tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post4131516435483053521..comments2024-03-08T00:23:05.374-05:00Comments on Vessel of Interest | наблюдаемое судно: Mapping the ACX Crystal's collision with the USS Fitzgerald using publicly available infoSteffan Watkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11450950957115187533noreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-74858904954949895822018-12-18T10:28:17.316-05:002018-12-18T10:28:17.316-05:00Going out into the woods often means leaving moder...Going out into the woods often means leaving modern conveniences like your mobile phone behind. Even if you do bring it for taking photographs, you likely won’t have cell phone service. For many, this forced disconnection is a welcome respite until an emergency arises. In these unexpected moments, it is essential to have a personal locator beacon or a satellite messenger to signal for help. <a href="https://www.gofleet.com/gobeacon-tour-asset-tracking-beacons/" rel="nofollow"> Bluetooth low energy beacon</a>Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16414432596801279414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-56400678490203884302017-11-03T13:20:36.054-04:002017-11-03T13:20:36.054-04:00The U.S. Navy has issued a combined report on the ...The U.S. Navy has issued a combined report on the Fitzgerald and John. S McCain collisions.<br /><br /> http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=103130<br /><br />Something I find puzzling about the report is the geometry of the Fitzgerald collision. The Fitzgerald and Crystal were on roughly complementary courses, set to pass port to port (or perhaps collide nearly head-on), but just before the collision the Fitzgerald turned sharply to port, right into the path of the Crystal. The diagram showing the relative positions of the ships at the time of collision suggests that the Fitzgerald had turned almost 180 degrees. This seems unlikely. <br /><br />Also puzzling is the turn to port; the OOD first ordered a turn to starboard, but rescinded that and instead ordered the turn to port, seemingly right into the path of the Crystal. He presumably hoped to get across in front of the Crystal.<br /><br />Was there another ship to starboard that would have interfered with a course change in that direction? The report leaves a lot of questions.<br /><br />The report on the John S. McCain, OTOH, seems very clear (though certainly damning...).Jerry Callenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07898420620382785530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-10826154843452698932017-08-18T16:31:20.828-04:002017-08-18T16:31:20.828-04:00A "preliminary inquiry" was published ye...A "preliminary inquiry" was published yesterday by the Navy.<br /><br />http://www.secnav.navy.mil/foia/readingroom/HotTopics/USS%20Fitzgerald/Supplemental%20Inquiry%20USS%20Fitzgerald.pdfJerry Callenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07898420620382785530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-42579353756640736572017-08-18T00:47:36.556-04:002017-08-18T00:47:36.556-04:00With the course of 230, and speed of 20 knots, ass...With the course of 230, and speed of 20 knots, assuming they were constant (or close) for 15-30 min prior to the collision, and using assumed point of collision as a marker, it should be relatively easy to get a better picture of the relationship of the two shops in the time leading up to the collision including the earlier course change by Crystal.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360899908777236371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-14160960441246211152017-08-17T21:36:32.074-04:002017-08-17T21:36:32.074-04:00A report on the damage control efforts was release...A report on the damage control efforts was released today. <br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/17/world/asia/document-navy-report-on-uss-fitzgerald.html<br /><br />It doesn't address actions before the collision but a timeline on page 22 of the PDF does report the Fitzgerald was on course 230 true at midnight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-22399861782915726122017-08-10T08:54:13.042-04:002017-08-10T08:54:13.042-04:00TR here - not me. I'm never anonymous on here....TR here - not me. I'm never anonymous on here. I'm happy to prove you wrong using my own log in here, or on my own blog.topolmss27https://www.blogger.com/profile/00750585077294203955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-14455452578211998162017-07-18T20:28:28.581-04:002017-07-18T20:28:28.581-04:00I think this is about right. The port turn, which...I think this is about right. The port turn, which was not a big course change, would take time to recognize if Fitzgerald were relying solely on radar or lookouts and might take longer to recognize than the time it took the ships to close on each other. One question I have posed above is how much the USN is willing to rely on AIS as a safety of navigation "sensor" as well as an intelligence gathering system. The course change would be immediately transmitted if Crystal were transmitting AIS at the required rate commensurate with the local traffic density (and this should have been much more rapidly than every three minutes). But the USN has good reasons not to rely unconditionally on AIS (creates a dependency on unreliable sources of information since AIS can be spoofed), so we'll have to see if a discussion about this emerges from the USN deliberations about the crash. It's quite possible the USN may regard its AIS policies as being sensitive, so the public may never know.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08674927601186774858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-7155028833806486802017-07-04T14:46:43.340-04:002017-07-04T14:46:43.340-04:00Short of doing a FOIA (Do they have something FOIA...Short of doing a FOIA (Do they have something FOIA-like?) to get the data from the Japanese Coast Guard's receivers, I don't know how to get any higher resolution; you're completely correct tho, it isn't just every ~3 min, but that's all I see from this end of the stick.Steffan Watkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11450950957115187533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-9373331639655509872017-07-04T14:24:54.761-04:002017-07-04T14:24:54.761-04:00https://help.marinetraffic.com/hc/en-us/articles/2...https://help.marinetraffic.com/hc/en-us/articles/205426887-What-kind-of-information-is-AIS-transmitted-<br /><br />Dynamic Information (such information isautomatically transmitted every 2 to 10 seconds depending on the vessel's speed and course while underway and every 6 minutes while anchored from vessels equipped with Class A transponders)<br /><br />I work for a company that sends it's AIS data stream to marine traffic … they get updates more often than at 3min intervals per vesselTEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-83843936482028264262017-06-28T11:28:30.457-04:002017-06-28T11:28:30.457-04:00Fault? Fault is not the issue from the standpoint...Fault? Fault is not the issue from the standpoint of FITZGERALD's CO, OOD, JOOD, and CICWO. "Accountability" and "Responsibility" inevitably fall upon their shoulders, jointly and severally, no matter the actions of the container ship. The old maxim, "It happened on your watch!" inevitably applies.TMOlivernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-19529526502158092422017-06-28T08:11:03.965-04:002017-06-28T08:11:03.965-04:00Not really. In the 1956 case, the ships were on co...Not really. In the 1956 case, the ships were on courses differing by almost 180 degrees, i.e. head-on. Stockholm turned to starboard, as required by colregs, but AD turned to port ... AD got T-boned. Here the course difference was probably about 30 degrees, and the Crystal was probably passing.czarnajamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12708143204218215807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-56779544203657118282017-06-27T19:22:02.734-04:002017-06-27T19:22:02.734-04:00COA (Closest Point of Approach) NOT COA.
Duhhhh!...COA (Closest Point of Approach) NOT COA.<br /><br /><br />Duhhhh! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-90853856716527684572017-06-27T19:18:58.431-04:002017-06-27T19:18:58.431-04:00Sailorman speaking.
Do you have a copy of the Port...Sailorman speaking.<br />Do you have a copy of the Porter investigation you could share?<br />To add to your above comment "hard to believe" is an understatement. With AIS it's impossible to believe. With AIS all necessary data is there on the screen, the COA alarm is sounding. You have to actively ignore it, as they apparently did in the Porter incident (from the leaked voice recording.)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-63012896604269232452017-06-27T17:08:48.493-04:002017-06-27T17:08:48.493-04:00Article from US Naval Institute (USNI) quoting sai...Article from US Naval Institute (USNI) quoting sailor onboard that Fitzgerald fought damage to the ship for almost an hour before the Japanese Coast Guard was notified. The Crystal notified when they returned to the scene, at about the same time the ship was able to get their Iridium Sat Phone up. Also discuss damage to the CO's cabin and how he was rescued as well as some pictures of the cabin.<br /><br />Details and pictures lend more credance to the feeling this was a "glancing blow" (maybe 45 degrees or so?) and that the Crystal was not paying attention at the time. Also more likely that Fitzgerald had initially identified the Crystals course as "safe" and the 10-15 min from the Crystal's turn to port, they didn't recognize the course change by lookout or radar until it was too late. The question is how much advance notice did they have before the collision.<br /><br />I find it hard to believe they had no notice, but based on speed, night time and time from turn to collision, maybe 5 min? Will be interesting to read when the report comes out. It will come out as the Navy is good about that and posts all such investigations for the public to view.<br /><br />https://news.usni.org/2017/06/21/investigators-believe-uss-fitzgerald-crew-fought-flooding-for-an-hour-before-distress-call-reached-help<br />Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10360899908777236371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-11294277553038858172017-06-27T10:49:22.084-04:002017-06-27T10:49:22.084-04:00Tons of speculation, ounces of information. Just b...Tons of speculation, ounces of information. Just because the auto pilot of the Crystal was on does not mean no one was on the bridge. Merchant ships use the auto pilot to steer about 99% of the time in open water. Modern container ships usually have pretty good crews. The rag-tag crews described by some of the USN commenters are found, if at all, on small trampers. That said, questions to ask involve the bridge layout of the Crystal. Often the conning station is behind a series of connected consoles with lighted displays. The mate might not have had any real night vision. If there were only two persons on watch the lookout would have been on the starboard side (but looking all around, hopefully) and the mate more or less keeping track to port. Radar settings on both ships should be looked at. If everyone was looking at 6 or 12 mile displays, stuff inside a mile would not be so easily seen - and I suspect the warship had some features designed to make them less visible to radar(?). Small target, background lights, night blind mate, no AIS on Fitz... she could have been missed. I can't even speculate what happened on the warship. Is a large bridge team like those found on military vessels a liability in some situations? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-176395282547937552017-06-27T10:27:23.000-04:002017-06-27T10:27:23.000-04:00With regard to the Crystal's continuing at 17 ...With regard to the Crystal's continuing at 17 knots for 10 minutes... on a merchant ship the engine is often run at an economical speed with heavy fuel. The engineers customarily ask for 10 minutes notice to reduce rpm. Something to do with block temperatures. They can, of course, slow down more quickly in an emergency, which this was; but we don't know if they were asked to initially. Also, if they were using heavy fuel, the engineroom would need to convert over to diesel for maneuvering speeds. Stopping the engine while on heavy fuel can gunk up the engine. I have to say I don't know if either of these happened on the Crystal, but they are questions that should be asked. It doesn't seem unusual to me for the ship to have taken that long to return to the scene. They probably weren't able to contact the Fitz to confirm what had happened. At the pilot station, when we have to ask a large ship to make a round turn and come back to the pilot station it often takes them close to an hour - in daylight, no confusion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-28219914185647075702017-06-26T21:50:14.558-04:002017-06-26T21:50:14.558-04:00I wonder if there was a failure of systems on Fitz...I wonder if there was a failure of systems on Fitz, and further, if it will be exposed. But I would think it would get out one day.LAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02901878466309181801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-83570036005603476982017-06-26T13:00:45.196-04:002017-06-26T13:00:45.196-04:00Yes, thank you. Glad I found your site.Yes, thank you. Glad I found your site.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-73741184046225623072017-06-26T12:56:27.406-04:002017-06-26T12:56:27.406-04:00You'll need to ask them. With great respect to...You'll need to ask them. With great respect to Tim's work, I think it's really weird; I provide you with the 3-minute resolution data above that clearly disproves the statement.<br /><br />Oh hey, here's another blog post now ;)<br />http://www.vesselofinterest.com/2017/06/the-leaked-statement-from-acx-crystals.htmlSteffan Watkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11450950957115187533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-26282017035784662452017-06-26T12:40:24.310-04:002017-06-26T12:40:24.310-04:00Please explain: "Shipping data in Thomson Reu...Please explain: "Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that the ACX Crystal, chartered by Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, made a complete U-turn between 12:58 a.m. and 2:46 a.m." Why such a large time spread?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-85800251858414506792017-06-26T12:14:52.782-04:002017-06-26T12:14:52.782-04:00When you're right, you're right; the data ...When you're right, you're right; the data I used is from MarineTrffic.com, and is not actually "raw"; I mean, that's my source data and "raw" in that sense, but technically there is raw AIS data collected by nearby AIS-T receivers that could be more frequent than every 3 minutes. In the US those receivers are run by the USCG, so in Japan I'd *guess* the receivers are run by the JP CG. I've requested that raw data from the USCG before under FOIA before, but it took months to get. Maybe the JP CG would release the raw data too, I'm not sure.<br />Good catch!Steffan Watkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11450950957115187533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-61964714370489285182017-06-26T11:29:50.842-04:002017-06-26T11:29:50.842-04:00I thought the mandated transmit interval would be ...I thought the mandated transmit interval would be much less than 3 minutes, in traffic and traveling at Crystal's speed. Three minutes' delay could make a big difference. Do you think Crystal was actually reporting on a shorter interval? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08674927601186774858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-6781894137284657562017-06-26T11:16:57.252-04:002017-06-26T11:16:57.252-04:00It's not clear the USN has fully embraced AIS ...It's not clear the USN has fully embraced AIS as a safety of navigation system. Naval combatants are disinclined to rely on information provided by potentially unfriendly parties, information that might easily be spoofed. The AIS on an older ship like Fitzgerald could be a stand alone laptop installed on the bridge, available to the OOD but not integrated into the ship's navigation system. By policy it would operate in receive-only mode. Radar and visual lookouts are more likely to be the primary safety of navigation sensors. But even an excellent radar (SPS-67/73 ?) would take some time (not sure how long) to assimilate a moderate course change by Crystal if it were on a nearly parallel course to that of Fitzgerald. In this scenario a recognition delay of even a few minutes might put the Fitzgerald OOD far enough behind the problem that a misjudgment in recognizing the threat, or an incorrect course change in response, would be non-recoverable. I'm sure that this event will provoke an intense internal discussion by the USN about the utility of AIS. However, much of this discussion might not be visible to the public even though stand-alone AIS is not itself a classified system. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08674927601186774858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-2552564304296623152017-06-26T10:00:33.487-04:002017-06-26T10:00:33.487-04:00I'm thrilled with the high quality comments to...I'm thrilled with the high quality comments too.<br />The captain's statement isn't worth anything; it's easily dismissed by the AIS data that beacons every ~3min. No 10min gap to fit his story in. He's going away for a long long time.Steffan Watkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11450950957115187533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525741920646800814.post-81116751615758459962017-06-26T09:54:36.290-04:002017-06-26T09:54:36.290-04:00The Captain of the Crystal speaks: http://news (d...The Captain of the Crystal speaks: http://news (dot) trust (dot) org/item/20170626101937-6xsul<br /><br />Greatly appreciate your thorough analysis and resources, and all the comments by experienced naval navigators. <br /><br />Sibylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17992846006169408498noreply@blogger.com