Destroyer collision: Container ship Made 180 degree Turn

[Christian Williams]

First clues of sequence leading to troublesome collision"

Marine tracking data showed the container ship, the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, which was sailing from the port of Nagoya to Tokyo, performed a sudden 180-degree turn in the busy shipping lane south of Yokosuka and doubled back along its path shortly before the crash. The weather was clear with a swell of about six feet at the time.

http://wapo.st/2rJI1zO?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.efd91e73fd45

 

[toddster]

Looks like the cargo ship was "orbiting" to time their arrival. But that turn had to be half an hour before the collision - shouldn't be an issue. Only the people who were on the bridge of the destroyer can explain why the collision happened, and we probably won't get their story for months or years, if at all.

 

[Rick R.]

Roger that. Both watches must have been sleeping.

What was the speed of both at impact?

 

[tenders]

Looks like the Fitz got t-boned on the starboard side, suggesting somebody changed course to port, which is not standard navigational procedure. I can't imagine a merchant ship doing that. My guess is that the Fitz's officer of the deck didn't navigate the destroyer early enough to open up enough distance with the cargo ship without having to call the captain in accordance with the standing orders. Then he didn't call the captain about a close Closest Point of Approach (CPA) in accordance with the standing orders. Then the collision happened. Can't imagine any other situation at 1:30 or 2:30am where ships would be that close together and the captain would be in his stateroom.

On the ship I was on, at least three officers would have been looking at this situation full-time: the officer of the deck, the junior officer of the deck, and the combat watch officer. Plus a room full of enlisted operations specialists, a quartermaster or two, and some bosun's mate lookouts - none of whom would have had much else to worry about on the midwatch like that. The officers will all be blamed for this, especially the OOD, and so will the captain, for overseeing a culture where his standing night orders were not obeyed.

Terrible tragedy. I will never forget the words at the bottom of the captain's night orders every night: "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Safety."