Posted on 06/17/2017 3:16:48 AM PDT by topher
tory Number: NNS170616-20Release Date: 6/16/2017 4:57:00 PM
From U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs
PHILIPPINE SEA (NNS) -- USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) was involved in a collision with a merchant vessel at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time, June 17, while operating about 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.
As of this time, there have been two patients requiring medical evacuation. One was Cmdr. Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and is reportedly in stable condition. A second MEDEVAC is in progress. Other injured are being assessed. There are seven Sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them.
Although Fitzgerald is under her own power, USS Dewey (DDG 105) got underway this morning as well as several U.S. Navy aircraft, and will join Japanese Coast Guard and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters, ships and aircraft to render whatever assistance may be required.
"U.S. and Japanese support from the Navy, Maritime Self Defense Force and Coast Guard are in the area to ensure that the Sailors on USS Fitzgerald have the resources they need to stabilize their ship. As more information is learned, we will be sure to share to it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public. Thank you for your well wishes and messages of concern. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families," said Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations.
"Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the Sailors," said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. "We thank our Japanese partners for their assistance."
For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.
For more news from U.S. Pacific Fleet, visit www.cpf.navy.mil.
Good chance her back is broken
Very true but thats assuming they were on deck and not below in a bulkhead compartment. Fear a search dock side will find some.
We only wore life vests during underway replenishment (Unrep).
It is inconceivable how one of the most sophisticated ships afloat could permit this to happen. If they can’t detect and avoid a massive container ship how can they defend against a USS Cole type suicide small craft?
Sure looks that way. CNN says in their "story" that "the warship collided with a merchant ship." Drudge says the same in his headline.
I'm driving and I get T-boned by another car. The fake news reports that I collided with him. In some cases there is a collider and a collidee. This appears to be that case.
Seven sailors are “missing.”
No excuse for the Captain, the OOD, and the bridge crew. They are done. A DD allowing itself to be T-boned by a merchant ship is a disgrace.
always sucks to be hit anywhere on a ship. Your career will almost always go down the toilet if that happens.
I have known navy officers who have been in collisions, and I have been closer than I like to remember to one. It happens, always because of mistakes on both sides (most common), or mistakes on one side with bad intentions on the other. "Zero dark thirty" is a sleepy time for too many people (the Fitz was 02:30 local, and mine was about the same time). For my close call, a container ship running in heavy fog with no lights did two more dumb things in a row. Note: I was in a sub temporarily on the surface, with running lights (for safety) but no radar (for operational reasons), and you could count the no radar decision as a dumb thing except that it was also the right call. We came close enough that I could have thrown a rock and hit him. Sadly, no rocks at hand.
Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep . . . At full strength the Fitzgerald . . . has a crew of 331 sailors.
It was dark, they may have been undermanned and thus tired because maintenance and training still need to be done, and someone on either ship did something stupid, while the other ship reacted too slowly to that mistake. Even though the Captain had only been in command for two months, he was XO of the same ship for two years before that (I do NOT like the idea of going from XO to CO on the same ship, but someone thought it was a good idea). The Navy should and will blame him for the crew's training and thus for whatever errors were made that allowed the collision to occur.
Container ship damage at port (left) side of bow. Fitz damage starboard 40% back from the bow.
Looks like the Fitz did not see the container ship and ran across its right-of-way.
Even if we die during questioning, they’ll keep going until we throw up too. You’re right. That’s a lot of scrutiny.
The merchant ship was on the starboard side of the Fitzgerald, and, given damage to the merchant ship, on the port side of the bow, it was approaching from abaft the beam. Now, this is the crucial legal question - was it a crossing situation (merchant forward of 2 points abaft the beam [then the merchant had right of way]) or was it an overtaking situation in which the merchant had a duty to stand clear.
Regardless, the OOD on the Fitzgerald had both a right and a duty to maneuver once an "in extremis" situation occurred, and obviously it occurred. Further, in the open ocean you never assume that a merchant is keeping an adequate look-out, and you do not risk an expensive naval vessel to the presumption that the other side will steer clear.
The obvious maneuver in this case was to increase speed to pass clear ahead until there was no longer a danger of collision. The second was to turn to starboard for a port-to-port passing and then return to base coarse after clear of the collision.
So sayeth a long-time sailor and former submarine deck officer.
What gives is that the container ship is like a railroad train. It is coming from the right, we have a high speed sports car and pull out in front of the ship with the “right-of-way.”
This container ship probably needs about 25 football fields to stop.
A helmsman could not have done this. Open ocean collisions are definitely caused by officers. Now, if you want to blame a sick OOD, that's a possibility. The Fitz has female officers (which I am okay with) and may even have officers elsewhere on the gender spectrum (which I am very much not okay with).
He would have been on deck because the Officer of the Deck did his job and woke him when the merchant closed within the standing order parameters. Or any of a number of other reasons I can think of.
The Navy divides an accident into two parts. The lead up and causes of the accident comprises one one part of the incident and the other part is the response/actions of the crew to the damage and the aftermath of the accident itself. Regarding the former heads will roll, as for the latter I expect that medals will be given out.
The article did not go on to say his career was admitted to hospice.
Hadn’t heard about the first collision you mention - Desron/TF CD-R may be needing to look for a new job as well.
Not if the destroyer at their tail in the water and was restricted in maneuverability.
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