Following the recent collision of a tanker with the US Navy destroyer USS John S. McCain, in which 10 sailors are missing, the US Navy has dismissed Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin as commander of the 7th Fleet. There have been four significant casualties involving ships of the 7th fleet in Asia this year. The casualties include the collision of the USS Fitzgerald with a container ship in June off the coast of Japan, killing seven sailors. Rear Admiral Phil Sawyer, who had already been named to succeed Admiral Aucoin earlier, has assumed command of the 7th Fleet.
US Navy divers have been reported to have located “some remains” in the flooded sections of the destroyer. Malaysian officials are also reported to have found one body, which is still being identified.
In response to the series of casualties, Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson has called for an immediate “operational pause” across the U.S. fleet so commanders can assess safety.
There has been speculation that collision involving the two Aegis missile destroyers, Fitzgerald and McCain, may have been the result of cyber attacks on the ship. Military.com reports, however, that “the chief of Naval Operations told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday that, in the case of the collision of the USS John S. McCain with a Liberian-flagged merchant ship, there was so far no evidence that external or unfriendly forces played a role.”
“That’s certainly something we are giving full consideration to, but we have no indication that that’s the case yet,” Adm. John Richardson said. “But we’re looking at every possibility, so we’re not leaving anything to chance.”
CNN reports that “the McCain suffered a steering failure as the warship was beginning its approach into the Strait of Malacca, causing it to collide with a commercial tanker, a Navy official told CNN. The official said it was unclear why the crew couldn’t use the ship’s backup steering systems to maintain control. Earlier, another US Navy official told CNN there were indications the destroyer experienced a loss of steering right before the collision, but steering had been regained afterward.“
My how the plot thickens.
There is something eerie about these two similatr events and I
would not rule out cyber hacking of autonomous evasion systems.
I love the way the Navy throws the high brass under the bus; I
understand as a former crypto security officer on an aircraft carrier
about this stuff but I still remember the attempt to court martial
the poor skipper of the USS PUEBLO for not destroying his equipment
before it fell into the hands of the ” enemy “. They never gave us
enough thermite to keep around to do an adequate job and did not
trust us to do it properly should we ever have had to do so. Heh.
For the fourth time there has been an accident by a vessel of the USN 7th. Fleet which has resulted in considerable loss of life. In turn these have resulted in the dismissal of various Officers and Ratings from Admiral to Petty Officer. These accidents of three collisions and one grounding are all the result of navigational failures by Bridge Watch standers. It would seem therefore to indicate a considerable weakness in the navigational knowledge of these Watch standers in the understanding and application of the “International Rules of the Nautical Road” known as the “ColRegs” in American parlance. It is absolutely essential that the OOW is fully aware of the “big picture” and not just of reports of Ratings stationed at the radars, sounders and other electronics around the Wheelhouse. The OOW must go over check the course both by gyro and magnetic compass, look at the readings, plots and fully interact with the Ratings stationed. Yes the coffee pot too!! NO ONE standing Bridge Watch either Officer or Rating should be there without fully understanding the “ColRegs”. How this lack of knowledge came about is the major and most important part of the USN Inquiry into these four (4) incidents. It would seem to go back to the training at the Naval Academy where it all begins and also to the basic system of Officer requirements in the USN which tries to produce a “Diversified Officer”. One believes this leads to trying to cram too much nautical knowledge into too small a space – the human brain. One would suggest that the training and system in the British Royal Navy, and indeed most other navies, is a much better approach. This writer was trained and sailed for 50 years under this system in both the Royal Navy and British Merchant Navy. It produces a Bridge Officer with in depth knowledge of those “ColRegs” and most importantly how to respond and apply them with complete confidence in any situation one meets at sea.
Visit the Royal Navy website which explains their currently nine branches of training and how they are applied to operating a RN vessel.
It is not easy to accept that there is a better way to do things which changes an established system but it seems that something this wrong in the USN has to be corrected. In the interim perhaps a “Master” could be appointed to each USN vessel as the Professional Navigation Officer to supervise and train underway the Bridge Watch hopefully thus avoiding further incidents and tragic loss of life. One can just imagine if a collision or even a grounding off one of the PRC islands should occur with a PLA vessel in the South China Sea – the blood runs cold at the thought.
Good Watch and one really means Good Watch.
Just a random thought, really, but maybe… Fat Leonard’s revenge? “Make it look like an accident…”
Funny you should mention that just the other day, oh! hang on a minute phones ringing – “Hello, Leonard what a surprise how are my dear fellow” “Yes one understands completely, of course it shall be done”. Ah I’m back well there you are one never knows, well informed chap our Leonard. Looks like that is a conspiracy story for another day.
Good Watch