US ship involved in accident.

[Nan Yang]

Cargo ship that hit US destroyer near Japan was on autopilot, data shows
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rt.com/document/594d1f25c461887d788b45e0/amp

Quote
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is equipped with the AN/SPS-64 navigation radar and a commercial radar system. It also has a crew of nearly 300 sailors, and is required to maintain a watch on the bridge at all times.

The Crystal, however, had a crew of about 20 at the time of the collision. Cargo ships like the Crystal are required to broadcast AIS location data, which should have been monitored by the Fitzgerald’s crew.

He he he. The whole world can track the Crystal. But not the US Navy. Go figure.

 

[Piotr]

Cargo ship that hit US destroyer near Japan was on autopilot, data shows
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rt.com/document/594d1f25c461887d788b45e0/amp

Quote
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is equipped with the AN/SPS-64 navigation radar and a commercial radar system. It also has a crew of nearly 300 sailors, and is required to maintain a watch on the bridge at all times.

The Crystal, however, had a crew of about 20 at the time of the collision. Cargo ships like the Crystal are required to broadcast AIS location data, which should have been monitored by the Fitzgerald’s crew.

He he he. The whole world can track the Crystal. But not the US Navy. Go figure.

I was right that USS Fitzgerald was clearly at fault. USS Fitzgerald is gulity of neglect (at least).

 

[terranMarine]

The deadly collision between a U.S. destroyer and a container ship June 17 took place while the freighter was on autopilot, according to Navy officials.

The Philippines-flagged cargo ship ACX Crystal was under control of a computerized navigation system that was steering and guiding the container vessel, according to officials familiar with preliminary results of an ongoing Navy investigation.

Investigators so far found no evidence the collision was deliberate.

Nevertheless, an accident during computerized navigation raises the possibility the container ship's computer system could have been hacked and the ship deliberately steered into the USS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.

A more likely explanation is that collision was the result of an autopilot malfunction, or the autopilot's warning signals, used to notify the ship's operators, were missed.

The destroyer was severely damaged when the protruding undersea bow of the cargo ship struck Fitzgerald on the right side. Seven sailors died as a result and the captain and two others were injured. It was the Navy's worst accident at sea.

The two ships hit about 64 miles off the coast of Japan.

The collision occurred at around 1:30 a.m. local time but was not reported by the freighter's crew until around 2:25 a.m. Investigators believe the time lag was the result of the crew not realizing they had hit another ship.

Commercial ship autopilot systems normally require someone to input manually the course for the ship travel. The computer program then steers the ship by controlling the steering gear to turn the rudder.

The system also can be synchronized with an electronic chart system to allow the program to follow courses of a voyage plan.

Tracking data broadcast from the Crystal as part of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) shows the ship changed course by 90 degrees to the right and slightly reduced its speed between around 1:32 a.m. and 1:34 a.m. After that time, the data shows the ship turned to the left and resumed a northeastern coarse along its original track line.

Private naval analyst Steffan Watkins said the course data indicates the ship was running on autopilot. "The ACX Crystal powered out of the deviation it performed at 1:30, which was likely the impact with the USS Fitzgerald, pushing it off course while trying to free itself from being hung on the bow below the waterline," Watkins told the Free Beacon.

The ship then continued to sail on for another 15 minutes, increasing speed before eventually reducing speed and turning around. "This shows the autopilot was engaged because nobody would power out of an accident with another ship and keep sailing back on course. It’s unthinkable," he added.

Watkins said the fact that the merchant ship hit something and did not radio the coast guard for almost 30 minutes also indicates no one was on the bridge at the time of the collision.

By 2:00 a.m., the freighter had turned around and headed back to the earlier position, according to the tracking data.

The officials said the Crystal eventually came upon the stricken Fitzgerald.

The Fitzgerald's AIS data was not available so its track was not reported publicly.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson traveled to Japan to oversee the transfer of the fallen sailors.

"There are multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations underway to determine the facts of the collision," Richardson said in a statement. "Our goal is to learn all we can to prevent future accidents from occurring. This process will unfold as quickly as possible, but it's important to get this right."

According to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, initial reports on the incident indicate no crew member was manning the controls in the pilot house of the Crystal when it hit the Fitzgerald.

After impact, the freighter's was not immediately aware that it had collided with anything and continued sailing. The ship's crew then realized it had been in a collision and sailed back to try to determine what had happened.

Transport safety authorities and coast guard investigators in Japan on Thursday announced the data recorder from the Crystal had been secured, the Associated Press reported. The freighter is currently docked in the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo.

The Navy and Coast Guard are investigating the incident. The Fitzgerald is currently at its home port of Yokosuka naval base. The investigation is expected to be completed in several months.

For the Navy, investigators are trying to determine why the ship's radar and other sensors did not detect the Crystal in time to take steps to avoid the collision.

The Fitzgerald is equipped with the AN/SPS-64 advanced military navigation radar, and also uses a commercial radar system to enhance the shipping traffic picture of ships in its vicinity.

Navy ships operate radar systems to detect approaching ships or submarines. Lookouts posted on the bridge are responsible for detecting ships that pose a risk of collision.

Additionally, all commercial ships over 300 tons are required under international rules to operate AIS location data. AIS information from Crystal should have been monitored by sailors on the bridge of the Fitzgerald.

The sailors aboard the 505-foot-long Fitzgerald waged what officials said was a heroic battle about the ship to seal off flooding after the collision.

"We were struck by the stories of heroism and sacrifice—by both the sailors on board and their families back home—as they fought the damage to their ship and brought her back to Yokosuka," Richardson said.

The ship was not in danger of sinking but was listing to one side and was able to remain under its own power.

The bodies of the seven dead sailors were found in sealed off areas of the ship on Sunday after it reached port.

Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet told reporters the Fitzgerald suffered extensive flooding and damage caused by a large puncture below the waterline on the starboard side underneath the pilot house.

The ship's commander, Cmdr. Bryce Benson was airlifted by Japanese coast guard helicopter. Two other injured sailors also were evacuated. All appear to have injuries that are not life threatening.

The officials said Benson was in his stateroom at the time of the collision.

The Fitzgerald was commissioned in 1995 and has a crew of some 300 crew members. It has a top speed of 30 knots and is armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, SM-1 anti-ship and anti-submarine missiles, as well as machine guns and torpedoes.

The Crystal was built in South Korea, is 730 feet long and capable of carrying up to 2,858 shipping containers.

The Crystal is classified as a mid-size container ship part of the Asia Container Express or ACX, an Asian container shipping trade subsidiary of NYK Line, a global shipping division of Japan's Mitsubishi.

 

[jhungary]

Cargo ship that hit US destroyer near Japan was on autopilot, data shows
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rt.com/document/594d1f25c461887d788b45e0/amp

Quote
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is equipped with the AN/SPS-64 navigation radar and a commercial radar system. It also has a crew of nearly 300 sailors, and is required to maintain a watch on the bridge at all times.

The Crystal, however, had a crew of about 20 at the time of the collision. Cargo ships like the Crystal are required to broadcast AIS location data, which should have been monitored by the Fitzgerald’s crew.

He he he. The whole world can track the Crystal. But not the US Navy. Go figure.

A.) Again, Navigation and Search Radar do NOT required to turn on during transit. Look out, on the other hand, do. And the fact that Crystal using Autopilot and does not post Deck Hand on look out is a serious violation.

B.) Have you ever use AIS online tracking program? You need the IMO Registration Number, Date, and location to pull AIS data on a Specific Ship. And AIS does not actually provide "REAL TIME" tracking, AIS tracking lapsed for a 3 minutes interval.

So effectively, you are saying, the US Navy know which ship is passing near them, put their name up on AIS, and then monitor it??. But if they are able to see which ship it was and look up its paths on AIS Tracking website, you do know if they can do that (ID the ship), they are already looking at the ships physically, why you need to track it on AIS when they are right in front of you and close enough to see the pennant, registration number and their signal flag?? LOL

What you are saying does not make sense....

Again, AIS is NOT FOR COLLISION AVOIDANCE, IT IS FOR LOCATION REPORTING IN CASE YOUR SHIP WENT DOWN. The fact that Crystal have its AIS turn on mean nothing.

The fact that ACX Crystal was on Autopilot when it happen suggested negligent on the part of the Filipino Crew, because they either were not present in the pilot house (Which is required by IMO rules), or they were present, but failed to command the ship after the collision. And chances are very likely they did not post look out as well.

 

[gambit]

People who can barely know how to swim are making pronouncements about navies...

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proc...222785393&mc_cid=640be4981b&mc_eid=efb6f478c2

 

[jhungary]

People who can barely know how to swim are making pronouncements about navies...

https://www.usni.org/magazines/proc...222785393&mc_cid=640be4981b&mc_eid=efb6f478c2

Do you honestly think these yahoo knows that this is not a good news for ACX Crystal? It's especially funny these people try to pin this on the American Crew because they did not subscribe to AIS tracking.......LOL, you are close enough to see which ship you want to track, you are close enough to see it physically, why you want to track it on the website when you can see it out side your bridge??

LOL, anyway, I can see ACX Crystal crew would be charged soon.

 

[Cell_DbZ]

Here is a video of ACX Crystal movement.
You can clearly see that the ACX Crystal was moving in a seemingly erractic way and thus is responsible (for a big part( of this accident.
It also should be noted that the USS Fitzgerald is not shown on the radar map, apparantly this has to do with the USS Fitzgerald using the 'stealthing' technique (turning of the radar off at night), this is (apparantly) a common thing done at night by navy ships and not illegal.
The ACX Crystal (probably) never detected the navy ship and it is possible that the navy ship did not realize that the container ship was heading on collision tour until it was too late.
This collision seems to be caused by an accumulation of circumstances (ACX Crystal having a very unpredictable behaviour and USS Fitzgerald not emmiting radar signals).

 

[jhungary]

Here is a video of ACX Crystal movement.
You can clearly see that the ACX Crystal was moving in a seemingly erractic way and thus is responsible (for a big part( of this accident.
It also should be noted that the USS Fitzgerald is not shown on the radar map, apparantly this has to do with the USS Fitzgerald using the 'stealthing' technique (turning of the radar off at night), this is (apparantly) a common thing done at night by navy ships and not illegal.
The ACX Crystal (probably) never detected the navy ship and it is possible that the navy ship did not realize that the container ship was heading on collision tour until it was too late.
This collision seems to be caused by an accumulation of circumstances (ACX Crystal having a very unpredictable behaviour and USS Fitzgerald not emmiting radar signals).

This video bring a very interesting fact that some member (predominately the Polish Guy and the Chinese Guy) keep stating that ship on starboard have to give way and a ship passing from port have the right of way. This is actually not true and we saw two ship doing the opposite in this video

Look at 0:24

Star Hansa and Nissei Maru (On top of ACX Crystal) Star Hansa passing thru Nissei Maru from port, yet we saw Nissei Maru got in front of Star Hansa and both got behind ACX Crystal....

Ship are to look out for each other, yes, starboard traffic should give way but there are actually no right of way for any vessel.

 

[Götterdämmerung]

Ah, the shills in their echo chamber again.

Shill A: It's the Philippino's fault, we did everything right according to our interpretation of the law.

Shill B: Look, here, here and here, it clear as Irish stew that the container vesser was wrong. Our navy did everything right and there is nothing wrong with our radar technology.

Shill A: What shill B said is right and I have to add, that the US navy did nothing wrong.

 

[jhungary]

Ah, the shills in their echo chamber again.

Shill A: It's the Philippino's fault, we did everything right according to our interpretation of the law.

Shill B: Look, here, here and here, it clear as Irish stew that the container vesser was wrong. Our navy did everything right and there is nothing wrong with our radar technology.

Shill A: What shill B said is right and I have to add, that the US navy did nothing wrong.

The greatest navy in the world. LOL

RIP to the cannon fodder.

@waz @Slav Defence can you remove this guy from this thread, or is this an acceptable behaviour? I do what you told me to stay out of Chinese section, but as you can see, these people never stop. It does not matter which section you post, they come here, they do their thing, they move on.

You guys need to fix this or you are saying these type of post and behaviour is allowed?

 

[Piotr]

For the Navy, investigators are trying to determine why the ship's radar and other sensors did not detect the Crystal in time to take steps to avoid the collision.

This shows that US Navy is guilty of neglect.

US "experts" claim that US Navy is able to detect and intercept incoming cruise missiles, so why US Navy failed to avoid collision with ACX Crystal ??
ACX Crystal was much bigger and much slower than cruise missiles

Why "agile", "cutting-edge" USS Fitzgerald "proudly made in the USA with US craftsmanship" with "professional" US sailors was unable to avoid collision with ACX Crystal ? Because US ships are not as "agile" and "cutting-edge" as US "experts" claim. And because US Navy is not as "stronk" and "professional" as US "experts" claim. That's why US "experts" are so desperate to defend USS Fitzgerald and shift the blame on ACX Crystal. This collision shows that US Navy is unprofessional.

 

[Penguin]

Cargo ship that hit US destroyer near Japan was on autopilot, data shows
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rt.com/document/594d1f25c461887d788b45e0/amp

Quote
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is equipped with the AN/SPS-64 navigation radar and a commercial radar system. It also has a crew of nearly 300 sailors, and is required to maintain a watch on the bridge at all times.

The Crystal, however, had a crew of about 20 at the time of the collision. Cargo ships like the Crystal are required to broadcast AIS location data, which should have been monitored by the Fitzgerald’s crew.

He he he. The whole world can track the Crystal. But not the US Navy. Go figure.

From the above RT article
_______________________
Cargo ship that hit US destroyer near Japan was on autopilot, data shows
Published time: 23 Jun, 2017 16:31
© JIJI PRESS / AFP
The Philippines-flagged freighter that struck the USS Fitzgerald off the coast of Japan last week was on autopilot at the time, according to tracking data that emerged in the course of the investigation. The collision killed seven US sailors and injured three.
While the US Navy’s investigation is ongoing, officials familiar with the preliminary results said the container ship ACX Crystal was under control of a computerized navigation system at 1:30 am local time on June 16, when the freighter broadsided the Fitzgerald about 64 miles off the coast of Japan.

There were no crew members on duty in the pilot house of the Crystal at the moment the freighter collided with the Fitzgerald, the Washington Free Beacon reported. So far, the investigators have found no evidence the collision was deliberate.

The Navy investigators are now trying to determine why the Fitzgerald’s radar and sensors did not detect the freighter in time to avoid the collision.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is equipped with the AN/SPS-64 navigation radar and a commercial radar system. It also has a crew of nearly 300 sailors, and is required to maintain a watch on the bridge at all times.

The Crystal, however, had a crew of about 20 at the time of the collision. Cargo ships like the Crystal are required to broadcast AIS location data, which should have been monitored by the Fitzgerald’s crew.

An analysis of that data by the private data analytics company Savi shows that the Crystal slowed down after the collision but continued sailing on its course for about 36 minutes, at which point it turned around and headed back to the collision site. The crash was officially reported at 2:20am local time, nearly an hour after the fact.

"This shows the autopilot was engaged because nobody would power out of an accident with another ship and keep sailing back on course. It’s unthinkable," naval analyst Steffan Watkins told the Free Beacon. The fact that the merchant ship did not radio the Japanese Coast Guard for almost 30 minutes also suggests nobody was on the bridge at the time of the accident.

The freighter’s impact damaged the Fitzgerald’s communication systems, forcing the crew to communicate by satellite-based cell phones. It also damaged the commanding officer’s stateroom and flooded one of the berthing compartments, causing seven sailors to drown.

Three crew members were injured and had to be flown to Japan by helicopter for medical treatment, including the destroyer’s captain, Commander Bryce Benson.

The Fitzgerald is currently undergoing repairs at its home port of Yokosuka, while the freighter is docked in Yokohama, Japan.
__________________

Crew numbers are irrelevant.
Both ships are required to keep watch from the bridge at all times.

In sum:

ACX Crystal:

• on autopilot,
  
• did not radio Japanese CG for 30min > nobody one the bridge
  
• nobody on bridge > did not see Fitzgerald visually or via radar.
  
• Could not see Fitzgerald using AIS location data, since USN ships in the open see do not broadcast this (for security reasons)
• If Fitzgerald had transfmitted AIS data, ACX Crystal would not have seen it (since nobody on the bridge)

Fitzgerald:

• did not see ACX Crystal on radars (?),
  
• did not spot ACX Crystal via AIS location data (?),
  
• bridgewatch - if present - did not get a visual on ACX Crystal (?)

 

[Piotr]

Fitzgerald:

• did not see ACX Crystal on radars (?),

Because nobody was on USS Fitzgerald bridge or because of malfunction of "cutting-edge" US radars ?

Fitzgerald:

• did not spot ACX Crystal via AIS location data (?),

Since nobody on the bridge (?)

Fitzgerald:

• bridgewatch - if present - did not get a visual on ACX Crystal (?)

Since nobody on the bridge (?)

US Navy is guilty of neglect.

 

[Penguin]

This shows that US Navy is guilty of neglect.

US "experts" claim that US Navy is able to detect and intercept incoming cruise missiles, so why US Navy failed to avoid collision with ACX Crystal ??
ACX Crystal was much bigger and much slower than cruise missiles

Why "agile", "cutting-edge" USS Fitzgerald "proudly made in the USA with US craftsmanship" with "professional" US sailors was unable to avoid collision with ACX Crystal ? Because US ships are not as "agile" and "cutting-edge" as US "experts" claim. And because US Navy is not as "stronk" and "professional" as US "experts" claim. That's why US "experts" are so desperate to defend USS Fitzgerald and shift the blame on ACX Crystal. This collision shows that US Navy is unprofessional.

Well, I suppose the poor quality of US ships is why the 2 major units of the Polish navy are ... ex US Perry class.

Because nobody was on USS Fitzgerald bridge or because of malfunction of "cutting-edge" US radars ?

I put a question mark there because I've not seen official reports making statements about the presence or absence of a bridgewatch on Fitzgerald. There has been no report yet of equipment malfunction, or of equipment not being used or not being monitored. Likewise for the AIS data (the usefullness was alrteady explained above).

You can claim all you want but that doesn't make it fact and the reliability of any Japanese Coast Guard investigation finding is a million times better then your opinions and splitsecond judgements on - to say the least - partial data.

To pretend that the RT article that was referenced somehow proves Fitzgerald is at fault is simply rediculous, esp. because in fact it provides more conclusive and damning statements regarding ACX Crystal.

To detect anything by radar, there systems need to be switched on:

• AN/SPY-1D 3D Radar
• AN/SPS-67(V)2 Surface Search Radar
• AN/SPS-73(V)12 Surface Search Radar

Can anyone tell me why Fitzgerald would have the long range AN/SPY-1D up and running, considering what it is for, where the ship was sailing at the time of the accident and it being peace time?

The SPS-67(V)3 is a C-Band 280KW radar providing surface and air surveillance, and navigation function capabilities. In the Aegis Destroyer, the SPS-67 provides priority targets designation to the Gun Weapon System in support of the SPY-1.
http://www.engineerdir.com/product/catalog/12937/index1.html
Since during peacetime off the Japanese coast there was no need to designate surface targets, this radar may well have remained switched off.

Leaves the AN/SPS-73 navigation radar

Was it reported to be in use and monitored or not?

 

[Jinn Baba]

Ouch!