Browsing: accidents at sea

Cruising Life
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NTSB Points to Failures in John S. McCain Accident Report

August 5, 2019 by gCaptain The August 2017 collision between the USS John S McCain and a commercial tanker was caused by insufficient training, inadequate bridge operating procedures and a lack of operational oversight, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a Marine Accident Report released today. Ten sailors aboard the John S McCain died and another 48 were injured when the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer collided with the chemical tanker Alnic MC in the Middle Channel passage of the Singapore Strait Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). There were no injuries sustained by the crew of the tanker. The collision occurred as…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

Whatever Happened to Situational Awareness? By Peter A. Janssen Is anybody paying attention out there? A few alarming, and tragic, events recently make that question all too relevant. The most recent, and glaring, accident involved the collision of the 332-foot megayacht Attessa IV, one of the largest private yachts in the world, with a 65-foot wooden charter boat named Prowler, in the Pacific south of San Diego. The Coast Guard airlifted a seriously injured passenger off Prowler (see the picture above), but he died four hours later in a San Diego hospital. The Coast Guard is investigating the accident, but the…

Cruising Life
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Japanese Tug Loses Power, Drifts into U.S. Navy Destroyer; Some Scrapes, but No Injuries

In another case of a Navy destroyer colliding with a civilian vessel, the USS Benfold (above) was slightly damaged when a Japanese tug drifted into it during a towing exercise off central Japan. The tug lost power during the exercise and “drifted into the ship,” according to a Navy statement. No one was injured in this incident, and the Benfold just suffered some scrapes on its side. But it was a painful reminder of  earlier collisions between two other destroyers, the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain, and merchant ships that ended with the deaths of 17 sailors. In…

Cruising Life
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Will a Floating Container Sink Your Boat? Here are the Odds…

They’re everywhere on oceans around the world. Big and small container ships, going in every direction, some new and looking seaworthy, many less than new and looking less than seaworthy. Officials estimate that there are 5 to 6 million containers on ships at any given time; 10,000 of them wash overboard every year. If you’re cruising at night or in fog, you probably won’t even see one in your path; if the container is floating just under the surface, or covered by a wave, you probably won’t see it in any time of day. Here’s a great story, including some…