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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: With the USS McCain collision, even Navy tech can’t overcome human shortcomings One mistake can cascade into a disaster in heavy marine traffic, regardless of tech. Enlarge / Tugboats from Singapore assist the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) as it steers toward Changi Naval Base, Republic of Singapore, following a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore on August 21. Ten sailors were missing after the collision. 150 In the darkness of early morning on August 21, the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker in the Strait of Malacca off Singapore. Ten sailors are believed to have lost their lives in the McCain collision. When added to the seven who died in the June 17 collision of the USS Fitzgerald with the container ship ACX Crystal, this has been the deadliest year at sea for the US Navy's surface fleet since the 1989 turret explosion aboard USS Iowa (in which 47 sailors perished). FURTHER READING “Internet of Ships” tells tale of USS Fitzgerald tragedy—or half of it The McCain's collision was the fourth this year between a naval vessel and a merchant ship—the third involving a ship of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet. (The other collision involved a Russian intelligence collection ship near the Bosporus Strait in Turkey.) There hasn't been a string of collisions like this since the 1950s. Collisions are one of the biggest nightmares of those who go to sea. Cmdr. W.B. Hayer famously posted a brass plaque on the bridge of the destroyer USS Buck misquoting Thucydides: "A collision at sea can ruin your entire day" (this quote later found its way to Navy training posters). But few can look at the photos of Berthing 2 or the captain's stateroom aboard the USS Fitzgerald in the Navy's recent supplemental report on its collision and laugh. A view of what remains of the captain's stateroom of the USS Fitzgerald. The ship's commanding officer was found hanging outside, injured badly. US Navy A before/after view of part of Berthing 2 aboard USS Fitzgerald. The entire space flooded, drowning seven sailors. US Navy Guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) moored pier-side at Changi Naval Base, Republic of Singapore. Significant damage to the hull resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms. US Navy Damage to the portside is visible as the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) steers toward Changi Naval Base. US Navy Collisions involving naval vessels, especially those resulting in a loss of life, have been relatively rare over the last two decades. And they usually happen during risky close maneuvering with other military ships. Before this year, the last collision between a US Navy ship and a civilian vessel was in 2004, when the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy ran over a dhow in the Persian Gulf during night air operations. (A dhow is a traditional Arab sailing vessel.) [Correction: as a reader pointed out, the USS Porter (another Arleigh Burke class destroyer) collided with the Very Large Crude Carrier Otowasan in 2012.] So, why, with radars that can track targets smaller than a meter in size, satellite navigation-aided collision warning systems, and an array of other sensors and systems to provide "situational awareness," are naval ships colliding with anything? That's the question that the Navy is now investigating. Initial reports from the organization suggest that a "steering casualty"—a loss of control over steering from the bridge—contributed to the McCain's fatal collision. That, and the nature of the ship's steering and navigation system, has led to speculation that the McCain was "hacked" and that perhaps some sort of malicious electronic attack was also involved in the Fitzgerald's collision. But so far, available evidence suggests something much less sinister—though potentially more threatening to the overall readiness of the service. There was no hacking, no GPS spoofing or jamming, nor any other deliberate enemy electronic attack on the Navy ships involved in this year's accidents. Instead, much more human factors were at work—and some of them are endemic to the Navy's current management culture and operational readiness. Target-rich environments Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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