[TXnMA]

UCANSEE2, here's one way to use your "Before" photo:

The distortion between images (compare sizes and shapes of the pairs of octagonal phased-array antennas in the two photos...) is so great that I had to use a compromise alignment that the eye will accept. Even so, compared to objects unaffected by the collision (green arrows) -- the collision-damaged components are all swept aftward -- indicating a relatively higher (overtaking) speed by the Fitzgerald at the moment of collision...

If I had aligned the images so that undamaged components were vertically aligned, the aftward dispacement of the damaged components would have been unrealistically exaggerated ("fake news")...

Aside: The dark gray non-skid deck surfaces are useful when comparing images. Note how the little "balcony" deck (overtinted purple) was not only shifted aftward, but was obviously smashed downward.

I'm still trying to sort out how so much obvious -- and violent -- relative vertical collision motion could have occurred...

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Thanks again for the "before" image!

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Excellent investigatory work. I will recommend FR give you a pay raise.

I have been looking to find measurements of the two ships from the waterline upwards. So far no luck.

I am thinking that Crystal’s anchor, hawsepipe, and the gash in the bow combined to keep the Fitzgerald from rolling over.

It seems obvious that the USS Fitzgerald hit the Crystal’s port side just behind the hawsepipe.

The US Navy intends to not release any investigation until September. Will the Japanese and Philippine authorities agree to withhold their findings until then?

[rlmorel]

This gave me an idea...does anyone know a Freeper who has transform (morph) software? I think it would be an interesting exercise to feed the undamaged image into it as the starting point, and feed the damaged image into it as the end point after scaling them appropriately. Then make a animated gif out of it.

Nice job pointing that out, UCANSEE2...definitely makes me think differently about the mechanics at the point of impact.

[UCANSEE2]

The area you have colored purple surrounds an object. Do you know what that object is ?

[Bob]

Speculation on my part — Could the vertical component have resulted from the curvature of the container ship’s hull and the Fitzgerald running under it? I can’t tell how straight or curved the ship’s sides are from the photos I’ve seen.