USS Fitzgerald Collision (and another: USS McCain)

[SeriousStudent]

..... Many times I was given black and red label johnny walker, cartons of Marlboro reds and some type of liquor that was in a tall skinny bottle (can't remember name, been too many years ago).

Ouzo?

[hotrodder636]

I had several fun experiences with that stuff in Greece!

Ouzo?

On a more somber note, I would like to see what comes of the investigation, don't care what is being reported right now. It is always easy to be the armchair quarterback. I am going to reach out to some of my Navy people in Japan and see what I can hear.

[chuckman]

I had several fun experiences with that stuff in Greece!

Oy. Me, too. Which is why I can't drink it now (or saki).

[T2C]

There are still good men who are willing to risk it all to come to the aid of their shipmates. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/navy-...200434952.html

[platoonDaddy]

Fitzgerald: When A Big Ocean Gets Small

It is a big ocean. Until you have been far into it, it is really hard to appreciate just how big. Bringing a ship back from Japan to Hawaii, I once went ten days without seeing another ship, either by eye or radar. That is a long time to be alone in the world, especially if you are moving in a straight line and at good speed.

On the other hand, you would be surprised at how crowded the ocean can get in certain places. The Strait of Malacca, for instance, divides the island of Sumatra from Malaysia. Not only is Singapore at the southern end—one of the great maritime ports of the world—but most of the shipping moving between Asia and Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, travels through this increasingly narrow, 600 mile-long passage. Every year, 100,000 ships transit this strait. By the way, these confined waters are infested with pirates and literally thousands of fishing boats. While a chart may make the strait seem wide, the passable channel for big ships is only a couple of miles wide.

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proce...ean-gets-small

[Hmac]

Fitzgerald: When A Big Ocean Gets Small

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proce...ean-gets-small

That was a really interesting article. Very illuminating. For me though, the bottom line was in this observation in the comments section:

If you can't see and track a 30,000 ton loaded container ship, that's helpfully transmitting its position via AIS, on a dark clear night, till it plows into your side, how do you propose to fight a surface action against enemy warships, who definitely won't be cooperating, with missiles in the air?

I'm sure it was a busy ocean out there, but to read the article you'd think that collisions would be happening left and right. They don't. And this one happened to a US Navy vessel, one of the best-equipped vessel in the world crewed by some of the best trained sailors in the world, and something that I perceive that the world holds to a higher standard. They failed.

[Honu]

That was a really interesting article. Very illuminating. For me though, the bottom line was in this observation in the comments section:



I'm sure it was a busy ocean out there, but to read the article you'd think that collisions would be happening left and right. They don't. And this one happened to a US Navy vessel, one of the best-equipped vessel in the world crewed by some of the best trained sailors in the world, and something that I perceive that the world holds to a higher standard. They failed.

well reckon the worst ones were on watch ! sadly the best trained anymore makes me wonder we have the best tech but from some folks that do training the military is not what it used to be

[T2C]

Fitzgerald: When A Big Ocean Gets Small

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proce...ean-gets-small

That was a well written article. Captain Eyer made several good points. The best statement in the article is "It is too early to speculate exactly what happened in the Fitzgerald that night........."

[Hmac]

To absolutely no one's surprise...

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/17...eved-duty.html

Commanding officer of Navy warship in deadly collision relieved of duty

[T2C]

It's definitely not over yet. Investigators and upper command are looking closely at the whole watch section on duty at the time of the incident.