US Navy Solutions to Ship Collisions?
Naps, Compasses and More Money
Sputnik [Russia],
by
Staff
Original Article
Posted By: LittleHoodedMonk,
8/13/2019 12:02:01 AM
As the US Navy scrambles to adopt corrective measures following a string of warship collisions earlier this year, for now they are settling for such high-tech solutions as switching to basic compass and pencil navigation, giving sailors more time to sleep and actually turning on electronic systems that have been in place for years already. (Snip) What that means is that thanks to McCain's cool stealth features, such as radio-absorptive paint and deflective surfaces, the 150-meter long Arleigh-Burke destroyer likely appeared only as a misleadingly small blip on MPA's radar.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
DVC 8/13/2019 12:37:17 AM (No. 150544)
Having navigated at night across the busy shipping lanes between the Miami area and the Bahamas,
in a small sailboat, which would be annihilated by one of the many tankers, freighters or cruise ships plying those shipping lanes we were crossing, I have some experience successfully avoiding collisions.
The very simple. low tech, but guaranteed accurate method we used was a handheld illuminated sighting compass. When we sighted the bow and stern nav lights of a vessel (green or red for bow depending on side, white for stern) we took a sighting on the bow light, noting the bearing to the light. After 5 minutes, by the watch, we would take another bearing shot. if they were the same, we made a 30 degree course change immediately. A constant relative bearing indicates a collision course.
We stayed up all night and shot bearings continuously, or nearly so, in the busy areas. Do it or risk death.
Each bridge wing, port and starboard, should have a qualified sailor with a pair of binoculars with an
illuminated compass built in. They are a standard nautical shop item, a few hundred dollars. Give them
a clipboard and pencil and have them get a bearing, record it and the time, then repeat it after 5 minutes, or whatever time interval seems reasonable with the ship's speed. Then have the officer of the deck take the report of duplicated bearings (collision course) seriously.
One bridge lookout DID report to the officer of the deck on the night of the collision and the OOD disregarfded the warning of a collision being imminent, because the OOD had no warning from the radar
systems. Believing radar over human eyes is seriously stupid.
4 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 8/13/2019 2:15:50 AM (No. 150568)
Aircraft have transponders for ID so why not stealth ships at sea?
1 person likes this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Trigger2 8/13/2019 3:00:34 AM (No. 150579)
How about simply removing incompetent commanders and replacing them with competent ones? It's called a reverse of what Barry did.
6 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Michaelus 8/13/2019 5:56:03 AM (No. 150629)
The US Navy gave command of serious warships to two officers, one a man and one a girl, who were utterly incompetent. Keeping watch is the most basic thing you can do on any vessel. The girl cried at her trial. Sailors died. God forbid that these ships ever have to actually fight. Nothing has changed. Diversity is still "our strength". Also I bet they will pay $10000 each for hand held compasses......
4 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
F15 Gork 8/13/2019 7:23:45 AM (No. 150684)
How about putting somebody in the crows nest with a pair of binoculars and a phone to the bridge?
1 person likes this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
DVC 8/13/2019 9:19:06 AM (No. 150824)
The "crow's nest"? Shiver me timbers, sir, they removed all the crow's nests in one of the refits of
the USS Constitution, about 1880 I think. Grin.
The bridge wings will do fine, instead; the outside extension, just a few steps from the conning station
and the OOD.
One on the starboard, one on the port, with binoculars with a compass will do it, if htey are trained and if
the OOD will listen to them this time.
0 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
MickTurn 8/13/2019 6:05:56 PM (No. 151350)
How about proximity radar...get within so many feet and it auto stops/reverses both ships...Oh DUH!
Send my $100 Million Great Idea check to 123 Smart Lane, Dallas Texas!
0 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
DVC 8/14/2019 12:28:55 AM (No. 151588)
#7, of course they have had that for 75 years. But, the folks running it had it set up wrong, and nobody was watching it, and the unit is remote from the bridge and the bridge was depending on a system which wasn't really up and running properly, and even ignored a visual warning by a lookout, because the radar system hadn't also warned of a collision.
Goes to competence of all involved and training, or more specifically, lack thereof. And as far as the female office with the conn, extreme arrogance, too. And she is a crybaby, too.
0 people like this.
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Comments:
This reminds me of the basic rule learned when troubleshooting a difficult electronics problem. "When all else fails, read the manual." It would seem today that as technology advances, the earlier "lessons learned" get lost, or forgotten. The Navy plans to take a step back and return its steering and speed controls back to "manual" mode. Bueller?