UPDATE2: More about the Fitz: The Destroyer in collision with a contairner ship.

[Liberal In Texas]

Last edited Sat Jun 17, 2017, 12:54 AM - Edit history (8)

Seven US sailors are missing and the commanding officer of a US destroyer is among the injured after the warship collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Japan, the US Navy said Friday.
The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage to its starboard side above and below the waterline in the incident. Cmdr. Bryce Benson was one of three injured sailors who needed to be flown to a naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. He is in stable condition, the Navy said.

US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said three sailors were medevaced.
Other injured sailors are being assessed, the Navy said.
The two ships collided in the Pacific Ocean about 56 nautical miles off the coast of Yokosuka, the Japanese coast guard has told CNN. The damage to the Fitzgerald resulted in some flooding, the Navy said.

A Navy official told CNN the destroyer is under its own power but has limited propulsion.

The vessel was taking on water after the incident, but the crew was working to stabilize the ship by pumping water out of the hold,

A US Navy official told CNN.
The Navy did say a Japanese coast guard helicopter was helping evacuate the injured, and Japanese state broadcaster NHK showed video of an apparently injured person being lifted aboard a coast guard helicopter from the ship.

The Japanese coast guard went on to say four of its vessels and one helicopter were assisting the US Naval destroyer with damage assessment and searching the area around the ship, working on the possibility that some of the missing may have fallen into the ocean.

The official said emergency procedures have been put in place and the ship is not in danger of sinking at this time.

The Japanese coast guard was on the scene and a US official said US tugboats and other Navy assets, including aircraft, were on the way. The official said the merchant vessel involved in the collision is the ACX Crystal based in the Philippines.

The ship tracking website marinetraffic.com says the Crystal weighs 29,060 tons. Photos of the Crystal showed damage to its bow.




I wish all of them well, what an awful thing to happen.

Commander Benson:

Bryce Benson, the commander of the USS Fitzgerald, is a Wisconsin native who was injured in the collision between the Navy destroyer and a Philippine merchant vessel.

Seven U.S. sailors are missing at sea after the June 16 incident between the 505-foot Navy destroyer and a larger container ship called the ACX Crystal.

The cause has not yet been released. The incident is still under investigation, and right now, efforts are focused on stabilizing the ship and, most importantly, finding the missing sailors.

As the commander of the ship, and a relatively new one at that, Benson has found himself suddenly thrust into the public eye.

Here’s what you need to know:

Benson was among those injured in the collision with the ACX Crystal container ship, which occurred about 56 nautical miles of Yokosuka, Japan. However, it appears he will be OK.

Cmdr. Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald’s commanding officer, “was injured in the collision and “transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and is reportedly in stable condition,” according to a press statement by the U.S. 7th Fleet.

In addition to the captain and those missing, two sailors suffered injuries. “2 Sailors in addition to Cmdr. Benson have been medevac’d from FITZ to USNH-Yokosuka for lacerations & bruises,” reported the U.S. 7th Fleet.

Most concerning, of course: Those who are missing.

http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/1217717/uss-fitzgerald-collision-update-1012am-jst-june-17-2017/platform/hootsuite/

From the Naval Twitter Feed:

https://twitter.com/us7thfleet

:large

More:

PHILIPPINE SEA - USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) was involved in a collision with a merchant vessel at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time, June 17, while operating about 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan.

As of this time, there have been two patients requiring medical evacuation. One was Cmdr. Bryce Benson, Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka and is reportedly in stable condition. A second MEDEVAC is in progress. Other injured are being assessed. There are seven Sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them.

Although Fitzgerald is under her own power, USS Dewey (DDG 105) got underway this morning as well as several U.S. Navy aircraft, and will join Japanese Coast Guard and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopters, ships and aircraft to render whatever assistance may be required.

"U.S. and Japanese support from the Navy, Maritime Self Defense Force and Coast Guard are in the area to ensure that the Sailors on USS Fitzgerald have the resources they need to stabilize their ship. As more information is learned, we will be sure to share to it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public. Thank you for your well wishes and messages of concern. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families," said Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations.

"Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the Sailors," said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. "We thank our Japanese partners for their assistance."

http://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/1217717/uss-fitzgerald-collision-update-1012am-jst-june-17-2017/platform/hootsuite/

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. How did that happen? Was it at night? Didn't the ship have radar?

It seems like a really unusual accident.

[Liberal In Texas]

2. Apparently it was at night.

How it could happen is a mystery. The Fitz has incredible radar and can maneuver better than a container ship. It looks like the container plowed right into her starboard side.

[Kaleva]

3. i suspect the captain of the destroyer will be relieved of his command.

Somebody fucked up big time.

[Liberal In Texas]

5. There is like a dozen sailors on the bridge even at night.

Even if the captain had been asleep in his quarters, somebody should have noticed it. But we won't know until the reports come out.

I pray for the missing and the wounded.

[haele]

4. If they were depending on instrument navigation...

All it takes is a tired or inexperienced console operator to put the wrong track identification - or worse, tell the network to ignore the track as "sea clutter", and that ship will only be noticed by someone standing visual watch.
So there's at least two things that had to go wrong. But it can happen, especially late at night when the navigator might depend on the computer rather than the bridge watch standers.

Haele

[imanamerican63]

6. Hope they all are found and make home.

Thought and prayers go out the crew and their families.

[Liberal In Texas]

7. If you've seen "The Last Ship"

This is the same Arleigh Burke-class destroyer used in the show.

In the TV drama, the ship seems to be a lot more robust than here in real life.

[furtheradu]

8. Thanks for all the details

Holding goood thoughts for all involved.

[Liberal In Texas]

9. Gotta wonder how this could happen.

With all the Nav on board all the ships these days.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. And thank you. n/t