This is about the collision between a container ship and our destroyer Fitzgerald. I know a little about this, because I encountered a container ship off the Bahamas while sailing my Passport sailboat.
On my sailboat, I had a basic radar system that covered about 30 miles out in every direction. I could see any boat or land mass within that circle and tell how fast and in what direction they were going. You would think that one of our modern and expensive destroyers would have a radar system at least as good as the one that I had on my sailboat, so they could see any boat that was on a path toward them. Container ships do not have any special features to prevent radar from picking them up, so I do not see any excuse for the destroyer crew not knowing what was happening.
Container ships are big and as a result, they can go very fast. I know that they can cruse at 35 mph and higher. Given the fact that the destroyer could see the container ship when it was at least 30 or 40 miles away, they could see the container ship for a full hour before it crashed into them. During that time, the crew of the destroyer could have hailed the container ship and advise them of their position and risk of a collision. When I saw the container ship coming my way on my radar off the coast of the Bahamas, I hailed the container ship to get advise on whether I should pass ahead or behind the container ship. They advised that I could safely cross over their bow and I did.
Another point that needs to be considered is the fact that our modern destroyers are designed to have a minimum radar target. I know from touring two of our modern destroyers while in dry dock at Norfolk, Va how detailed the design is to avoid detection by radar. The crew of the Fitzgerald must have known that the container ship's radar may not be able to detect them. If that was the case, it would have been the responsibility of the destroyer crew to do what ever was necessary to avoid a collision. Given that the destroyer was just off the coast of Japan, I would have expected that the destroyer would deploy a special radar reflector so that commercial ships in the area could "see" them on their radars. What we might find is that the crew of the Fitzgerald did "not" deploy their radar reflector. I know that sailors take turns at the helm and many are only minimally qualified to run the ship.
It seems clear to me from what has been reported so far that our destroyer was at fault for the collision. The navy will fire the captain of the destroyer, but this is like closing the barn door after the horse is out.
PS--The quality of our military has changed a lot since we went to an all volunteer military. The IQ of our military has gone down significantly while the complexity of our ships have gone up. More similar problems can be expected in the future as our military continues to becomes more "politically correct". The Naval Academy does not accepts students on "merit" alone, they use nepotism for many.
PS--It happened! The captain of the Fitzgerald was just fired along with much of his ranking crew. That is exactly what I predicted. Why did it take so long?
On my sailboat, I had a basic radar system that covered about 30 miles out in every direction. I could see any boat or land mass within that circle and tell how fast and in what direction they were going. You would think that one of our modern and expensive destroyers would have a radar system at least as good as the one that I had on my sailboat, so they could see any boat that was on a path toward them. Container ships do not have any special features to prevent radar from picking them up, so I do not see any excuse for the destroyer crew not knowing what was happening.
Container ships are big and as a result, they can go very fast. I know that they can cruse at 35 mph and higher. Given the fact that the destroyer could see the container ship when it was at least 30 or 40 miles away, they could see the container ship for a full hour before it crashed into them. During that time, the crew of the destroyer could have hailed the container ship and advise them of their position and risk of a collision. When I saw the container ship coming my way on my radar off the coast of the Bahamas, I hailed the container ship to get advise on whether I should pass ahead or behind the container ship. They advised that I could safely cross over their bow and I did.
Another point that needs to be considered is the fact that our modern destroyers are designed to have a minimum radar target. I know from touring two of our modern destroyers while in dry dock at Norfolk, Va how detailed the design is to avoid detection by radar. The crew of the Fitzgerald must have known that the container ship's radar may not be able to detect them. If that was the case, it would have been the responsibility of the destroyer crew to do what ever was necessary to avoid a collision. Given that the destroyer was just off the coast of Japan, I would have expected that the destroyer would deploy a special radar reflector so that commercial ships in the area could "see" them on their radars. What we might find is that the crew of the Fitzgerald did "not" deploy their radar reflector. I know that sailors take turns at the helm and many are only minimally qualified to run the ship.
It seems clear to me from what has been reported so far that our destroyer was at fault for the collision. The navy will fire the captain of the destroyer, but this is like closing the barn door after the horse is out.
PS--The quality of our military has changed a lot since we went to an all volunteer military. The IQ of our military has gone down significantly while the complexity of our ships have gone up. More similar problems can be expected in the future as our military continues to becomes more "politically correct". The Naval Academy does not accepts students on "merit" alone, they use nepotism for many.
PS--It happened! The captain of the Fitzgerald was just fired along with much of his ranking crew. That is exactly what I predicted. Why did it take so long?
