Fitzgerald crew's 'heroic efforts' saved their ship from sinking, admiral says

[nitpicker]

https://www.navytimes.com/articles/fitzgerald-crew-saved-navy-ship-from-sinking-after-collision

Fitzgerald crew's 'heroic efforts' saved their ship from sinking, admiral says

By: David B. Larter, June 18, 2017

A top Navy admiral acknowledged Sunday that the destroyer Fitzgerald was in danger of sinking after a catastrophic collision off the coast of Japan Saturday and was saved by the "heroic efforts" of her crew that "had to fight very hard to keep the ship afloat."

Describing one of the Navy's worst at-sea disasters in decades, Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin told reporters at a press conference Sunday that the Fitzgerald suffered an enormous gash in its hull under the waterline, causing both berthing compartments and the auxiliary machine room to flood rapidly in the early hours of Saturday morning. "Heroic efforts prevented the flooding from catastrophically spreading, which could have caused the ship to founder or sink," Aucoin, the head of U.S. 7th Fleet, said. "It could have been much worse. ... Because of the tireless damage control efforts of a resolute and courageous team, the ship was able to make its way back to port safely on its own power last evening."

Search and rescue divers found the remains of the seven enlisted sailors in berthing compartments that flooded immediately after the ship was struck, Navy officials said.

Aucoin added later that the actions that saved Fitzgerald happened quickly after the collision opened a rupture along the bottom of the ship. "A significant part of the crew was sleeping. Two compartments that house 116 members of the crew [were flooding], and it was a significant impact to the side of the ship. You can't see most of the damage. Most of the damage is below the waterline, near the keel of the ship, so the water flow was tremendous."
(snip)

Fatal collisions in the Navy are exceptionally rare and the circumstances of this particular collision are made more troubling as it seems the crew had little or no warning ahead of the disaster. Ships are equipped with collision alarms that alert crews that they are in danger and allow them to brace for shock.

It's unclear if the collision alarm sounded prior to the incident but Aucoin told reporters the ship's captain was trapped in his cabin by the collision, which means Cmdr. Bryce Benson did not have time to get to the bridge where he would normally be if he had enough advanced warning that a collision was imminent. Benson was seriously injured in the collision and was later evacuated from the ship.
(snip)

[roscoeroscoe]

1. Awful

A reminder that military service is dangerous, a sacrifice on the part of service members and families. Even a seemingly quiet cruise.

With you, Fitzgerald. Protect your people.

[Historic NY]

2. Why did the Philippine Cargo ship keep going for an hour

before returning to the scene.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-japan-navy-ship-collision-20170619-story.html

[exboyfil]

3. That is a really good question

It took them an hour to report the incident as well. I am guessing a poorly trained crew. If the Destroyer had sunk and sailors drowned because of lack of a recovery ship near, they would have been in very serious trouble. I heard that the Destroyers communications equipment was knocked off line by the collision. I don't think that should happen with a modern war vessel. You would think they would have several Sat Phone type devices throughout the ship.