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US Destroyer collides with merchant vessel in South China Sea (yes, again)

Tovarisc

Member
They do have lookouts but, in nighttime, if the tanker didn't have deck lighting on the lookout would only see the tanker's port/starboard running lights and masthead light(s). It's very difficult to determine range and bearing to a ship in those conditions. Radar and fire control will give you a much more accurate set of info on what the other ship is doing.

Do we know how dark or bright it's in that part of the world at 6AM at this time of the year?
 
Easily avoidable. With the radars and auto-plotting devices they have you'd have to be blind and deaf not to acknowledge an object that size.


It's highly doubtful that the Navy crew didn't know about the ship. It's far more likely that they made an incorrect assessment of what the ship was doing (ie they have thought she had come to a stop to give way to the destroyer).

Do we know how dark or bright it's in that part of the world at 6AM at this time of the year?

Sunrise in Singapore is at 7am. So they were an hour away from sunrise. Depending on the relative directions of the ships it could have been near pitch black.

It's not an excuse- the collision never should have happened. It just probably isn't as cut and dry as someone literally not seeing a gigantic tanker bearing down on them.
 
For that to happen, there had to be a major fuck up leading to it.

The vessels don't appear from thin air, they're marked individually or automatically as they should be when there is heavy traffic. There's information on speed, course etc on every single vessel in the area. It was only a matter of basic collision prevention and traffic rules that look to have been ignored.

Right but what he is saying is that any projected course tracks will change when speed and course is changed. If you are on a collision course and slow down to allow the overtaking vessel to pull ahead and the other vessel slows down simultaneously, you are still on a collision course. Ships with this mass don't speed up and slow down very quickly. It can take minutes after a speed or course change for the updated situation to resolve itself.

Best thing to do is just come to a complete stop (though that also takes a significant amount of time) but ships are rarely willing to do that.

Clear communication is essential in these situations but that can prove difficult. There are often language barriers (even with most major merchant ships having officers who can speak english), and, at night, it's possible you may not even know the name of the vessel you are talking to.
 

Z3M0G

Member
199902f3f11f9a87d35626c1dfeb83cd116a544cfbbb56ccb1e7f18a01db458a.jpg

Happy I already finished my lunch
 

commedieu

Banned
The fitzgerald, and the mccain are both part of our North Korean ballistic missile defense systems.

Heard that on npr. Any servicemen;

We've got more than these two in the region, right?
 

Jumeira

Banned
NK must be lapping this up, probably sent out news the US trembled in fear as they set to carry out their drills. Thanks Trump, these guys were deluded before, you've given them ammunition renew thier resolve.
 
It's pretty unbelievable that something like this could happen. Twice in a couple months no less. I feel terrible for the missing sailors :(
 

Hari Seldon

Member
Been reading navy guys talk about this on reddit. None are on the ship but the consensus from 7th fleet members is that morale is miserable, no one gets enough sleep, low staffing, and in general people hate being in the 7th fleet. The Admiral in charge of this fleet needs to be fired, not just the ship captain.
 

Dishwalla

Banned
Been reading navy guys talk about this on reddit. None are on the ship but the consensus from 7th fleet members is that morale is miserable, no one gets enough sleep, low staffing, and in general people hate being in the 7th fleet. The Admiral in charge of this fleet needs to be fired, not just the ship captain.

Never been in 7th Fleet but I've always heard its tough, that you are out to sea 3/4 of any given year. Add to that liberty often being strict in Japan(usually thanks to Marines' shenanigans, as I understand it), it's not a desirable place to be from what I've been told.
 

Anfang

Member
Never been in 7th Fleet but I've always heard its tough, that you are out to sea 3/4 of any given year. Add to that liberty often being strict in Japan(usually thanks to Marines' shenanigans, as I understand it), it's not a desirable place to be from what I've been told.

it is a bit rougher for sure, but good leadership can make it not be a big deal.
 

Morat

Banned
Been reading navy guys talk about this on reddit. None are on the ship but the consensus from 7th fleet members is that morale is miserable, no one gets enough sleep, low staffing, and in general people hate being in the 7th fleet. The Admiral in charge of this fleet needs to be fired, not just the ship captain.

Is this in any way related to the Admiral who was exchanging bribes and whores for refueling and docking rights with one Fat Leonard, a Malaysian gangster? I think that was the US 7th fleet?
 

Anfang

Member
Is this in any way related to the Admiral who was exchanging bribes and whores for refueling and docking rights with one Fat Leonard, a Malaysian gangster? I think that was the US 7th fleet?

Cpt. Daniel Dusek. Dude was chill as fk lol
 

Soapbox Killer

Grand Nagus
7th Fleet commander has been removed and all ships are portlocked while new guidelines are put in place.


Usat for this day of training.
 
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