Oh I’m sure that was just sloppy seamanship and pure chance that it was on the contact side. I bet the Captain tore the bosun a new one as soon as they got clear. Tres embarrasant.
Been there in the yellow sea, with PRC trying to intimidate. Got called up by a PRC white-hull with a blue stripe, telling us to leave. My reply was the USN sanctioned reply, ". . . conducting routine operations in international waters. . "
They told me to leave again. I replied, “I don’t see any guns on your deck, we will remain”.
Of course I contacted Operational Control. . . Opcon told me to leave. I was PO’d, especially since a DDG was within 60 miles. . .
I didn’t want to be the next Pueblo, but I also didn’t want to appear to be intimidated.
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One night at about 0130 we were shadowed by a couple of big sports fishing boats with guys on deck armed with AK 47s. I told sparky to get on the horn with the fleet. Their response. “We are 40 miles from your location. Advise if your situation changes.”
WTF? Not very comforting considering the only way the situation was going to change was that they either peeled off or start blasting on full auto and our only means of defense was a dozen Beretta M9s.
Apparently you were supposed to (if necessary) “shut up and die like an aviator”.**
**Fabled response to some poor Navy pilot in the middle of crashing, on the horn saying “I’ve done this, I’ve done that, I’ve done the other thing! What do I do?!”
Clearly this idiot missed the ship handling class where they talked about bank suction and cushion. Capt Ivan probably thought he’d be real cool and pull up alongside the US Cowboys and scare them a little. But he got close enough to get sucked in to the US ship’s quarter, likely not even understanding what was even happening to his own ship. It’s exactly why his ship stayed alongside for a moment and heeled over to port.
So boys and girls, do you know how to get out of a mess like that. Or better yet, even avoid it to begin with???
Manned model school is a wonderful thing. You can learn a lot and the cost of it is a whole lot less than the damage that was caused here.
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Just studying their shallow-water videos for a few weeks ahead of time served me very well when I went on a narrowboat cruise in England (and a bit in Wales) a few years ago. 20 tonne boat 64 feet by 6 ft 10 inches by two foot draft, doesn’t answer helm unless the prop is pushing, six inches to a foot under the keel…
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So let’s just brush aside the rules of the road for a second and contemplate what the “lessons learned” are from all these close calls, near misses, actual collisions, and “jousting at sea” involving big egos and even bigger ships.
What are the main things that Russian and Chinese Admirals are learning from these silly exercises in bravado???
If I’m an Admiral at the table talking to my superiors deep inside China or Russia, I already have a plan to wipe out the effectiveness of enough US Naval vessels…combatants mind you… that will virtually put the Americans on their knees in just a few days. Guaranteed.
Place all your cheap piece of sh*t civilian ships, big ones, you don’t care about and are expendable, plant them outside places sailing back and forth near US Navy bases. The Chinese have civilian ships (plenty more than we do!) all over the world at any moment in time. When US Navy ships depart port on deployment, just run into them! Collisions. on purpose! Similarly, do the same with their own Navy ships, as seen here in these videos. All our adversaries have to do is put our ships out of action by having collisions bad enough to send our ships back to port. Then pretend it was a horrible accident.
US Navy ships transiting ANY crowded waterway (like the PORTER, FITZ and the McCAIN) where there are many civilian cargo ships all around, can be hampered, rather easily it seems here, by cargo ships nearby. Especially at night. More so if these ships are running with their AIS turned off too, I might add.
Instead of sailing a straight line and leaning on how “right” you are due to the Rules of the Road, why aren’t they taking evasive action to stay clear and not get that close?? How is it that it’s okay to get that close anyway? Nevermind the COLREGS. Why are we letting them get in so close you could toss an apple over to the guys on the other bridgewing??
I’m not advocating to start WWIII. Far from it. But there is a lesson learned here and it doesn’t portend to be good for American sailors.
In one easy motion, if our Navy CO’s are willing to stick by their guns, sail a straight line while Ivan comes up for a quick smell of your ship, our adversaries are learning they can do this all the time and when it will really counts and matters, it will result in an action that will not be good for us.
While the PORTER, FITZ, and McCAIN may not have been a “purposeful” act, it did teach our adversaries we are extremely vulnerable in the worst possible way. When we are trying to be the good guys, they can easily be the bad guys and cause much damage, mayhem, death, and destruction…by hardly trying at all.
This isn’t a game about the COLREGS.
It’s a lesson about positive action and making decisions to save your lives and your ship, for us. For them, its about how easy it will be to knock out a number of our ships before we realize…these really are not “accidents” at all.
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Relaxed atmosphere on the Russian ship. Obviously no alarm has sounded. Sunbathing while collision disaster is at hand. Cool, I like that attitude. Daredevils no safety railing. That guy standing would probably go overboard in case of an collision. Crazy Ivans. Any sunbathing allowed on US Navy ships?
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Absolutely, and they would/should be flying the proper signal per rule 27: ball-diamond-ball but the Russians wouldn’t give a hoot.
With ships running parallel like that a collision would be relatively low energy. I wouldn’t think there is much more risk than UNREP. Any contact would likely be the equivalent of a fender bender.
True, especially if they are matching speeds. On the USNS Supply, a few AB’s were selected for their ability to stay on course within a degree during UNREPs. Going off script would be catastrophic, especially if one of the vessels widens the gap rather than narrowing it and the gear stretches beyond the breaking point. IIRC the separation during UNREPs is 150 feet and speed 14 knots
USNS SUPPLY:
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OTOH I would think that good seamanship requires that the ship’s safety comes first, that would mean to postpone the heli’s landing until the ships are well clear of each other.
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It’s a form of low-level asymmetrical warfare in a sense. One Russian destroyer captain makes a maneuver that probably he was literally happy to do and it’s all over our TV screens. All the office moles at the Pentagon are busy typing memos and all the fleet captains are busy reading them etc.
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In busy waterways warships routinely display “ restrictioned in ability to manoeuvre “ signals while conducting flying operations.
We did so even in open waters.
“Instead of sailing a straight line and leaning on how “right” you are due to the Rules of the Road, why aren’t they taking evasive action to stay clear and not get that close”
Rightly said.
I would add that COLREGS are only as good as the intentions of the two vessels.
There are other factors involved as well beyond COLREGS that demand practical and proactive actions by the navigating officers. One such factor that I emphasized in my standing orders to the ship’s navigators was to "… keep in mind that COLREGS stipulate the responsibilities and actions when “two” vessels are in a traffic situation that involves the risk of collision- your own vessel, and another. In real life, especially in congested waters, there always would be more than two vessels that you need to worry about. Your actions to avoid collision with one would typically land you in a close-quarters-situation’ with another. This is where you need the navigator to use the instruments (ARPA simulation) and his judgment to determine how the situation could develop a few minutes down the line if he didn’t take any action or if he took a specific action.
None of what I’ve said is new and I am sure these aspects would be well covered in the training that young officers get.
Like this?
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That’s the other thing to consider. In a freedom of navigation transit, the point is to show that OPFOR’s shenanigans won’t prevent you from doing whatever you intend to do.
Based on that mission, Chancellorsville acted as a naval vessel would be expected to. The Russian boat did too, as their mission is to do whatever it takes to disrupt the other guys from their goals without making them shoot at you.
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This underscores my comment.
It’s not about COLREGS. It’s about knowing how to stay away from the other guy and not let him ’cause’ damage to your vessel. Nobody gives a hash about about ”fault” when your ship is sinking. Or limping back to port out of action.
Why did you get that close to begin with?
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Photo taken from a helo:
Back to “Bumper Drills” - Russian Destroyer Violates Nautical Rules of Road to Harass U.S. Navy Cruiser - Eagle Speak
7th Fleet Statement on Unsafe Maneuver by Russian Destroyer
While USS ChancPHILIPPINE SEA (NNS) – At approximately 11:45 am on June 7, 2019 while operating in the Philippine Sea, a Russian Destroyer (UDALOY I DD 572) made an unsafe maneuver against guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62), closing to approximately 50-100 feet putting the safety of her crew and ship at risk.
While USS Chancellorsville was recovering its helicopter on a steady course and speed when the Russian ship DD572 maneuvered from behind and to the right of Chancellorsville accelerated and closed to an unsafe distance of approximately 50-100 feet. This unsafe action forced USS Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full and to maneuver to avoid collision.
We consider Russia’s actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional and not in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), “Rules of the Road,” and internationally recognized maritime customs.ellorsville was recovering its helicopter on a steady course and speed when the Russian ship DD572 maneuvered from behind and to the right of Chancellorsville accelerated and closed to an unsafe distance of approximately 50-100 feet. This unsafe action forced USS Chancellorsville to execute all engines back full and to maneuver to avoid collision.
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