Collision

[Gordon Brown]

An American warship has requested assistant from the Japanese coast guard. The warship was in a collision with a container ship and is flooding. There are casualties, I hope to add more information as soon as I can.

[Keith at Tregenna]

The USS Fitzgerald was under its own power but had limited propulsion after being involved in a collision with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal while operating off the coast of Japan, according to the U.S. military.





One sailor has been injured and the U.S Navy is working with the Japanese Coast Guard to conduct a medevac via helicopter. There are currently no reports of any deaths.

The incident happened 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.

Access Denied

[Keith at Tregenna]

An American warship has requested assistant from the Japanese coast guard. The warship was in a collision with a container ship and is flooding. There are casualties, I hope to add more information as soon as I can.

Hope the links help ? K

Seven US Navy sailors missing after collision.

Seven US Navy sailors missing after collision

[j.sabourn]

This will be a time to test the theory Keith of ping pong balls keeping her afloat. I didn't know this until took a conversion ship for the RN on trials where all available old ballast space was filled with only what could be described as ping pong balls of various sizes. If the RN do this no doubt other navies do also. Cheers JWS PS I would call this guarding the integrity of your reserve buoyancy. js

[j.sabourn]

Going by the pictures of the damaged warship it would appear that the contact damage is on her starboard side which leads one to believe without seeing the damage on the Philipino ship assuming that maybe they were crossing vessels, and in a straight forward Rule of the Road this would make the warship the vessel to take avoiding action, and be at fault. But this may not be the case as the merchantship in that case would be the stand on vessel and obliged to maintain her course and speed. In earlier times before computer memorys, the ships movements books showing times of engine movements would now be in the care of the responsible people who would be conducting the Naval Court Martial, and in the hands of the civil enquiry people. This will be an interesting one to follow and we may all learn how ships are manned today and what qualifications and experience the personell involved have. There has to be a Court of Enquiry as deaths have occurred, if there isn't something smells somewhere. Have our media moguls put out any pictures of the merchant vessel and any contact damage??? However the rules also state that if the keep on vessel thinks there is danger of collision they may also take such action as to avert. May well turn out to be a game of who blinked first. Is a very busy coastline as I remember it. Cheers JWS

[Lewis McColl]

I know this is urban myth and I am sure we have all seen this before, but this kind of attitude does exist between Merchant Ships and Naval ships and yes the United States Navy will try and bully you.
We had a run in with a United States naval vessel in the Gulf in 2008. I was on the British Merchant at the time, LNG carrier fully loaded. They were demanding we alter our course or else. The Omani navy were sailing alongside us and they told the Yank to wind his neck in. Basically the Yank threatened to put a shot across our bow if we did not alter course. The Omani navy advised the yank if they were going to do that, repercussions would follow as we were all in Omani waters. They also advised if they hit the British Merchant the fact we are a LNG carrier would make the Hiroshima bomb look like a fire cracker. The yank backed off. I am an engineer so do not know the rules of the road but I had been sailing with the master of the British Merchant for years and I am 100% sure we did not need to alter course.

https://youtu.be/_VHXRYXzEVU

[Captain Kong]

Re: Navy ships.

I was on watch on a Loaded Tanker in the Firth of Forth, waiting for a berth in Grangemouth.
We were in the anchorage with the appropriate Anchor Ball on the fore stay.
I saw a RN Ship sailing out of Rosyth, and then noted it was heading straight for my starboard beam. I watched and thought he is going to alter course soon, BUT No.
VHF , a Navy Voice, "You there, Tanker, do you not know the Rules for the prevention of Collision at Sea.? I am on your Starboard beam, now get out of my way."
I replied, "Yes I do know the Rules, but obviously you do not., I am a vessel at anchor, and am displaying an Anchor Ball of the appropriate size on my fore stay. and if you collide with me, you will not survive the explosion. "
He was almost on top of me by now.
I could here several voices and an "Oh 5h1t!,"
I had my binoculars on his wheel house and there must have been a dozen people in there. He spun around to Starboard, and if we had another coat of paint he would have hit us.
I then called the Queens Harbour Master in Rosyth and reported the incident.
He replied, "Do not worry about it, I have heard everything, I will be having words with him when he returns."
So I never trusted Navy again.
Brian.

[j.sabourn]

Brian we were going into Rosyth one time and one of the laid up oil rigs anchored in the Forth called us up on the VHF and reported what he thought was a mine close to one of his legs. We went in to investigate. The old man put her in close to the mine as the diving officer told us it was only a practice mine. Went down and lassoed it and put a strop on it and dragged it on board using a schatt Davit amidships. Came on board bumping up the ships side. I was alone doing this job. In the meantime the naval diving officer was on the forecastle head as far as one could get away from the area, he was however shouting encouragement which did nothing for my peace of mind. On getting alongside in the naval dockyard it was late at night. On getting up the next morning the mine had gone. No one ever said anything further about it. The RN is well known as the Silent Service. Cheers JWS.

[Lewis McColl]

I have sailed with some excellent ex RN lads Artificers. It was always funny to see the expression on there faces especially on Motor ships when you first started the main engine, slow speed diesels. They used to just stand and stare in utter amazement if it was a Doxford. Bloody good ETO's though.
One of the hardest things to get them to do was to be economic with spares and packing/jointing materials. They seemed to think there was a bottomless budget.

[j.sabourn]

Surprised there is no further reporting on this accident. Has a blanket been thrown on the reporting of such. JS