A state-of-the-art warship, bristling with offensive and defensive firepower and manned by hundreds of well trained seamen is not something you want to play chicken with. But somehow, in the middle of the night in the crowded shipping lanes off Tokyo harbor, a merchant ship was able to ram – and almost sink – the USS Fitzgerald, a $1.8 billion destroyer. It had just been updated with over $20 million of upgrades and repairs.
The ACX Crystal, a Philippine flagged container ship after it's collision with the USS Fitzgerald. Below the waterline and barely visible in this image is a bulbous tip that precedes the front of the deck. Image courtesy of JapanTimes.co.jp.
Pumping furiously to keep from sinking, the USS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, made it into Tokyo harbor, after it's collision with a cargo ship in the middle of the night. The ship may have had its hull breached below the waterline. Seven sailors on the ship lost their lives and the ship's commanding officer was injured. Photo: AFP.
Here’s what we know
- The collision occurred at 1:35 AM, the middle of the night.
- The cargo ship had been steaming east at 17 knots (20 mph).
- Most of the 200 crew were sleeping (but the Navy always keeps lookouts).
- The merchant ship, ACX Crystal, is a container carrying ship, 4-5 times the size of the destroyer.
- Seven sailors lost their lives. God rest their souls.
Here’s what we WANT to know
- The speed and direction of the two ships at collision.
- Was the ship’s radar working?
- Was someone asleep when they should have been looking at the radar?
- The navy ship was part of an 8 ship group of vessels. Where were they?
- Can it be that easy to sneak up on the US Navy, the most formidable navy in the world?
The US Navy is conducting its investigation as we speak, and no doubt asking these and similar, questions. Short of getting your ship sunk, this must be about the most embarrassing – if not career ending – failure for a navy ship captain. Navy nautical charts are said to record every submarine and its captain that has had the misfortune to graze the bottom of the Mediterranean -- an automatic court martial.
Comments