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A U.S. Navy vessel has collided with a container vessel southwest of Yokosuka, Japan:
Seven U.S. sailors are unaccounted for after a Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, early Saturday local time, a U.S. official and the Navy said.
Some flooding was reported aboard the USS Fitzgerald, a 505-foot destroyer, after the collision with a Philippine container vessel at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday local time (1:30 p.m. ET Friday), about 56 nautical miles of Yokosuka, the U.S. 7th Fleet said.
Also at Reuters.
mrpg wrote in with another story about a U.S. Navy sailor who was reported missing and presumed dead after a search by the Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Japan's Coast Guard. He was found days later, hiding in one of the engine rooms.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by captain normal on Saturday June 17 2017, @03:20AM (3 children)
The commanding officer is (was) Cmdr. Bryce Benson, So not yet a full Captain. Even if they were going dark they should have had big radar hit. Also a container ship that size surely had an active AIS which would only require an open receiver on the destroyer. Not to mention a sound signal like 100 torpedoes heading toward the US ship. His and a few junior officers careers are toast.
Navy vessels often do go "dark", no lights, no radio or radar transmissions. I had one pass about 100 yards across the bow of the 50' sail boat I was on during a delivery back to California from Hawaii 30 years ago. I only saw it because of a brief break in the cloud cover that let in just enough star light.
Still, like I mentioned above, they could easily have run an AIS receiver without sending out a signal and they should have "had their ears on"...sonar listening devices with out sending out a ping.
Those Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are capable of speeds over 30 knots, and those bog container ships can do 20. I'm not surprised at the damage.
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts"- --Daniel Patrick Moynihan--
(Score: 2) by KGIII on Saturday June 17 2017, @08:10AM
From the sources, can you opine on maritime law? I have a passing familiarity but am not qualified to speculate.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 17 2017, @02:49PM
I would love to see the utube video - ship crashes are f'n awesome to watch!
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday June 17 2017, @04:37PM
I should point out that the commanding officer of a US Navy destroyer is almost always a full commander, and sometimes a lieutenant commander. The CO of a cruiser or carrier is a full captain. Captains also fill the traditional role of commodores, that is, commanding small groups of ships. A destroyer squadron will be under the command of a captain, anything larger would have an admiral in charge. The last time I checked, the Navy had no commodores - the equivalent of a brigadier general, also known as a "one star general".