Seven US Sailors 'missing' after Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collides with 21,000 ton cargo ship off the coast of Japan and starts taking on water

[Right_in_Virginia]

Seven US Sailors 'missing' after Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collides with 21,000 ton cargo ship off the coast of Japan and starts taking on water
Daily Mail/UK, Jun 16, 2017

Seven US Sailors are missing after the USS Fitzgerald smashed into a 21,000 ton cargo ship, according to a Japanese news outlet.

In a statement, the US Navy said the destroyer crashed into Philippines container ship ACX Crystal 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, off the coast of Japan, around 2:30am local time.

A US defense official confirmed the destroyer suffered flooding in three compartments.

According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, one person is injured and seven are unaccounted for.

The injured sailor had a head injury, but the details of his or her condition are unknown.

Following the collision, the Navy requested the assistance of the Japanese Coast Guard, with cutters Izunami and Kano on station.

The 7th Fleet revealed that the ship is proceeding back to her home port of Yokosuka under her own power although her propulsion is limited. The USS Dewey - another destroyer- and two Navy tugs have been dispatched to provide assistance.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4612334/USS-Fitzgerald-involved-collision-merchant-vessel.html#ixzz4kDM0jYLv

[Right_in_Virginia]

[Right_in_Virginia]

U.S. sailors missing, injured after Navy destroyer Fitzgerald collides with merchant ship
Navy Times, Jun 16, 2017

Seven American sailors are missing and an unspecified number are injured after the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel off Japan's coast in the Philippine Sea.

As of 9 a.m. local time, the Fitzgerald's crew was still fighting to control the damage to the ship as it limped backed to land, three sources with knowledge the incident told Navy Times.  Its commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was incapacitated in the accident and the executive officer assumed command.

The Fitzgerald suffered extensive damage above and beneath the waterline, the U.S. 7th Fleet says. Initial reports suggested that Auxiliary Machine Room 1 and two crew berthings were completely flooded. Because the collision occurred around 2:30 a.m., most crew members not standing watch would be in the berthing.

It is unclear how much warning the crew had that a collision was imminent. A source with knowledge of the reporting said the crew had made progress on dewatering, but it is also unclear what the status of the flooded compartments was.

The Fitzgerald is currently under her own power, but with limited propulsion. The destroyer USS Dewey, along with two Navy tugs and aircraft, are en route to assist as quickly as possible, per a release from U.S. 7th Fleet. 


More: https://www.navytimes.com/articles/us-navy-destroyer-collides-with-merchant-ship

[Rivergirl]

Prayers for the injured and missing.

[mystery-ak]

It's obvious where the missing sailors are....prayers

[catfish1957]

It's obvious where the missing sailors are....prayers

Very sad.  In this technological age with advanced radar, communications,  and GPS , I just can't understand how anything like this can happen.

[driftdiver]

Very sad.  In this technological age with advanced radar, communications,  and GPS , I just can't understand how anything like this can happen.

Perhaps the cargo ship turned?  Hard to believe the navy ship was asleep or something.

[rangerrebew]

7 missing after Navy ship collides with merchant ship
Military officials say injuries occurred when a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan

    yesterday at 5:41 pm


Updated June 16 at 6:51 p.m.

By Associated Press

TOKYO — Seven crew members are reportedly missing and one injured after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided early Saturday morning with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan, the country's coast guard reported.

Footage from the Japanese TV network NHK showed heavy damage to the mid-right side of the Navy ship and a person in a stretcher being lifted to a helicopter.

https://www.military1.com/misconduct-internal-affairs/article/1785107014-7-missing-after-navy-ship-collides-with-merchant-ship/

[DB]

How does a navy destroyer get into a collision with a merchant ship???

Several people on the destroyer must have really screwed up bad.

[Smokin Joe]

How does a navy destroyer get into a collision with a merchant ship???

Several people on the destroyer must have really screwed up bad.

Some careers got wrecked, too, I'd wager. Prayers for the sailors and crew.

[Right_in_Virginia]

The stricken destroyer Fitzgerald has returned home, but 7 sailors are still missing (Update)
Navy Times, Jun 17, 2017

The destroyer Fitzgerald, mangled from a rare, harrowing collision while at sea, returned to its home port of Yokosuka, Japan, at about 7 p.m. local time Saturday, capping a 17-hour effort by the crew to prevent an even greater crisis.

 Seven sailors remain missing, and divers were standing by to assess the ship's damage and try to access the spaces that were flooded when Fitzgerald collided with a merchant ship nearly four-times its size in the middle of the night. The incident occurred in the Philippine Sea, about 50 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka.

Images show clearly the ship had taken on massive amounts of water during the ordeal. A news release from U.S. 7th Fleet confirmed that two berthing spaces, an auxiliary machine room and the ship’s radio room all flooded.

“The collision effected Fitzgerald's forward starboard side above and below the water line, causing significant damage and associated flooding to two berthing spaces, a machinery space, and the radio room, which damage-control teams quickly began dewatering,” the release said. “While those efforts helped stabilize the flooding, it remains uncertain how long it will take to gain access to the spaces once the ship is pier side in Yokosuka in order to methodically continue the search for the missing.”

***
The accident occurred in a high-traffic area. Japan’s coast guard and maritime self-defense force surged to the scene, along with the U.S. destroyer Dewey. The military ships Ohnami, Hamagiri, and Enshu responded alongside the coast guard ships Izanami and Kano, which aided the crew in searching for the missing seven sailors.

The ACX Crystal that collided with Fitzgerald has a dead weight listed at nearly 40,000 tons, roughly the size of the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima and more than four-times larger than the 8,900-ton Fitzgerald.

The collision set in motion a desperate damage-control effort to control the flooding beneath the waterline. Benson, the commanding officer, was seriously injured in the collision, prompting the ship's executive officer, Cmdr. Sean Babbitt, to assume command of the ship.

A search-and-rescue effort got underway once it was determined seven sailors were unaccounted for, with responding ships and aircraft scanning the sea to see if those personnel were in the water. That effort included a U.S. P-8 Poseidon, plus two Japanese helicopters and a P-3 Orion.


More:  https://www.navytimes.com/articles/us-navy-destroyer-collides-with-merchant-ship

[Oceander]

How the hell do two ships just run into each other outside of a raging storm in this day and age?

[driftdiver]

How the hell do two ships just run into each other outside of a raging storm in this day and age?

Maybe they were taking on supplies from the Japanese ship.

[Rivergirl]

Two were evacuated from the ship.   One of them the captain............I'll say no more.

[driftdiver]

Two were evacuated from the ship.   One of them the captain............I'll say no more.

They took the captain off at sea?

[Oceander]

Maybe they were taking on supplies from the Japanese ship.

Causing that much damage?  And without any mention in the story?

[driftdiver]

Causing that much damage?  And without any mention in the story?

I don't know if the navy transfers supplies from non navy ships at sea but they do from navy to navy ship.  Very tricky from what I've heard and the ships can be pulled together by the water.  Could easily cause this much damage.

For me that's easier to believe them the ships crew was asleep but maybe that's what happened.

[Oceander]

I don't know if the navy transfers supplies from non navy ships at sea but they do from navy to navy ship.  Very tricky from what I've heard and the ships can be pulled together by the water.  Could easily cause this much damage.

For me that's easier to believe them the ships crew was asleep but maybe that's what happened.

Fair enough.  I guess I'll just have to wait for the full report. 

[driftdiver]

Fair enough.  I guess I'll just have to wait for the full report.

Story on drudge says the Capt was airlifted due to head injuries.   Says professional negligence suspected but not whose.

[Oceander]

Story on drudge says the Capt was airlifted due to head injuries.   Says professional negligence suspected but not whose.

Interesting.  Is it possible he had a medical emergency on the bridge that precipitated the collision?

[Victoria33]

Fair enough.  I guess I'll just have to wait for the full report.

@Oceander

I read this morning that the radio room was one of those flooded immediately after the ship struck them.  That would have prevented calls out to other ships, and headquarters, for help.

[NavyCanDo]

Very sad.  In this technological age with advanced radar, communications,  and GPS , I just can't understand how anything like this can happen.

My ship the USS Saratoga was stuck by a oiler during side by side replenishment. A momentary power outage on the replenishment ship affecting its stearing is all it took. Sometime technolgy is the cause.

[NavyCanDo]

I don't know if the navy transfers supplies from non navy ships at sea but they do from navy to navy ship.  Very tricky from what I've heard and the ships can be pulled together by the water.  Could easily cause this much damage.

For me that's easier to believe them the ships crew was asleep but maybe that's what happened.

The supply ships are owned by the Navy, but manned by cvilians. Side by side at sea replenishment is very hazardous and tricky, esspecially at night. We had one collision, see my other post. Our aircraft carrier suffered dammage, but the smaller oiler got the worse of it.

[catfish1957]

My ship the USS Saratoga was stuck by a oiler during side by side replenishment. A momentary power outage on the replenishment ship affecting its stearing is all it took. Sometime technolgy is the cause.

Thanks for the explanation.  Still, in this technological age I surprise there aren't more redundancies, and like in your case phased secondary generators. It's how petrochemical plants avoid the mess from outages and blips.

[SZonian]

How does a navy destroyer get into a collision with a merchant ship???

Several people on the destroyer must have really screwed up bad.

  I don't know about that.  Based on the cargo ship's track, it may be a deliberate attack on the USN.  Based on where the Fitz was hit, the cargo ship apparently took no evasive action, rammed the ship broadside.   
The ACX Crystal's course shows that it performed a rapid U-turn at speed and then turned to head back to Tokyo - at which point it collided with the USS Fitzgerald

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4612334/USS-Fitzgerald-involved-collision-merchant-vessel.html#ixzz4kHRqft9e