US Navy Ship Ignored Warning Before Ramming Pristine Coral Reef

[unhappycamper]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/01/21-1



The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park

US Navy Ship Ignored Warning Before Ramming Pristine Coral Reef
Craig Brown, staff writer
Published on Monday, January 21, 2013 by Common Dreams

The US Navy minesweeper that smashed into the World Heritage-listed coral reef off the Philippines coast last week ignored warnings to avoid the area, according to a Philippine government official.

The comments from the superintendent of Tubbataha Marine Park, Angelique Songco, added to growing anger in the Philippines over the incident, for which the US Navy may face fines.

According to The Navy Times, the 79 US Navy personnel aboard abandoned ship and the minesweeper is taking on water, “multiple spaces” are flooded.

Park rangers radioed the USS Guardian to advise it was nearing the Tubbataha Reef on Thursday, but the ship captain radioed back telling park rangers to bring their complaint to the US embassy, Ms Songco told reporters on Monday.



A photo released on Jan. 20, 2013 by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command (AFP-WESCOM) shows the US Navy ship USS Guardian remaining stuck in the vicinity of the Tubbataha Reef, western Philippines, on Jan. 19.

[MADem]

1. That's one LCDR who will never know the joys of promotion to Commander, I suspect. nt

[JoeBlowToo]

2. Isn't grounding your ship an instant demotion?

Talk about bad seamanship! How much is that ship worth?

[Angleae]

6. Demotion, no. Reassignment to a nowhere/nothing job, yes.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. The value of the ship might not be an issue

I doubt if the ship is a total loss. Minesweepers should be built pretty tough, so some time in drydock with a crew of welders might bring it to 100%.

The broken section of reef might take a long time to self-repair. Meanwhile, it'll be a snorkel/scuba tourist destination, "See the spot where the U.S. Navy crashed!"

The captain will enjoy his next assignment as a supply officer at Diego Garcia Naval Station.

[AnOhioan]

3. The captain is an arrogant idiot, hopefully busted down in rank in the near future.

[dballance]

4. Why Exactly Did the US need a Minesweeper to sail into a marine park?

Certainly the Philippines was an active theatre of war during WWII and the occasional mine does still crop up. But I doubt we really needed to be sweeping the area for them. Especially since we don't seem to have been invited and were asked to turn away.

I visited the 7th Fleet home page. They're already spinning a "the charts were out of date/incorrect" line of crap. To which I say a big so what if they were. The frigging park rangers radioed you to tell you you were getting close to it. You should have not been an arrogant ass LCDR Rice and listened to them. Not to mention, it's a minesweeper - a vessel to detect mines underwater. You'd think perhaps it would have advanced sonar to allow it to see things underwater like, I dunno, a reef.

The whole situation makes no sense unless we just assume the commander of the Guardian, or whoever was in command at the time, was havin a small-penis day and decided to prove to the park rangers his was bigger than theirs.

[daleanime]

5. And he has indeed shown that he is....

the bigger dick.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

7. I had previously been of the opinion that...

...the following exchange was fiction, but it seems that sometimes life imitates fiction.


(An American naval group makes radar contact with a transponder identifying it as Canadian.)

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a Collision.

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, recommend you divert YOUR course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. It's your call.

[Angleae]

8. Like this

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

9. Exactly! :) n/t