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| How Navy culture may have caused the Fitzgerald disaster - Standing orders |
| 2017-07-14 |
| Long story - RTWT [SanDiegoReader] It is a big ocean. Until you've been far into it, it's really hard to appreciate how big it is. Bringing a ship back from Japan to Hawaii, I once went ten days without seeing another ship, either by eye or radar. That's a long time to be utterly alone in the world, especially if you're moving in a straight line and at good speed. On the other hand, I think you'd be surprised at how crowded the ocean can get in certain places. Suddenly, the officer of the deck realized that he was screwed. Maybe he sped up, thinking that speed could save his life. The easiest example that I can think of to illustrate this point is the Strait of Malacca, which 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 it is not unfair to say that all the shipping moving between Asia and Africa and the Middle East and Europe travels through this increasingly narrow, 600-mile passage, either to or from Pacific countries. Every year, 100,000 ships go through it. It is infested with pirates and criss-crossed by thousands of fishing boats every day. If you look at it on a chart, it may seem wide, but the passable channel for big ships is only a couple of miles wide, and again, clogged with fishing boats. It's not fun to navigate, but it is thrilling. Tokyo Bay or "Tokyo Wan" is like that. Yes, the area off the coast of Japan where the USS Fitzgerald collision took place on June 17 is more wide open than the Wan itself, but just like the approaches to Norfolk, Boston, or Los Angeles, dozens of ships are approaching at any time, all heading for a very narrow entrance channel, all on tight schedules. Think of it as a funnel necking down to the shipping channel that goes into the port. Outside the shipping channel, which has strict rules, the mouth of the funnel is the Wild West for ships coming and going. It can be challenging during the day, but at night it can be frightening. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #10 The Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer, even when going at flank speed can stop dead in the water inside of her own length, 505 feet *Wow*, the sounds the propellers and engine plant must make when they go from Ahead/FULL to Reverse/Emergency must be amazing, as in passive Sonar can hear you in the next ocean amazing. Also there is Yard time in your near future... |
| Posted by: magpie 2017-07-14 16:00 |
| #9 Interesting article. Something I didn't know: The Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke–class destroyer, even when going at flank speed can stop dead in the water inside of her own length, 505 feet |
| Posted by: SteveS 2017-07-14 15:35 |
| #8 Blame the play not the hand if you're dealt bad cards. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-07-14 14:31 |
| #7 ZB, the OOD, JOOD (if they still have those), CIC Watch Officer, lookout(s) are probably all in trouble. The CO is ultimately responsible. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2017-07-14 14:23 |
| #6 The Captain was immediately removed to controlled medical confinement for his injuries. Now he's been relieved, for treatment(Detox?). Who was the OD and what was he doing? |
| Posted by: Zebulon Bonaparte8226 2017-07-14 14:16 |
| #5 There are specific rules of the road designed to prevent collisions at sea. The have been in place in their present form since I was on active duty in 1972. They're not perfect, but cover a wide variety of situations - open water, restricted waters, sailboats vs. power vessels, ships broken down in a channel, what to do if the other ship isn't following the rules. Etc. In almost every collision, a board of inquiry is called to determine fault. In the US Navy, no matter what the board determines, the CO's career is effectively over. If the board finds that the CO is at fault, even indirectly, it is definitely over. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2017-07-14 11:07 |
| #4 If the problem truly is bad they should set up sea traffic controllers (like air traffic controllers) to monitor and give commands to ships to avoid collisions in these congested areas. I suspect the problem is exaggerated in the article though as we actually don't hear about collisions all that often despite the crowded conditions so I suspect something else was in play. Perhaps a discussion about missing strawberries or something. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-07-14 10:34 |
| #3 Sounds like the Peleton of the Tour de France heading into and through one of the small towns for the finish. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2017-07-14 07:57 |
| #2 It is infested with pirates and criss-crossed by thousands of fishing boats every day. I used to have an office overlooking the Singapore Strait. The big ships keep to their channel and spacing, and it's up to the small boats to avoid them. Plenty of smaller boats. Not too many pirates though. One or both ships weren't where they were supposed to be. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2017-07-14 03:02 |
| #1 When they don't change their pace or pay attention to warning lights, pedestrians in the crosswalk get hit by ambulances. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2017-07-14 00:15 |