision with a ship at sea. The other questions you asked will be very similar to the questions asked of the OOD, JOOD, CICWO by the Navy’s investigating officers.
“””Some defense analysts have warned that longer deployments and less time and money for maintenance and training are a concern for the Navy. The crew of the USS John S. McCain had recently completed over 350 maintenance and repair jobs while at sea, at least 100 of which would usually be conducted at a ship yard. USS John S. McCain’s Repair Division conducts an average of 180 hours of preventative maintenance a week.”””
It appears the Navy is creating their list of excuses for these accidents. I have also seen comments complaining that Navy ships are now at sea for 3 weeks.
Compare Navy life to that of a Merchant Vessel Seaman. The Merchant Vessel Seaman is away from home 10 months and then gets two months vacation. While onboard a ship, there will likely be only 20 or so shipmates who steer the ship, do the repairs, and feed the crew.
We know our universities are riddled with snowflakes. Has our military also become a snowflake haven?
Well bad judgment and poor seamanship.
I wonder if this is like when the accelerator and the brake functions get reversed on a car and the little old lady drives through the plate glass window with her foot pressing hard on the brake pedal- but brake control is regained after the collision.
The damage is on the port quarter, which means that unlike the Fitz, the McCain very likely had the right of way, and it was up to the other ship to avoid the McCain.
A lot of those merchant ships don't even man their pilothouse -- there is literally nobody at the wheel or even looking for other ships. They often ignore the rules of the road, and simply expect other ships to get out of their way.
If the McCain was working on its steering -- may have even been dead in the water or moving at greatly reduced speed (and hence had limited maneuverability), and that other ship simply wasn't paying attention and rammed it...
Well, the CO will still get blamed, but that's a much, much different incident from the Fitz, which was clearly in the wrong.
Yes, I see that. Thanks! It always seemed weird that an active ship would be named for a current politician. Glad to get that straight.
Something’s going on... have the Chinese have figured out a way to re-figure navigational guidelines broadcast by the United States to establish latitude and longitude line?
If that’s the case a United States nuke designed to hit Pyongyang could be redirected to Seoul... or ships could be directed into each other...
This is serious stuff.
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