SAILING BLIND WITH HIGH TECH: SHIP CRYSTAL-USS FITZGERALD COLLISION

On Saturday, June 17, 2017 at about 1:30 AM local time, the US Destroyer Fitzgerald, with a crew of 300, was struck amidship on its starboard side by the a Philippine container ship  ACX Crystal, off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan.  The Fitzgerald (about 500 feet long) sustained heavy damage to its midship superstructure and below the waterline to its hull.  It nearly sunk due to a gash in the hull extending to the keel.  Seven sailors died.  Many more, including the captain, whose cabin was crushed, were severely injured.   The sailors and their officers acted heroically to save the ship and bring their vessel and their injured crew to port  Many of these men and women should and will be commended for heroism.  But there are many questions to answer.

As any small boat sailor familiar with the seas around great commercial ports  knows, giant container ships just might run you down.  These ships are so huge, that in effect they can not stop, or turn to avoid anything.  The Crystal is over 700 feet long (think two and a third football fields).    Their size Ives them the "right of way".  And they are always badly undermanned.  The Crystal  had only a skeleton crew of perhaps ten or twenty merchant mariners.   It is common knowledge that their "deck look outs" may not exist, are Distracted, engaged below deck.  So every  small-boat skipper keeps a sharp lookout out for THEM, knowing that they are NOT looking out for you.

And as to the American ship.  What were the circumstances and conditions on the USS Fitzgerald early Saturday morning  that caused it to be struck and nearly sunk by this collision?  That is another question all together,

How could an American warship sailing in a busy(400 ships a day), dangerous, pirate infested, commercial sea-lane be so unaware of a huge object the size of a small island approaching at high speed?    Were they sailing blind?  Was there a misunderstanding concerning the "right of way" --the seaman's "rules of the road"?  Where was the seaman deckwatch?  What was happening on the bridge? Where was the helmsman and the officer of the deck?  Why didn't the radar and electronics crew warn those on the bridge of the rapid approach (17 knots)  of this huge ship?  What kind of landlubber Navy do we have now?

The answer may be in part related to the fact that in modern times we are so dependent on high tech---computer apps, robotics, machinery, and so-forth.  Our young sailors and their officers--seem to rely a great deal on technology.   Perhaps to a fault.  The tendency is to let the ship run itself. That is a dangerous and unsustainable practice. As a result of such landlubberly behavior seven young lives were lost.  A valuable Navy asset worth perhaps a billion dollars was nearly sunk, and the reputation of our Navy besmirched.

This is a wake up call for our leaders in the US Navy and in Washington.