USS Fitzgerald collides with ACX Crystal off coast of Japan

The differences in original, relative speeds must have been considerable as seen by the structural damages on the Crystal’s port side focs’le and the Fitz’ starboard superstructure and deck house. During the structural deformations taking a certain time - 10-20 seconds? - speeds and directions were reduced and changed. It must have been a very noisy collision felt and heard by all aboard.
During the collision/deformations taking place the two ships were entangled for a while, but soon Crystal bounced out/off to starboard while Fitz turned to port.

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So, Fitz will return to CONUS on a heavy lift ship. The RFP indicates she might go all the way to a shipyard in Maine. Returning her to BIW would be best. Built there, in a great yard.

But the last few mile from refloating in deep water, up the Kennebec River to BIW, will be interesting. Not likely the heavy lift ship could clear the narrow rip area off Popham Beach.

Will they take the NW Passage?

Going south to Magellan any time of the year on a submersible is fraught with hazards.

So, what exactly is wrong with the graving docks in Pearl Harbor? Or is it simply a case of “thanking the senator from the great state of _________” by sending them to a yard in CONUS?

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Are there any ice-class heavy lifters and icebreaker escort available? The Northwest Passage is not ice-free yet:

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/07/earliest-crossing-of-the-northwest-passage-ever/535443/

Redbox have been serving Sabetta for years

http://www.heavyliftnews.com/news/first-yamal-cargo-for-red-box-and-guangzhou-salvage

The two Redbox ice class vessels are deck cargo carriers but not semi-submersibles.
Why can’t a HLV pass through Panama Canal with the Fitz on deck?
If the bow have to be outboard that can be over the stern.

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edit: too slow

ombugge, based on some figures I found with Google, the propellers extend below baseline. Of course, if you have the ship on blocks, then it should be ok.

The Fitz is a relatively light load. Even high cribbing is not a problem for the larger HLVs.

Here is high cribbing for two jackups to be loaded on a HLV:

How it looks after deck dry:


Admittedly, it took some trim and list to bring this load out of the water. The Fitz would be much easier.

This link is pretty good : https://www.marinelink.com/news/destroyer-stricken428130?utm_source=MT-ENews-2017-08-08&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MT-ENews

So the FITZ hull is now watertight again after repairs in DD at Yokosuka but the four gas turbine engines in two engine rooms that were flooded are so damaged, so they cannot turn the props, so the thing cannot move by itself. The generators aboard are also still not working. Even worse - to tow the ship to a yard for repairs is not possible because it can sink any moment for unknown reasons. President Trump is very upset about the whole thing.

So I twittered Donald - why not just tow your warship out to sea … and sink it? The ship was a useless rusty wreck from the start anyway!

I await a twitter reply from Donald soon and will copy it here.

Donald is the ultimate shipowner and must face up to his responsibilities.

A more realistic interpretation of the article: the US Navy doesn’t want to stress the damaged hull girder further, so they have opted for a dry tow because semi-submersible heavy lift vessels are available in the market worldwide and they have prior experience from transporting USS Cole. Conventional tow may be cheaper, but why risk losing a potentially repair-worthy vessel?

We’re not in the middle of a global war so there’s no need to take unnecessary risks and play hero.

I think any decision to take Fitz to CONUS is based on getting her into one of the building yards for that class of ship, as opposed to a fully repair capable facility. This is most likely based on the extensive damage.

Additionally, they may have decided to proceed early with the major modernization that Fitz was scheduled for in two years, and this would be done at one of the two yards that built the class. This option would probably allow them to bury some of the repair cost as well. JMHO

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Japan suspends probe into ACX Crystal-USS Fitzgerald collision

Questions mount over the US Navy’s reluctance to share vital evidence with Japanese investigators, despite seemingly admitting liability

August 9th, 2017 19:06 GMT

by Adam Corbett

Published in Casualties

Japan has suspended its safety investigation into the collision between the Aegis-built destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the 2,858-teu containership ACX Crystal (built 2008) after the US Navy and Coastguard declined to pass on critical evidence.

Immediately after the tragedy, which claimed seven US seafarers lives, both sides promised to share information in a joint safety probe.

But Japan has now suspended the investigation after the US failed to pass on crew testimony and evidence about the course the USS Fitzgerald travelled leading up to the collision.

As a US warship the USS Fitzgerald is not required to transmit AIS data.

Following the suspension, the Filipino second mate and officer of the watch on the ACX Crystal at the time of the incident were released without charge.

There is now a growing consensus among maritime experts that liability for the collision lies with the US Navy ship.

Pictures of the incident suggest that under collision regulations (Colregs) it is likely that the US Navy ship should have been the “give way” vessel and was at fault.

In leaks to the US press, the US Defence Agency has even gone as far as to suggest its preliminary findings put the fault firmly with the USS Fitzgerald, admitting some of the ship’s crew could have been negligent and could face military prosecution.

One US defence official reportedly said: “The way it looks now, it seems that the crew on the USS Fitzgerald is going to be at fault. They are certainly going to be held accountable in some way for their actions.”

It is unclear why the US is not ready to share its findings while seemingly admitting liability.

One suggestion is that the Fitzgerald could have had as many as six officers on watch at the time of collision and their failure to react to the ACX Crystal could prove embarrassing.

Another is that the US Navy is reluctant to release sensitive information on how the state-of-the-art radar and monitoring equipment on the destroyer failed to pick up the oncoming ACX Crystal.

Some observers claim that US Navy vessels are transiting the region with a carefree attitude to the rules of navigation.

The US evidence is critical to both Japan’s criminal probe and safety investigation.

The Philippines, under which the ACX Crystal was registered, should have led the probe, but as the accident happened in Japanese waters it has taken the lead.

The Japanese are keen to learn lessons from the incident to prevent further collisions in the Irozaki channel, which links Tokyo Bay with shipping from China and Southeast Asia.

About 400 ships use the passage per day, making it one of Japan’s busiest shipping lanes.

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To a U.S. Navy bridge team, navigating through traffic is rocket science, and only utter chaos is acceptable on the bridge. They perform miracles daily underway.

I also hear a lot of “ROR are written by lawyers, so they don’t really apply” and the “when there is more then two vessels around, its a special case, so ROR don’t apply”. Take that in the worst way possible, not the understandable way, and you will have a decent idea of where the minds of the SWOs driving and steaming the ship are at.

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That’s funny, sad, and scary all at once.

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I understand very well why the Japan Transport Safety Board, JTSB, has suspended its investigation to determine the causes of the Fitz/Crystal collision and the damages incidental to such collision in Japanese waters. The owner of Fitz – USA/USN - has full rights to refuse cooperation, so the proximate cause of the collision cannot be established that way. The Philippine maritime authorities/accident investigators will probably be told the same thing. It means, as far as I understand, that the Owner, Master and crew of Crystal are innocent and that their H&M, LoH and P&I underwriters will pay them for any damages incurred, as long as they were insured against the risk of being run down by a foreign warship at sea.

which is of course the ship’s track in the minutes leading up to the collision and hence why this defacto proves the Navy’s guilt. Why provide evidence that shows you are in the wrong then you are not compelled to by any court or authority?

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USS Fitzgerald senior officers relieved of command

Moran says the commander of the Navy’s 7th Fleet, based in Japan, is removing the top three sailors — the commanding officer, the executive officer and the command master chief — from duty aboard the Fitzgerald.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/senior-officer-damaged-ship-relieved-command-222253522--politics.html

Dozen U.S. sailors to be punished for June collision: Navy

Fresh off the press from the USNI…a pair of U.S. Coast Guard officers opine on the state of military navigation skills, or the lack thereof.

Keep in mind that there’s an editor’s note at the bottom of the article itself, just above the footnotes, that reads as follows:

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted for publication before the collision involving the USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62).

https://m.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2017-08/instill-fundamentals-seamanship-and-navigation?utm_source=U.S.+Naval+Institute&utm_campaign=e15d96a2a4-June_2017_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adee2c2162-e15d96a2a4-222773109&mc_cid=e15d96a2a4&mc_eid=c583383e88?utm_source=U.S.+Naval+Institute&utm_campaign=e15d96a2a4-June_2017_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adee2c2162-e15d96a2a4-222773109&mc_cid=e15d96a2a4&mc_eid=c583383e88?utm_source=U.S.+Naval+Institute&utm_campaign=e15d96a2a4-June_2017_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adee2c2162-e15d96a2a4-222773109&mc_cid=e15d96a2a4&mc_eid=c583383e88?utm_source=U.S.+Naval+Institute&utm_campaign=e15d96a2a4-June_2017_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adee2c2162-e15d96a2a4-222773109&mc_cid=e15d96a2a4&mc_eid=c583383e88

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Detailed report on the post-collision damage control response by the crew of the FTZ. Quite an emotional read.