7th fleet crashes another one

[dean nelson]

The navy is aware this isn't bumper boats ....right?

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/20/asia/us-navy-destroyer-collision-singapore/index.html

 

[LBrandt]

High sea terrorists? They use ships instead of cars or trucks.

 

[gst]

Well it was the "McCain" so it likely was supposed to be going right when it suddenly turned left............

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Prayers to the searchers for and families of the missing sailors.

 

[dean nelson]

High sea terrorists? They use ships instead of cars or trucks.

A destroyer getting run over by an oil tanker? That I'm guessing would play out something like this.

 

[Allen]

This is frigging stupid.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that this too was probably the Navy's fault.

Smaller and more nimble ships are supposed to yield to the big slow bumbling things called tankers. Yeah, that's a completely theoretical thing where I'm not aware of the details of this encounter, but you gotta stop playing chicken with shit that don't have the ability to turn on a dime.

 

[Maddog]

It appears the ship was hit in the port, stern portion. That being said, unless I understand differently according to the rules of the seas in all likelihood, 2 scenarios are possible both with the tanker at fault.
First scenario, the tanker came up from the stern of the ship at a greater speed and strikes the ship. Tanker at fault.
Second scenario, 2 boats under power with the tanker approaching from the left of the ship and does not yield to the ship. Tanker at fault.

<><>>
When I took boater's safety the rules applied regardless of the size of the ships/vessels.

 

[KDM]

I don't believe for a second that these collisions were accidental. Even the smallest fishing vessel in the Florida Keys has radar that can pick up pallet sized debris in the water and as a Navy Veteran, I can tell you NOTHING makes a Skipper more nervous than having another ship within 5 miles of him. Those "Recruitment" posters or pics you see showing all those ships in the same shot will just about give EVERY SKIPPER of those vessels a stroke. Suppose for a minute that these other ships posed threats to US interests, but to blow them from the water with gunfire or torpedoes would be an act of war, but to ram into them is an "Accident". Is it plain coincidence that these "events" are all happening close to NORTH KOREA????????? Losing steering DOESN'T prevent the engines from stopping or going in reverse!!!!!!!! I for one give the officers in charge of ships MORE CREDIT than media to take very good care of THEIR SHIPS!!!! Navy men LOVE their ships and will kill and die to keep them from harm. Just visit a Navy ship and ask'em. Sailors will even fight each other over the "Honor" of their ships. I figure these "Accidents" had a purpose and these sailors did what was asked of them, but that's just coming from a guy with 25 years of service with 10 on AD in the Navy. Go Navy!!!!!

 

[Lycanthrope]

I don't believe for a second that these collisions were accidental. Even the smallest fishing vessel in the Florida Keys has radar that can pick up pallet sized debris in the water and as a Navy Veteran, I can tell you NOTHING makes a Skipper more nervous than having another ship within 5 miles of him. Those "Recruitment" posters or pics you see showing all those ships in the same shot will just about give EVERY SKIPPER of those vessels a stroke. Suppose for a minute that these other ships posed threats to US interests, but to blow them from the water with gunfire or torpedoes would be an act of war, but to ram into them is an "Accident". Is it plain coincidence that these "events" are all happening close to NORTH KOREA????????? Losing steering DOESN'T prevent the engines from stopping or going in reverse!!!!!!!! I for one give the officers in charge of ships MORE CREDIT than media to take very good care of THEIR SHIPS!!!! Navy men LOVE their ships and will kill and die to keep them from harm. Just visit a Navy ship and ask'em. Sailors will even fight each other over the "Honor" of their ships. I figure these "Accidents" had a purpose and these sailors did what was asked of them, but that's just coming from a guy with 25 years of service with 10 on AD in the Navy. Go Navy!!!!!

Suppose for a second these were intentional collissions, wouldnt the US do everything possible to avoid loss of life? I cant imagine we would ever risk hundreds of soldiers and a billion (or whatever) dollar ship to prevent some oil going to Korea...

 

[Riggen&Jiggen]

It was probably due to all the gay sex going on with the transgenders and all or a lefty lib protesting.

 

[Fly Carpin]

It was probably due to all the gay sex going on with the transgenders and all or a lefty lib protesting.

Hahahaha! Great joke! 10 sailors still missing! Hilarious!

 

[tikkalover]

I about had this happen to me yesterday on Shell. Some dumb ass pulls up in a newer red fiberglass Lund and stops beside us in 20 feet of water to get his shit ready. Then thinks he needs to troll thru me to get to deeper water as I was holding my course in 25 feet of water. When he was like 10 feet from me, his wife finally told him to stop, as I wasn't going to give way.

 

[KDM]

Suppose for a second these were intentional collissions, wouldnt the US do everything possible to avoid loss of life? I cant imagine we would ever risk hundreds of soldiers and a billion (or whatever) dollar ship to prevent some oil going to Korea...

I was sent in as "Bait" more than once while in Afghanistan. We were outnumbered, outgunned, and out on a limb. Yes, the preservation of life is tops on the list of priorities, but sometimes it is unavoidable in the service of ones country. Suppose it wasn't an oil ship and was a weapons shipment or uranium. Suppose it was a surveillance vessel shadowing a covert US operation involving hundreds of lives. Lots of suppositions without ANY evidence to prove anything. My point is: The Bridge is manned by several sailors 24/7 and I don't believe ANY ONE US Sailor would put his ship in harms way due to negligence, let alone an ENTIRE BRIDGE of sailors. A good idea of who's on the bridge at any one time is as follows: (Taken from the internet and keep in mind this is just an example, but it gives you an idea)

1. The Officer of the Deck who was in charge during his watch.
2. Sometimes a Jr. Officer of the Deck to assist him.
3. A Quartermaster - a petty officer to help with navigation and kept the log.
4. A Boatswain mate of the watch in charge of the other enlisted watchstanders. He also ensured that the people under him rotated their positions every 15 minutes to keep them alert.
5. The Helmsman - actually steers the ship.
6. The Lee Helmsman - controls the ships speed
7. The port lookout - on the port wing of the Bridge
8. The Starboard Lookout - on the Starboard wing of the Bridge.
9. The After Lookout - who was stationed on the 02 deck in the aft part of the ship.
10. There was also a Signalman in the Signal Shack just slightly aft of the Bridge.

I find it IMPOSSIBLE that all these people were negligent at the same time. These sailors may take the blame, but scapegoats jumps quickly to mind. YOUR Navy servicemen and women are NOT what the media is portraying.

 

[dean nelson]

Well supposedly her steering was out just before but was back so I could definitely see them spending much of their time trouble shooting that and not watching what they were doing. In the end one goes 10 knots and the other goes 30 one can turn on a dime the other takes miles. Rule number one of being a Kamikaze you don't take the biggest slowest hardest vehicle to steer and use it as a missile against the smaller faster more maneuverable target it tends not too work too well .....well unless you are targeting the u.s. Navy then it apparently it works awesome!

 

[Riggen&Jiggen]

I sure hope that there is something going on that they are not telling the public otherwise these incidents are showing how incompetent our navy is that they can't drive around the ocean without running into a floating island. It seems they are plenty of leakers in Washington D.C. now a days maybe something will come out.

 

[DirtyMike]

Your country's service men and woman are missing and/or dead. Show some class, Dean.

 

[shorthairsrus]

does the tanker really take miles to turn? I recently was on a ship twice the length of that tanker and almost a 1/3 wider and the sob could turn on a dime. It vibrated like a sob but it would turn and it was amazing how fast the it would stop.

 

[Wild and Free]

Navigation in Asian waters is much like rush hour in down town New York City from all the info i have ever gained. Not fun at all.

 

[3tt3v]

I thought all news was fake. WWWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT

 

[ORCUS DEMENS]

Yes tankers take miles to turn. Newton's law, a body in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by other forces. The Straits of Malaca are the busiest waterway in the world. Wild and Free is correct in his description. When I was deployed to sixth fleet on a destroyer, I had the pleasure of a high speed (20+ Knots through the Straits of Messina (not as busy), in the dead of night, total EMcon (No radar)! I wore my life jacket the whole time. Let me tell you, keeping a visual track of local shipping was a nightmare. If the McCain had steering trouble immediately prior to the collision the tanker would have had a hard time avoiding the collision. Just speculating here but the McCain might have drifted to port which put it in the tanker's path. If the steering went out suddenly, it can be manually operated from after steering ( picture two sailors and hand cranks). This may take several minutes to get someone there and start changing course. In tight quarters that may be the difference between safe passage and what took place. The inquiry will take months if not a year before responsibility is placed. Even if the McCain is found not at fault, count the skipper, Ex O and watch standers as receiving a court martial/ discharge. Not a pleasant end to a career.

 

[snow]

Thanx KDM,Orcus,good insight ,I was thinking the same thing with all the technolgy these ships have and now 4 collissions in one year! Were they really accidents? I find it hard to believe,whats next another collission only this time an explosion?