Navy Commanders face courts-martial over fatal collisions

[Peter1469]

Navy Commanders face courts-martial over fatal collisions

This is unprecedented in the modern Naval era.

The US Navy announced Tuesday that the former commanding officers of the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain -- the ships involved in two deadly 2017 collisions that killed 17 sailors -- will face criminal charges including dereliction of duty, hazarding a vessel and negligent homicide.

The USS McCain's commanding officer was Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez, while the USS Fitzgerald's commanding officer was Cmdr. Bryce Benson.


"After careful deliberation, today Adm. Frank Caldwell announced that Uniform Code of Military Justice charges are being preferred against individual service members in relation to the collisions," a Navy statement said.

Court-martial proceedings will be convened to review evidence supporting possible criminal charges against several members of the USS Fitzgerald, according to the service.

[Common]

Wow they are heavy duty charges but considering the accidents if they were derelect then they did kill 17 sailors

[Peter1469]

Wow they are heavy duty charges but considering the accidents if they were derelect then they did kill 17 sailors

The guy in charge of the Fitzgerald was asleep when the accident occurred- in fact he was injured and almost killed in the collision. He was not on duty. I don't see a guilty for negligent homicide for him. Although several of the lesser charges may stick.

[Dr. Who]

Considering how much money they spend on those vessels, you would think that they could have some version of autopilot that would automatically avoid collisions unless you turn it off. The tech is out there.

[Peter1469]

Considering how much money they spend on those vessels, you would think that they could have some version of autopilot that would automatically avoid collisions unless you turn it off. The tech is out there.

The Navy is starting to us that tech now. (Anti collision, not necessarily auto pilot)

[Kacper]

The Navy is starting to us that tech now. (Anti collision, not necessarily auto pilot)

One of the big problems is that transponders on ships and aircraft tend to muck each other's returns up, and they often operate in close proximity to each other, especially around these port cities.

[Dr. Who]

One of the big problems is that transponders on ships and aircraft tend to muck each other's returns up, and they often operate in close proximity to each other, especially around these port cities.

Perhaps they should embrace the kind of tech used in self-driving cars. Transponders are rather old technology. They are just blasting the signature identity of the craft. If you are about to collide, the identity of the other craft is unimportant, but the presence of something in your path is important. GPS tracking and proximity detectors are more specific to avoiding collisions.

[Kacper]

Perhaps they should embrace the kind of tech used in self-driving cars. Transponders are rather old technology. They are just blasting the signature identity of the craft. If you are about to collide, the identity of the other craft is unimportant, but the presence of something in your path is important. GPS tracking and proximity detectors are more specific to avoiding collisions.

I have anecdotally heard of some instances in which pilots of aircraft got collision avoidance detection of surface ships and ground vehicles over their TCAS. Any system has limitations. Flooding a busy harbor with a ton of surface radar might not be the perfect solution particularly when the radar beams are operating high off the surface as with large sea-going vessels. That is what happened last year in a not as high profile incident with the USS Lake Champlain between South Korea and Japan. They lost the other vessel on radar, couldn't raise it by radio, and began maneuvering blindly trying to avoid the collision. Nobody was killed and the boat took a big dent without a hull breach. In that incident, the Captain was at a meeting on the carrier (a different ship) and the XO was off duty and wasn't notified until just before the boats boomed.

[Dr. Who]

I have anecdotally heard of some instances in which pilots of aircraft got collision avoidance detection of surface ships and ground vehicles over their TCAS. Any system has limitations. Flooding a busy harbor with a ton of surface radar might not be the perfect solution particularly when the radar beams are operating high off the surface as with large sea-going vessels. That is what happened last year in a not as high profile incident with the USS Lake Champlain between South Korea and Japan. They lost the other vessel on radar, couldn't raise it by radio, and began maneuvering blindly trying to avoid the collision. Nobody was killed and the boat took a big dent without a hull breach. In that incident, the Captain was at a meeting on the carrier (a different ship) and the XO was off duty and wasn't notified until just before the boats boomed.

That's why they should also be tracked off of GPS and those points of reference should be fed into analytical software that measures/tracks their position and speed relative to their own position, with different types of proximity sensors or LIDAR as a backup for detecting vessels that are dark. Furthermore, the ship should be able to react independently of the crew unless it is overridden, which would take of episodes of inattention, incompetence or incidents like heavy fog.

[Kacper]

That's why they should also be tracked off of GPS and those points of reference should be fed into analytical software that measures/tracks their position and speed relative to their own position, with different types of proximity sensors or LIDAR as a backup for detecting vessels that are dark. Furthermore, the ship should be able to react independently of the crew unless it is overridden, which would take of episodes of inattention, incompetence or incidents like heavy fog.

Get on it. You will be wealthy one day....and the f/v that collided with Champlain apparently had all their equipment off