This collision and the other collision is entirely the fault of the US Navy. It was madness to reduce crew levels to the point where watched are not posted on the deck to watch for hazards with eyeballs. I've been at sea at night and commercial vessels are lit up like Christmas trees. It would be impossible not to see them approaching.
Also the Navy stopped training officers in basic seamanship to save money. The Navy is just covering it's butt by dropping the court case.
All true. I read the report, and it is certainly clear that the three key officers on duty that night - the TAO, the OD, and the JOD (all of whom happened to be female) all screwed up. The Captain is responsible as well simply because it was his ship, but the truth is that he complained repeatedly, in writing, that the operational tempo and staffing levels were dangerous, and prevented essential training. Propublica put together a truly excellent article summarizing what happened. It's
very long, but very informative
https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/uss-fitzgerald-destroyer-crash-crystal/In terms of seeing approaching vessels, that's generally true. In this case, it seems that the path of one vessel partially masked the approach of a different vessel, at least for awhile. And the officer responsible for keeping eyes on port and starboard -- the JOD -- got distracted and failed to see the ships in time. The TAO also never bothered contacting the bridge even once to let the OD know how many vessels were in the area, and their range/bearing. And the OD herself just did a complete brain fart when determining how to avoid the potential collision. It also appears that nobody checked the adjustment of the radars, so they weren't turned properly for the relevant ranges.
I agree that the Navy realized that that though the officers involved certainly were at fault, there was a major issue regarding staffing and tempo that simply had not been addressed.
