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Saturday, 17 June 2017
quote [ The USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship
(YOKOSUKA, Japan) — U.S. and Japanese vessels and aircraft were searching Saturday for seven American sailors who were missing after their Navy destroyer collided before dawn with a container ship four times its size off the coast of Japan. ] How the fuck can this even happen?
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Kama-Kiri said @ 7:03am GMT on 19th June
Typically ship detection relies on human eyesight and radar. I don't think there's the equivalent of a "find your iPhone" for ships yet. Sure, not crashing your boat is a priority ... but you also have to appreciate that at sea nothing happens for hours at a time and ships almost always travel in a straight line at constant speed. It's pretty boring, predictable stuff. Think of it like a car in cruise control on a very flat, straight highway.
As noted by the media, Fitzgerald was hit on her starboard side. Meaning the container ship had right-of-way and it was up to the Navy vessel to give way.
What it looks like to me from the direction the ship was hit and the published path of the ACX Crystal is that the destroyer would have seen the container ship pass over her bow from port to starboard and some distance ahead about 40 minutes before the collision, heading away towards Tokyo. The Fitzgerald crew saw no other ships nearby and figuring all was clear [stopped keeping watch for some unknown reason]. The ACX Crystal started maneuvering soon afterwards [for some unknown reason], doubling back towards the destroyer, smashing bow first into the US ship, which had until then just been sailing straight for Yokosuka. Either the Yokosuka didn't see the destroyer, or she expected the Fitzgerald to give way to the larger ship on her starboard side, as per the rules of navigation.
Regardless of whatever caused the ACX Crystal to do what it did, the Navy bridge crew on duty that night were AFK, and are undoubtedly in major shit right about now.
Kama-Kiri said @ 7:08am GMT on 19th June
Typically ship detection relies on human eyesight and radar. I don't think there's the equivalent of a "find your iPhone" for ships yet. Sure, not crashing your boat is a priority ... but you also have to appreciate that at sea nothing happens for hours at a time and ships almost always travel in a straight line at constant speed. It's pretty boring, predictable stuff. Think of it like a car in cruise control on a very flat, straight highway.
As noted by the media, Fitzgerald was hit on her starboard side. Meaning the container ship had right-of-way and it was up to the Navy vessel to give way.
What it looks like to me from the direction the ship was hit and the published path of the ACX Crystal is that the destroyer would have seen the container ship pass over her bow from port to starboard and some distance ahead about 40 minutes before the collision, bearing away from her towards Tokyo. The Fitzgerald crew saw no other ships nearby and figuring all was clear [stopped keeping watch for some unknown reason]. The ACX Crystal started maneuvering soon afterwards [for some unknown reason], doubling back towards the destroyer, smashing bow first into the US ship, which had until then just been sailing straight for Yokosuka. Either the Crystal didn't see the destroyer, or she expected the Fitzgerald to give way to the larger ship on her starboard side, as per the rules of navigation.
Regardless of whatever caused the ACX Crystal to do what it did, the Navy bridge crew on duty that night were AFK, and are undoubtedly in major shit right about now.
Kama-Kiri said @ 7:15am GMT on 19th June
Typically ship detection relies on human eyesight and radar. I don't think there's the equivalent of a "find your iPhone" for ships yet. Sure, not crashing your boat is a priority ... but you also have to appreciate that at sea nothing happens for hours at a time and ships almost always travel in a straight line at constant speed. It's pretty boring, predictable stuff. Think of it like a car in cruise control on a very flat, straight highway.
As noted by the media, Fitzgerald was hit on her starboard side. Meaning the container ship had right-of-way and it was up to the Navy vessel to give way.
What it looks like to me from the direction the ship was hit and the published path of the ACX Crystal is that the destroyer would have seen the container ship pass over her bow from port to starboard and some distance ahead about 40 minutes before the collision, bearing away from her towards Tokyo. The Fitzgerald crew saw no other ships nearby and figuring all was clear [stopped keeping watch for some unknown reason]. The ACX Crystal started maneuvering soon afterwards [for some unknown reason], doubling back towards the destroyer, smashing bow first into the US ship, which had until then just been sailing straight for Yokosuka. Either the Crystal didn't see the destroyer, or she expected the Fitzgerald to give way to the larger ship on her starboard side, as per the rules of navigation.
Regardless of whatever caused the ACX Crystal to do what it did, the Navy bridge crew on duty that night were AFK, and are undoubtedly in major shit right about now.
BTW the photos all show the crushed superstructure but the real damage to the destroyer was under the waterline, what you don't see. It was a near thing the ship didn't sink then and there.
All in all a terrible accident.
<-- Entry / Current Comment
Kama-Kiri said @ 7:03am GMT on 19th June
Typically ship detection relies on human eyesight and radar. I don't think there's the equivalent of a "find your iPhone" for ships yet. Sure, not crashing your boat is a priority ... but you also have to appreciate that at sea nothing happens for hours at a time and ships almost always travel in a straight line at constant speed. It's pretty boring, predictable stuff. Think of it like a car in cruise control on a very flat, straight highway.
As noted by the media, Fitzgerald was hit on her starboard side. Meaning the container ship had right-of-way and it was up to the Navy vessel to give way.
What it looks like to me from the direction the ship was hit and the published path of the ACX Crystal is that the destroyer would have seen the container ship pass over her bow from port to starboard and some distance ahead about 40 minutes before the collision, bearing away from her towards Tokyo. The Fitzgerald crew saw no other ships nearby and figuring all was clear [stopped keeping watch for some unknown reason]. The ACX Crystal started maneuvering soon afterwards [for some unknown reason], doubling back towards the destroyer, smashing bow first into the US ship, which had until then just been sailing straight for Yokosuka. Either the Crystal didn't see the destroyer, or she expected the Fitzgerald to give way to the larger ship on her starboard side, as per the rules of navigation.
Regardless of whatever caused the ACX Crystal to do what it did, the Navy bridge crew on duty that night were AFK, and are undoubtedly in major shit right about now.
BTW the photos all show the crushed superstructure but the real damage to the destroyer was under the waterline, what you don't see. It was a near thing the ship didn't sink then and there.
All in all a terrible accident.
