Inquiries begin following the 1.30am-2:30am (Tokyo, time) June 17, 2017 collision between:
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- destroyer USS Fitzgerald (8,900 long tons "full", 154m) now berthed at the US 7th Fleet Naval
- Philippine registered container ship ACX Crystal (39,565 tonnes deadwight, 222m) now berthed at
Tokyo’s Oi wharf.
The bodies of a number of US sailors were found, once water was pumped out (at Yokosuka) from the 2 crushed and flooded compartments of USS Fitzgerald.
Japanese authorities were looking into the possibility of "endangerment of traffic caused by professional negligence", Japanese media reported, but it was not clear whether that might apply to either or both of the vessels.
It is most likely USS Fitzgerald's "Captain" Commander Bryce Benson, in hospital, is already being questioned along with relevant officers and crew who were on Fitzgerald's bridge.
It is not clear:
- how dark or foggy the conditions were? OR
- if Fitzgerald was suffering relevant equipment, especially radar and AIS [1], technical
breakdowns?
breakdowns?
[1] AIS is the automatic identification system (part reliant on satellites) used for collision avoidance on ships. Very likely AIS was on both ships - but was it turned off on Fitzgerald for "hide Fitzgerald" exercise conditions?
PHOTO: USS Fitzgerald struck on the starboard side above and below the waterline. (Photo courtesy Reuters: Toru Hanai via the BBC)
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Map courtesy MarineTraffic, news agencies including BBC
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Pete