Water on deck! Get out! The Navy's official report of the Fitzgerald's catastrophe at sea

[nitpicker]

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2017/08/17/water-on-deck-get-out-the-navys-official-report-of-the-fitzgeralds-catastrophe-at-sea/

“Water on deck!” “Get out!” — The Navy's official report of the Fitzgerald's catastrophe at sea

By: Geoff Ziezulewicz    11 hours ago


Sailors had less than a minute to escape as seawater blasted through a massive hole in the destroyer Fitzgerald after a container ship struck its starboard side on June 17, according to a Navy report released Thursday. Seven sailors could not escape the afflicted ship’s Berthing 2 area during a terrifying and chaotic scramble to get to higher ground. The berthing area filled with water in less than 90 seconds, according to Adm. Bill Moran.

The Navy’s official report released Thursday offers a harrowing account of the minutes and hours after the massive ACX Crystal container ship plowed into the Fitzgerald off the Japanese coast. The report into the circumstances surrounding the death of seven sailors showcases acts of valor among shipmates in horrific circumstances. Obtained by Navy Times, the 41-page report stems from the preliminary inquiry and line of duty determination from Carrier Strike Group Five.

((Click link above to find report link))

Yet the report does not address the cause of the collision or how the Crystal was ever able to get so close to one of the Navy’s most state-of-the-art, AEGIS-equipped vessels in the first place. It also does not address the actions of the Philippine-flagged Crystal. Several other investigations into the at-sea disaster remain ongoing.

The Navy also revealed plans to discipline up to 12 Fitzgerald sailors, including the commanding officer, in connection to the destroyer’s fatal collision that led to the drownings of seven sailors.
(snip)

[JayhawkSD]

1. They are still investigating that part.

The release was with respect to the heroism of the sailors below decks, and to say that the investigation is sufficiently far along that the navy has "lost confidence in the ability of leadership" of the three at the top level of command. None of the three are watchstanders, so the fact that they were sleeping at midnight is not an issue. The investigation apparently found a lack in the level of training.

In another article it does say that the bridge team "lost situational awareness," which means that the simply lost track of what was going on around them and of how their own ship's maneuvering related to that picture. Details will be harder to pin down than one might think, but the overall picture of the nature of events is not really all that unclear.

There is a bridge command to the helm, which is usually delivered loudly and in some haste, "shift your rudder." When you hear that command, if the rudder is to port, you crank it to a position the same number of degrees to starboard. It not infrequently means the OOD (Officer of the Deck) gave the initial rudder command backwards, so this command can be the equivalent of "oops." I have heard that command under circumstances which made me work rather hard not to smirk. (It is also often a legitimate command; to arrest a high speed turn for instance.)

[bluescribbler]

2. Rules of the Road specify actions to be undertaken by each vessel in an approaching situation.

One vessel is defined as the "privileged vessel", the other as the "burdened vessel". The privileged vessel is required to maintain course and speed, as it is deemed to have right of way. The burdened vessel is required to maneuver such that the two vessels pass "port to port". Since the Fitzgerald was struck on the starboard side, absent further information, it would appear that she was the burdened vessel, and failed to maneuver to avoid the collision. It remains to be seen, in my opinion, why the Crystal appeared to make a U-turn in the moments before the collision.