The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) underway in the Phillippine Sea, June 14, 2017. U.S. Navy Photo
By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy announced a series of systemic reforms on Thursday aimed at restoring basic naval skills and alertness at sea after a review of deadly ship collisions in the Asia-Pacific showed sailors were under-trained and over-worked.
Seventeen sailors were killed this year in two collisions with commercial vessels involving guided-missile destroyers, the Fitzgerald in June off Japan and then the John S. McCain in August as it approached Singapore.
Those were not the only mishaps involving U.S. Navy sailors this year, which also saw the guided-missile cruiser Lake Champlain collide with a fishing vessel in the Sea of Japan in May. The guided-missile cruiser Antietam grounded in January in Tokyo Bay.
“What happened was a gradual erosion of the margins of safety,” Admiral John Richardson, who as the chief of naval operations is the Navy’s top uniformed officer, told a news briefing, as he unveiled the results of the broad Navy review.
Rising pressure to meet demands for more and more Navy operations, particularly in the Asia-Pacific, led those in command to rationalize declining standards that ranged from basic seamanship to operational safety, Richardson said.
The Navy’s review called for reforms that will cost between $400 and $500 million over the next five to six years, including periodic, standardized assessments of seamanship and bolstering training of navigation fundamentals.
It also involved ensuring back-to-basics measures like ensuring sailors get enough sleep. The Navy said fatigue was a contributing factor in the Fitzgerald and John S. McCain collisions.
Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Seapower Subcommittee, said the Navy needed more ships to meet the demands for operations at sea. Boosting the size of the Navy is a key objective of Republican President Donald Trump.
“We are asking too few ships to do too many things,” said Wicker, a Republican.
Representative Mac Thornberry, who heads the House Armed Services Committee, also said the sailors’ deaths were “entirely avoidable” and added the Navy was being asked “to do too much with too few resources.”
“The Navy is committed to addressing these issues, but they cannot fix them on their own. Congress has a role to play as well,” Thornberry said.
“I am ready to support the Navy’s request for any additional training, manpower, or equipment they need to prevent these tragedies in the future.”
During the summer, there was speculation that cyber warfare might have been to blame for the repeated mishaps, which stunned the Pentagon. The Navy, during its investigations, ruled out the possibility that hacking was to blame.
“These ships in the 7th Fleet did not master the fundamentals,” Richardson said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Frances Kerry)
CAIRO, March 2 (Reuters) – The Houthi Transport Ministry in Yemen said on Saturday there had been a “glitch” in undersea communication cables in the Red Sea as a result of actions...
by Captain John Konrad (gCaptain) In the current American labor landscape, the stark contrast between the assertive strides of transportation unions and the maritime sector’s unique labor challenges is striking....
By Mikhail Flores MANILA, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Evacuations were under way in the Philippines after a quake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck the southern region of Mindanao on Saturday night,...
December 2, 2023
Total Views: 2164
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.