The OOD’s duty whenever maneuvering is in question whatever the time is day or night is to get the CO to the bridge to take over. I was on mid watch on a destroyer in the Tonkin Gulf when we hit an Australian registry fishing tug that was DIW. According to my enlisted buddies on duty on the bridge and in CIC, we had the boat on surface radar at 15 miles and the visual contact at 12 miles with its running lights lit. The seas were dead calm glass and skies were crystal clear with no moon. The CO, a Commander, was awakened and was on the bridge at least a half hour before we hit the tug with our bow at around 5 knots. The fishing boat’s stern suffered some splintered wood above the waterline. Our bow suffered a 10 foot long gash just above the waterline. No one was injured on my ship and the 15 or so Vietnamese fisherman, who appeared to be asleep at the time of the collision, probably crapped their pajamas but were not hurt. We made port gingerly at Vung Tau and had emergency repairs done tied up to a tender. After we were buttoned up and seaworthy, we steamed to Subic Bay where the Change of Command ceremony was conducted,
Viet:
wow, good example and story. curious on what action was taken to avoid the fishing vessel since its location was known well in advance?
You mean the Relieved from Command ceremony. Kind of like Chuck Connors getting his buttons torn off in “Branded”?
How in the h*** did you have a DIW target on radar 15 miles out and still manage to not avoid it?
Whatever became of lookouts with binoculars?