The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) sits in Dry Dock 4 for continued repairs and assessment of damage it sustained during its June 17, 2017 collision with a merchant vessel at Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka in Yokosuka, Japan in this photo taken July 11, 2017. Courtesy of U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Leonard Adams/Handout via REUTERS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The crew of the USS Fitzgerald was likely at fault in the warship's collision with a Philippine cargo ship in June and had not been paying attention to their surroundings, according to initial findings in an investigation, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday.
Multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations are under way into how the USS Fitzgerald, a guided missile destroyer, and the much larger ACX Crystal container ship collided in clear weather south of Tokyo Bay in the early hours of June 17.
The collision tore a gash below the Fitzgerald's waterline, killing seven sailors in what was the greatest loss of life on a U.S. Navy vessel since the USS Cole was bombed in Yemen's Aden harbor in 2000.
"There was not a lot that went right leading up to the crash. There were a string of errors, but they did a lot after the collision to save lives and the ship," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said that in addition to crew members not paying attention to their surroundings, they did not take action until it was too late.
While the investigation is not complete, the official said crew members had given statements and radar data had been gathered, and it was unlikely the findings would change.
A U.S. Navy spokeswoman said the investigation was in the early stages and it was premature to speculate on the causes.
The incident has spurred a number of investigations, including those by the U.S. Navy and a probe by the United States Coast Guard on behalf of the National Transportation Safety Board. The Japan Transport Safety Board and the Philippines government are conducting separate investigations.
Last month Reuters reported that an account of the incident by the Philippine cargo ship's captain said that the U.S. warship had failed to respond to warning signals or take evasive action before the collision.
The ACX Crystal had been chartered by Japan's Nippon Yusen KK.
Qkix on July 23rd, 2017 at 16:57 UTC »
Whatever the rules of the road were, whatever maritime law says, it was the fault of the Fitzgerald's Officer of the Deck (OOD) and watch team. The OOD's first responsibility is safe navigation. The OOD is backed up by the Junior OOD, the lookouts, and at least three radar operators whose job it is to track surface contacts. Someone, probably multiple people, were not paying attention or were literally asleep at the switch.
Regardless of the traffic rules and the law, you do not play chicken at sea. The Fitzgerald should have taken action to avoid the collision miles before it happened. There's no excuse for what happened. It was straight up negligence on the part of the Fitzgerald's watch team.
Edit: The only mitigating circumstance that I can think of is that they were rebooting their computer systems, but that would not bring down all the radars. Trying to blame the cargo ship is like parking your car on train tracks and then trying to blame the train for not stopping in time.
Cerulean358 on July 23rd, 2017 at 16:08 UTC »
How does a modern U.S. Warship with an active crew get clipped?
autotldr on July 23rd, 2017 at 13:44 UTC »
This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 63%. (I'm a bot)
Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: U.S.#1 investigation#2 official#3 collision#4 ship#5