SOP in these situations is that as soon as the ship is safe the Captain, XO, and all officers on watch will be relived of duty and removed from the ship. They will be drug tested and interviewed separately, repeatedly. Probably by NCIS and also special accident investigation teams. There will be a formal board of inquiry called at which every single detail of what happened leading up to the collision, during the accident and after will be examined under a microscope. All of the ships logs and standing orders will be examined. The training records of every single sailor on the ship will be gone over with a fine tooth comb. Each sailor will also be interviewed and required to give a written statement about what happened. The senior officers will be advised of their Article 32 rights (the military equivalent to a Miranda warning) and they can retain lawyers or request a military lawyer be assigned by JAG. If the BOI does not completely exonerate everyone on watch at the time (irrespective of whether the CO was on the bridge or not) the Captain will likely be court-martialed. Others may also be court-martialed. And yes, in these situations a lot of careers usually come to an end. The Navy has a long tradition of holding COs as absolutely accountable for whatever happens on or to their ships.
Thanks for that breakdown.
It strains credulity that something like this could happen with so many ‘checks’ on deck.
As a former serviceman who served before all of the PC madness took place within the armed services... no thanks.