Category: News Author : Duncan Riley Posted: February 6, 2009
Tags : hawaii, honolulu, navy, port royal, port royale, uss port royal
Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser the USS Port Royal has run aground off Hawaii.
The ship hit sand approximately half mile off one of Honolulu International Airport’s main runways Thursday evening.
Navy tug boats tried to get the ship off the sand Friday morning, but were unsuccessful.
The last of the Ticonderoga-class, the USS Port Royal cost $1 billion to build, and has a crew of 360. The ship is permanently stationed in Hawaii. The Port Royal was last in the news January 2008 when it was the center of an international incident in the Gulf, when Iranian boats came at it, and the USS Hopper.
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Feb 6, 2009
Whats going to happen to the officers? As a civilian what is the disciplinary action if any in this kind of incident?
How does something like this happen?
Feb 7, 2009
The incident will be fully investigated as to why this happened..the senior officers and navigators will be questioned along with examination of the ship's logs…usually an event like this is a career ender for the Commanding Officer and others if negligence is proved..and since other news reports have the Admiral in command of the region on board for a ride, sounds like a really bad day for the officers of the Port Royal.
Feb 7, 2009
As a navy sailor who has been in eleven years, this is such a shock. I have been stationed in Hawaii and my next tour of duty is on the USS Port Royal, scheduled to report in April. The CO (Commanding Officer), is responsible for the overall safety of his ship, along with his crew. He will be fired and relieved of his command. Thats why the Admiral is on board now. His career is done, along with the navigator and the Officer of the Deck. Once this is throughly investigated, more personnel will be held accountable. This happened Thursday night and as off Saturday morning, they are still stuck. How embarassing!!
Feb 7, 2009
Actually it's not an embarrasment that she's still grounded. If she's not leaking anything, they are correct in taking time and care to remove her. More damage could occur if they were to rush. Anythime you operate close to shore it's possible for this to happen. There are no charts accurate up to the minute.
Feb 7, 2009
I was on the port-royal for the last three years just currently left two months and it is very unfortunate to hear what has happened. i went on two west packs with the port royal and nothing like this ever happened so i dont think it would be fair to blame the crew. i cannot speak for the CO though since he has only been onboard for about three months now, i didnt get a chance to work for him. I do know this was his first underway since the ship got out of dry dock and now he will probably never be in command of another ship ever again. The port-royal is a trooper though i believe in her, she has been through hell and back and and still managed to bring her crew home safe and sound everytime. She always completes her missions and will continue to do so for many years to come. Im sorry for my fellow shipmates that are stuck there right now though because i know it must suck to stuck there with no electricity but im glad they are close enough to land to get phone reception.
Feb 7, 2009
Its not a shock, stuff like this happens to the Navy all the time. Look at the USS Greenville hitting the japanese fishing boat in 2001. Or the USS San Fransisco hitting the undersea mountain in 2005.
Or the USS Denver hitting the USNS Yukon back in 2000.
Remember the USS Stark getting hit by cruise missiles? The USS Nimitz loosing a missile launcher over the side sailing around the cape of South America? Or when the USS Kentucky and the USS San Juan (both subs) collided off of New York in 98? The USS Grayling hit a Russian sub in 93. In 1988, the USS Vincennes shot down the Iranian air liner. In 2006, the USS McCampbell collided with a Kiribati merchant ship…I could go on and on….stuff happens…to borrow a paraphrased quote from Forest Gump.
Feb 7, 2009
I can say as someone who was on the port royal that for this to happen people had to not be paying attention, I was an a operations specialist and it was part of my job to get the boat in and out of pearl harbor safely. I would say that this is not only a sad thing but a really bad discredit to the entire navy as a hole as well as for the United States.. I just am shocked that something like this happened
Feb 7, 2009
This would never have happened to a submarine.
Feb 7, 2009
A collision at sea can ruin your whole day.
Feb 7, 2009
My son is also in the Navy and stationed on a sister ship in hawaii. This is only the Commanding officers second command of a ship and he took command in October 2008. The Executive Officer is not a Naval Academy graduate, he graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. This does not look good for the ship to run aground so close to home port. I would not be surprised if they were both relieved of coomand and never given another command for the remainder of their Navy careers.
Feb 7, 2009
You live by your name ! Submarines have been in more serious collisions than this, YOU BUBBLEHEAD !!!
Feb 7, 2009
What does going to the Naval Academy vs Merchant Marine Academy have to do with running a ship. Especially if the individual is the XO, a non watch stander and most likely not on the bridge or the OOD at the time.
Feb 7, 2009
Yes, there will be damage to the bottom plating.
As for the hapless, CO. His Transfer Orders are already being typed up and will be handed to him back at the drydock. He'll probably end up somewhere in Kansas.
Feb 7, 2009
it's sad and disheartening to see some of the comments on here. my heart goes out to the crew, especially the CO and the XO. knee jerk reaction is to point fingers…stories like this are always homed in on, but all of the good that happens day after day, month after month, year after year is thrown to the back seat when something as unfortunate as this happens. i'm a spouse of someone who very soon will be taking command of one of navy's fine war ships. it's so easy to put the crew under a microscope – the CO and XO are obviously competent individuals otherwise they wouldn't have been selected to undertake this great honor. it could be any number of things that went wrong….go easy on them folks. they and their families have sacrificed so much to protect our freedom. are the rest of us w/out faults or making mistakes? when we do, do we have the glare of the media on us? granted, this is a very costly error, but we aren't clear yet on what went wrong. have some compassion.
Feb 7, 2009
And you also hear more about a Submarine collison cause it is a much more serious event than a collison by the targets (surface ships).
Feb 7, 2009
No, the Admiral was not onboard when it happened. He showed up the next day.
Feb 7, 2009
I don't find these comments sad or disheartening. The simple fact is that the CO, his 'gator, and OOD successfully grounded a US Navy warship. I was a wartime bridge watchstanding officer in the Navy. I assure you, the CO would have chuckled with his SWO peers about such an event being a career-ender before his own unfortunate folly. It takes significant command-inspired incompetence to run aground in the well charted and oft traveled waters of your home port. The CO will be held ultimately accountable and will be quickly relieved of command. I would expect him to be on reserve duty in a matter of months. I have no sympathy for him, nor would he have any for me had I run my ship aground. And believe me, naval officers are hung out to dry for far less egregious infractions on a regular basis.
Feb 7, 2009
Ok, it does suck being there right now, but it is still my ship and it offends me that some people are just blabbing without knowing exactly what happened. We were dropping people off via the rhibs. If you know anything about Hawaii waters, you would understand that just an eveloution is extremely dangerous during this time of year. I just got off and many of my shipmates are still there. I did nto shower for three days straight, slept and have slept very little trying to maintain the ship's integrity. In any event, the CO is actually an excellent CO; the crew really needed a man like him; too bad he was ill adviced to take the ship out to sea shortly after leaving dry dock.
Feb 7, 2009
Such is the nature of Command At Sea that someone has to have the ultimate responsibility, and with responsibility goes accountability. Through the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Navigator, Operations Officer, Officer of the Deck, Combat Systems Officer (1st LT is in the CS Department on this class of ship), the Chief Boatswains Mate, possibly the LPO of the deck division, probably the topside watches – all these must be made accountable for the grounding “incident” thus making the waters more navigable in the future, based on the extent of the investigations findings. It difficult to believe that the CO, a nuclear trained officer, did not have the most extensively worked over checklists for the whole evolution that lead up to this happening, but sometimes that's the inherent weakness in all checklists. I was standing a watch on the other side of Pier 7 North at Naval Station Long Beach one day when there was a Change of Command going on on the other side of the pier and a same-class s ship and the spouse of our XO was standing there beside me. When the CO was piped ashore she turned to me and said that it must be the saddest day of his career and I said “Yes, Ma'am it surely must be”. Left to my own thoughts moments later, I replied that no, this is GOT to be the Happiest Day of His Life.
Feb 8, 2009
Thank you
DC2
Feb 8, 2009
Yup. As true today as when it was first written
Feb 8, 2009
THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD ALL DO IS READ THE SKIPPERS BIO. OBVIOUSLY A BRILLIANT MAN, TONS OF ENGINEERING DEGREES, NUKE POWER SCHOOL, (NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT), BUT AS A RETIRED NAVAL AVIATOR, ONE THING REALLY JUMPED OUT AT ME- HE SPENT MORE TIME IN CLASSROOMS THAN ANY OTHER SURFACE O I'VE EVER READ ABOUT. YOU DON'T GET SEA DUTY WHILE STUDYING FOR YOUR NEXT ENGINEERING DEGREE. WITH ALL THE YEARS HE MISSED BEING ON THE BRIDGE LEARNING, HE SOUNDS LIKE HE HAD AS MUCH REAL-WORLD AT-SEA EXPERIENCE AS A JUNIOR GRADE LT………STIILL, WITH ALL THE MAN HAS ACCOMPLISHED, AND ALL THE TIME HIS HAS DEVOTED TO SERVING OUR NATION AND THE NAVY, IT IS SAD TO SEE HIM BROUGHT SO LOW.
Feb 8, 2009
The Commanding Officer is gay. He was known to be a pillow biter. I heard there was an argument between the Commanding Officer and his lover (E-1 Seamen ) on deck when this happened. They were arguing about who was going to be on top that night.
Feb 8, 2009
Too bad the USS Port Royal didn't run aground off of Iran, and launch everything it has!
Feb 8, 2009
Why are engineers in command? Scotty only filled in for Captain Kirk. Sounds like you'd want someone with lots of years learning the sea, strategy, tactics, leadership, etc…, rather than someone who's great down in the engine room.
Feb 8, 2009
Thanks for sharing facts. I can only add one incident.
Back in the 80's, when the Alameda base was still commissioned, an aircraft carrier got stuck in the SFO bay.
Some accidents are accidents. Others might be man-created due to plain stupidity and/or lack of responsible leadership by relying on subordinates on vital assestments. To this date I believe the incident in the bay was stupidity and can't get over that. I can probably do a better job and I know nothing about the sea. I just hire me a harbormaster.
Feb 8, 2009
what kind of weapons does this type if ship carry? Nukes?
Feb 8, 2009
the works of a Masterhelms'person'…diversity at the wheel…gives a new meaning to the term All-Back-Full .
Feb 8, 2009
Oh I forget to mention diversity is also running the country aground as well…
Why does on with stinking BO have clean feet? All you morons kissing them and or tax payer funded foot baths
Feb 8, 2009
One billion dollars to build? There's your economic stimulus right there. Just build more warships.
Feb 8, 2009
MREB….You are a sailor. I would urge you to use some discression about the information you offer, especially as it pertains to fellow shipmates and wild speculation. There is no way you can know what will happen to the senior leadership aboard this ship. Also, know that your shipmates have families, friends and likely love their jobs. Although this incident is less then positive, making speculating on the careers of individuals is irresponsible at best.
Feb 8, 2009
Groundings/collisions, relief of commanding officers!! What's wrong with my Navy?? Officers are not given enough sea time to be proficient at sea keeping as opposed to merchant marine officers. Are they too busy with social issues, political correctness, mixed gender crews and administrative duties?? Time the navy concentrated on core missions regarding fighting their ships efficiently and effectively. What are they doing to my navy???
Feb 8, 2009
Sorry to hear the ship ran aground. It's good there were no injuries. We can be assured the navy will investigate and take action to prevent a recurrence. In reading all the all the second-guessing, and blame anybody now-it alls comments, it's good to know there are so many piling on to make sure someone is held accountable. Too bad they do not hold our civilian Government agencies and their employees to the same standard. If they did, maybe we would not be in this mess with the financial institutions and mortgage meltdown.
Feb 8, 2009
Career is over Capt. plus one or two others. Sorry. But isn't it a shame CEOs, and political leaders don't suffer the same fate when they screw up, even if it is not their fault.
Feb 8, 2009
Dear Retired Army CWO your comments are like a breath of fresh air. The military has accountability, all the while the pathetic Senate and House rob us blind with the help of Wall Street. My concern is how will President BO neuter our military, like Clinton and Carter. In Government, incompetence and illegal activity ( not paying taxes ) seems to be a prerequisite for advancement. I honor all who wear the uniform for our Country. What will Hope and Change mean for our Military? You know that as soon as the new messiah gets a chance, he will emasculate the military and call it a peace dividend and mean it. Liberals have turned our country upside down, only our military provides for balance. God Bless all you who serve, only you give our flag meaning.
Feb 8, 2009
Alot of merchant marine ships run in shallow drafts and are not warships at all. Hence the name Merchant marine. They also do not train for combat operations and sea trials are also different. The command structure is also different from the U S Navy. His highest rank in the merchant marine was as Third mate not Executive Officer.
Feb 8, 2009
As THe saying goes :
You can have a thousand at a boys, but, One ahhh Sh*t can take them to zero !!!!!!
Feb 8, 2009
I do have compassion for the crew. I also know from experience in the military that sometimes the mistakes are with the Commanding officers and and their Executive Officers.
Two disasters that I have been involved with are the sinking of the USCGC Cuyahoga in the Chesapeake Bay in the late 1970's where the Command took the ship out for training in bad weather with poor visibility with untrained lookouts and officer candidates without authorization. Thirteen brave men died because of their incompetence. Also less then a year later in Tampa Bay, Florida the USCGC Blackthorn sank losing 17 brave men. I was one of the divers that recovered the bodies of the men on these ships, one was a hometown friend of mine. You be the one to go to their parents and explain that their son died because of the incompatence of the Officers responsible for their safety.
I also do not want to forget that last February 2008, The USS Lake Erie( CG- 70) was the ship that shoot the U S Spy satellite in outer space while out to sea. The Officers and Crew were applauded highly for a job well done not only from the local media but nationwide.
Feb 8, 2009
What has happened to the Port Royal is very unfortunate. I happened to have served under the CO for his first command and I think of him as a mentor. I have worked with several CO's since then and consider him the best navigator and warfighter that I have every worked for. It goes to show that anything can happen to anybody at anytime. However, regardless of what happens to the CO, I have to stress that I BELIEVE THAT HE IS AN ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT NAVAL OFFICER and I'm confident the sailors onboard the Port Royal are constant professions. Stuff happens, even to the best of us.
Feb 8, 2009
Ok, Who was on watch ? , Mike Felps ? Don't these guys use sea charts ? g.p.s. ? You can clearly see a reef in 17 feet of water from the bridge of this ship. this could be nothing other than total stupidity !
Feb 8, 2009
Ok… What's the problum here ? A reef in 17 feet of water can clearly be seen from the bridge of this ship.
Was there a problum in reading our sea charts ? Who was reading the charts ? Mike Phelps ? Jeeeeezee !
Feb 8, 2009
Does this mean the captain's insurance rates will go up or will the company just cancel his policy??
Feb 8, 2009
I am not sure you can see the water that clearly at night from the bridge. Remember this happened at around 8:30 PM.
They're going to lighten the ship more by removing the anchors, chains, water ballast, stores and other non-essential weight. If that doesn't work they'll might have to dig a channel outboard of the ship in the hopes that it'll slide off the reef a bit easier.
This whole operation is not a “piece of cake”. You have to take it one careful step at a time.
Feb 8, 2009
former GSM engineering (snipe)
look at what they said, the sonar array is taken on water,thus flooding.Something happened on that ship,
with the detection systems,plus testing from upgrades with shipyard hands on board.
The equation is not balanced,whats on the other side that has not been told,major malfunction,equipment not turned on,worse yet not installed.dont blame the CO ,he runs the ship off data.Someof you cant even drive a car.
AT LEAST NO ONE DIED LIKE ON A RUSSIAN SHIP,EVERYTIME ONE OF THOSE GOES OUT ,THEY SINK OR KILL THE CREW,OR CONTAMINATE THE CREW. THE NEW DESTROYERS ARE GOING TO COST 4BILLION PLUS,CSPAN. SMALL PRICE FOR YOUR FREEDOM.
Feb 8, 2009
This is kind of symbolic of where our whole country is right now. The under current of liberalism has grounded our ability to steer the ship of freedom. God bless America.
Feb 9, 2009
As a spouse of a Navy Officer I can honestly say that this guy will probably get a promotion. It pains me to say it, but my spouse has run into completely incompetent people on several occassions and in every case the Navy did nothing. As they say in the government “F@#k up move up”!
Feb 9, 2009
the tugs may have a deeper draft than the cruiser which may make it difficult to approach. having to work the lines from a distance running the risk of running the tug aground. -'turn two' shipmates and free that cruiser-the world is watching.
-d
Feb 9, 2009
More than likely it was a affirmative action promotion, like our president.
Feb 9, 2009
“Most accidents occur within 25 miles of home…” Annoying enough to get and still be stuck, but to have to face the media also…
Hopefully it'll come loose soon (likely needs high tide to try anything), hate to think of needing to send divers with “shovels”…
Feb 9, 2009
That's no excuse ! Those reefs are clearly posted on SEA CHARTS!
A ship of that size should have never been that close.> Subject: [inquisitr] Re: Whoops: Guided Missile Cruiser USS Port Royal runs aground> From: > To: woodmon1@hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2009 04:42:03 +0000> > Douglas (unregistered) wrote, in response to racked:> > I am not sure you can see the water that clearly at night from the bridge. Remember this happened at around 8:30 PM.> > > > They're going to lighten the ship more by removing the anchors, chains, water ballast, stores and other non-essential weight. If that doesn't work they'll might have to dig a channel outboard of the ship in the hopes that it'll slide off the reef a bit easier.> > > > This whole operation is not a “piece of cake”. You have to take it one careful step at a time.> > > > > > Link to comment: http://www.inquisitr.com/17510/whoops-guided-mi…> > –> You may reply to this email to post your response. To turn off notifications, go to your Disqus settings at: http://disqus.com/settings/notifications/
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Feb 9, 2009
Was onboard a ship in '91 that ran aground off of Point Loma (we plowed right through a sandbar – didn't get stuck). Apparently there was a problem with an aid to navigation bouy, not sure exactly what happened since I was standing watch in the engineroom at the time. Anyway, since it was found that no-one did anything wrong, the only thing that happened to us was that we had to sit there for an extra day while the divers inspected the hull for damage before proceeding on for a lovely tour of the Persian gulf with the USS Nimitz battle group. Lets reserve judgement till the facts come out, however if it is discovered that this was the fault of the crew then the CO's and XO's careers should and probably will be over.
Feb 9, 2009
Merchant Marines do not serve on active duty with the U.S. Navy. His rank would be Lieutenant Commander (O-4) or Commander (O-5). He would have come up through the ranks as a U.S. Naval Officer not as a 3rd Mate anywhere. He also was more than likely a graduate of some school that had a NROTC program and entered the navy after graduating from that University or College. In either case, he IS a U.S. Navy Officer…not a merchant marine. He will share some of the blame for the accident if he assisted in qualifying whatever officer was on the bridge, and may be relieved…but it is unlikely that he will face any disciplinary action at all…this is the Commanding Officers fault all the way.
Feb 9, 2009
As a former SWO as well….you are dead nuts right.
The CO is ultimately responsible, whether he personally did anything wrong or not. He may be a fantastic officer and skipper – all of which seems to be true – but he's done. The Gator (probably the XO) is done too, and every senior QM on that ship has a blackmark on their records. Kiss promotions goodbye.
The OOD, conning officer / JOOD, and CIC Watch Officer: carreers irreparably damaged. All will exit the navy at the first opportunity, and none will screen for promotion, even from Ensign to LT (jg).
The ONLY possible mitigation would be massive control or loss of major shipboard propulsion equipment. But that isn't being reported at all, so it seems very unlikely.
That said, being so close to shore and a known, marked hazard, surely the ship was at Sea & Anchor detail with Small Boat Ops. That would have increased the detail in the engineering spaces, in Navigation, and in CIC. Surely somebody had to notice they were moving into hazardous waters? I would love to know what the wind was like…Tico class boats have a lot of sail, and the wind can play havoc if it catches you wrong.
Was a Nav Brief done? Did the ship do any Fast Cruises before heading out to sea? How effective were the various navigation teams in various parts of the ship at working together, after having spent so much time in drydock? Did the officers take every possible chance to train their crews, and to prevent the circumstances which led to this?
To a civilian, this process will seem unduly harsh. All I can say is that this is how it is, and accountability in these areas is darn close to absolute. I agree….naval officers are canned every day for things far, far less demaging or embarrassing than this. Ultimately, you can bet it will take more in recruiting dollars to undo the image of a ship aground outside Hawaii than it will cost to free the ship.
Feb 9, 2009
Better question. why the HELL would you do personnel movement ops at NIGHT, this close to SHORE, with a NEW captain, and having been in the YARDS for 4 MONTHS!?!?! (aka rusty with technique) Sounds like more than 1 officer had his head up his ass and will roast for all the damage done to this ship.
Feb 9, 2009
News just reporting that the 4th attempt got it off the reef.
Being a non-navy yacht skipper, I am curious as to what nav gear the Tico ships have on the bridge. Do they have Chart Plotters, Side Scan Sonar, Depth Sounders at Fwd, Mid, & Aft locations? What other nav aids would advise position/depth data?
Feb 9, 2009
The man is a graduate of the Merchant Marine Acadmey where he learned shiphandling, bridge resource management, celestial and terrestial navigation. He spent 6 months his junior year and 6 months his sophmore year at sea as a cadet at the academy. He took naval science class at the academy. He graduated with a third mates license (but never sailed in the merchant marine as a licensed officer) He took an active duty commission as a naval officer. He went to surface warefare school. He is as competent as any other naval officer even a naval academy officer. His experience at the Merchant Marine Academy was being trained to run deep draft large vessels. These vessels usually range in length from 300-1000ft such as RO/RO, tankers and container ships. Again he is the XO of the ship and spent 21 years in the navy not the merchant marine he is a very capable officer.
Feb 9, 2009
The following flag officers are graduates of the US Merchant Marine Academy who have had a very successful carrer as naval officers; Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, USN, Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby USN, Vice Admiral Albert J. Herberger, USN, Rear Admiral Phillip Greene, Jr, '78 USN, CDR Mark E. Kelly, USN, Class '86 Space Shuttle pilot, and Rear Admiral Carl J. Seiberlich, USN '43. For a school that only graduates 200-220 people a year with about at the most 20 people going active duty in the navy these are very accomplished individuals.
Feb 9, 2009
Actually, the ship was definitely at Sea and Anchor detail which means that the XO was on the bridge, most likely standing “Saftey Officer.” The reason being USNA versus MMA is significant, is because before this incident, the XO probably had a good shot at O-6 or even O-7, esspecially if he was USNA.
Feb 9, 2009
Explain the difference he is a MMA grad and majored in marine transportation. He studied to be a ships officer. Naval Academy grads do not get as much professional maritime training.
Feb 9, 2009
There are no reports of the watch condition set at the time of the grounding or if the XO was on the bridge. Also again all naval officers receive the same training after graduation so I see no real difference between a USNA grad or USMMA grad.
Feb 9, 2009
Well for one, it wasn't a reef it was a sand bar. Sand bars have a bad habit of shifting around… probably because they're made of SAND.
Feb 9, 2009
I can assure you the man is not incompetent. I worked directly under him. I will agree the Navy has some questionable officers, but this is not the case with Captain Carroll. The ship will certainly miss him. Most of the crew was teary eyed this morning when he was relieved.
Feb 9, 2009
I had a target on you for talking alll the trash, but as it appears no one arriving in April matches your description. You lack integrity boy. PORT ROYAL does not need people like you here.
Feb 9, 2009
jem,
Just heard a two star on TV saying that propeller tips were broken. Do you have any details on the hull condition? You seem to have more information than I see in the news.
Feb 10, 2009
The XO was my room mate and best friend at Kings Point, US Merchant Marine Academy (one of the 5 Federal Academies). Steve is THE most professional, experienced ship driver and squared away officer I have ever known. He was a JROTC commander before he even showed up at KP, became a battalion commander senior year and upon graduation immediately went active duty Navy.
Clearly there are some very experienced commentators here who know what they're talking about…some not so much. Unfortunately the United States has a population with generally zero knowledge of its military, let alone sea services (Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine).
KP and Annapolis are two of the finest maritime academies in the world, would be hard to find even close rivals. I've done some ATs training Mids at the USNA (taking out the 'Canoe U' YPBs) and it is without a doubt an amazing institution. Graduating KP as a 'deckie,' or with a BS in Marine Transportation, you are probably one of the world's best ship drivers. You've spent a year at sea (half sophmore/half junior year) on an active, working merchant ship. Just you and one other cadet, not a training ship. As a deck cadet you've stood watches, become expert at celestial and electronic navigation, and ship handling. You've handled lines, raised anchors, chipped rust, worked cargo. You've supervised sailors sometimes three times your age. You've spent a quarter of your senior year, now back from sea, in one of the world's most advanced bridge simulators learning how a bridge team works, ARPAs and comms, etc. You've had small boat ops handling retired army tugs on Long Island sound, learning how to dock/undock a ship. You've sat through a 1-week long, gut-wrenching, US Coast Guard license exam covering Rules of the Road, chart problems, navigation and general knowledge. You don't get a degree without getting your license (unlike state maritime schools). Basically after taking your diploma, you are fully licensed and qualified to report aboard a 900 + ft, ocean-going, DEEP DRAFT, merchant ship that day and take it out to sea.
Annapolis also does a good deal of this, including cadet cruises, but you have to remember the USNA's job is not to churn out ship drivers but to graduate an Ensign or 2nd Lt ready to be a solid Navy or Marine Corps officer. The USNA grad still has yet to specialize and receive custom training as either a ship driver, pilot, submariner, USMC, etc. To begin the path to become a CO of a cruiser, you first report to Surface Warfare Officer's (SWO) school, then to the fleet, working your way up a variety of assignments of increasing complexity and responsibility.
In the Navy you're generally used to a bridge team of a dozen or so officers and sailors, helmsmen, lee-helmsmen, lookouts, talkers. OOD, JOOD, etc. Backing up the bridge team you also have the Combat Information Center (CIC) which also has a duplicate team double-checking and backing-up the bridge team's plot. On a merchant vessel which is generally only steering from point A to point B (and not launching aircraft or conducting battle drills like it's haze grey counterpart) when you are the officer on watch, it's usually just you and 1 or 2 lookouts. If you get in trouble you call the Captain.
So the way I see it a Navy ship which happens to have a US Merchant Marine Academy grad as its navigator (which the XO is not, there's usually a separate 'navigation officer') is pretty damn lucky, because that officer has not only undergone the exact same excellent training that the USNA grad has received, he's also had a year of sea prior to that AND has successfully passed a very rigorous USCG merchant marine officer's license.
Here's to you Steve and hoping like hell you can walk away from this with your career intact. Nobody is more deserving of it.
W/r,
CDR MJ Singleton, USN (KP'88)
Feb 10, 2009
During Sea and Anchor detail, the CO is always on the bridge. The ship has two teams determining where the ship is at, the Quarter Masters on the bridge taking Visual Bearings and the Operations Specialists in CIC taking Radar Ranges. Not to make excuxes, but offshore Hawaii doesn't have very good navigation points for either team. Flat beaches don't give good RADAR returns, and haze make picking up visual points difficult.
However, since this was offshore, the ship was probably navigating by RADAR, not Visual fixes. As a retired Operations Specialist (Radarman) I would be willing to bet that the CIC (Combat Information Center) team will be the ones taking the major hit for this one. Also the Capt. will definately be relieved of duty if he hasn't already been.
the ship has two teams determining where the ship is at, the Quarter Masters on the bridge taking Visual Bearings and the Operations Specialists in CIC taking Radar Ranges. Not to make excuxes, but offshore Hawaii doesn't have very good navigation points for either team. Flat beaches don't give good RADAR returns, and haze make picking up visual points difficult.
GOOD LUCK Port Royal Teams…
Feb 10, 2009
Ok fine, sounds like they had expert navigators on the ship. That does not excuse the poor decision making that got them into this mess that has caused everyone to question their navigation. There is more than one lapse in judgement leading to this event.
Feb 10, 2009
RADAR & Visual Fixes? Do they not have GPS & Electronic Chart Plotters? What about depth sounders and side scan sonar?