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Naval Commanders In 2 Deadly Ship Collisions To Be Charged With Negligent Homicide
The U.S. Navy announced Tuesday that the commanding officers of two vessels involved in separate collisions in the Pacific Ocean last year will face court-martial proceedings and possible criminal charges including negligent homicide.
The statement by Navy spokesman Capt. Greg Hicks says the decision to prosecute the commanders, and several lower-ranking officers as well, was made by Adm. Frank Caldwell.
[...] In the case of the USS Fitzgerald, the commander, two lieutenants and one lieutenant junior grade face possible charges of dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide.
The commander of the USS John S. McCain will face possible charges of dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide. A chief petty officer also faces one possible charge of dereliction of duty.
Previously: U.S. Navy Destroyer Collides With Container Vessel
10 Sailors Still Missing After U.S. Destroyer Collision With Oil Tanker
Chief of Naval Operations Report on This Summer's Destroyer Collisions
(Score: 5, Interesting) by gottabeme on Wednesday January 17 2018, @07:51PM (1 child)
Well that's the problem: the fact that the accidents happened in spite of those levels of backup seems implausible.
And, in fact, the public report the Navy issued does not explain why the collisions happened. It explains factors that led to them, but it does not explain why those factors happened. For example, it doesn't explain why the CICs failed to communicate with the bridges, nor why the captain was not alerted despite his orders to do so, nor why the visual lookouts failed to report the other ships, etc.
Poor training, while apparently a contributing factor, is not a sufficient explanation, because it doesn't explain why the guys with binoculars, ostensibly, stood idly by while the other ships approached. It doesn't explain why the crews allowed the collisions to occur.
For those reasons, as well as the timing, location, and the matter of North Korean nuclear ambition and ballistic missile defense, I think there is much that was left out of the Navy's publicly issued reports, and much more to the stories than we will ever hear.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 18 2018, @03:41PM
You know those ships do not turn and tack on a dime, don't you? Because you think you understand collision avoidance in a moving vehicle, don't assume you know how naval vessels and especially container ships maneuver.