USS PORTER COLLISION INFO.

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QUOTE .....The following is the official US Navy release on the collision of USS Porter (DDG 78) and the Japanese owned bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan.

No one was hurt Sunday morning 8-12-12 when a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer and a large Japanese owned merchant vessel collided near the Strait of Hormuz.

The collision between USS Porter (DDG 78) and the Panamanian-flagged bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan occurred at approximately 1:00 a.m. local time.

Porter transited under its own power to Jebel Ali, UAE and is now pierside for assessment and repair.

The incident is under investigation.

USS Porter is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts.

5th Fleet has released a short video on YouTube of the damage. More pictures are here. That second picture appears to show some water being pumped out, some sort of flooding control from broken pipes maybe?

Check this out from AIS.


That has to be about the location of the incident, but that is very odd considering the damage on the destroyer was on the starboard front. The last AIS report before it pulled that Crazy Ivan maneuver above was 14.1 knots heading 74 degrees at 12:51am. At 12:55am the ship was slowed to 9.7 knots heading 122 degrees, so presumably the collision had already occurred? If you zoom in you can see see the track where a small box forms, which may be the area where the destroyer came to a full stop and the tanker circles around the ship passing behind, across the port side for a bit, then circles around and passes in front of the destroyer before resuming course.

The destroyer is underway under her own power. USS Porter (DDG 78) is one of the few east coast ballistic missile defense capable AEGIS destroyers and is scheduled to be homeported in Rota, Spain in the future. Neither the destroyer nor the tanker is reporting any leaks as a result of the collision.

This was the weather forecast, but I am not sure where to find reliable weather data for that point and time. Depending upon conditions visibility can get rough this time of year there at 1:00am in the morning.

I am very curious if there was Iranian small boat activity at the time, whether there were any squalls, and if the surface search radars on the ship were functioning properly. The lack of situational awareness in hindsight of this incident suggests some explaining is necessary, because one would think a modern US Navy AEGIS destroyer could avoid ramming a 300,000 ton super tanker that reportedly has 95% of her 2 million barrels of fuel loaded and is apparently using AIS.

It is a great thing no one was injured. It is also worth pointing out that if a 300,000 ton ship rams a 9000 ton ship that isn't as well built as a US Navy destroyer, there is a very good chance that other ship probably sinks.

UNQUOTE....GLAD ALL ARE SAFE.
 
Not in the Navy but my son was in the man's part, the Marines (service joke) How in the hell can you have a collision, you have radar. The tanker was really big, I forget the tonnage. Do USNavy ships still man the bridge? I just don't understand but now I have an excuse for a collision. Officer a 9000 ton Navy ship and a really big ship hit, do I get a raincheck?
 
Yes the bridge is still manned. Sounds like there will be a change of command soon. Playing bumper boats is frowned upon.Your right too grump the Marines claim to be the mens dept but the Navy still signs their check. :)
 
Thanx for the resonse about Marines/Navy. I have the utmost respect for all branches. Bullets have no name/branch of service. Glad to be a Vet, even more to be  the father of a vet! A welcome home to all Vietnam vets from me, I was a Forward Air Controller in I Corps in 68/69, I hope I was able to save your butt. Worked with 101st, 1ARVN, and  "special ops". 101st said I could not buy a beer in their EM bar,we were their shepards, just pawns in the political war. Have utmost respect for USN, during WWII someone had to take the Marines to the beaches, a bad situation all around. Tarawa and Peleliu were disasters, egos killed many Marines.
 
Thats one of many jokes between myself and two of my brother instructors at the academy that are former Marines.... My Uncle served 28yrs in the USAF from 1958- 1986, I believe he retired an E-9, his son is now a Chief on the USS Florida, and my little brother is in the 1st/501st PAR with CIB from Afghanistan. I'll never forget the day the USS Cole was attacked, she was in our battle group, what punch in the gut. We'll get most of the facts, probably via the news someday concerning this incident, the recent fire on the USS George Washington (careless smoking, and blatant disregard for orders) was another oops that ended a few careers. The shame of that fire was how, and where it started, the designated smoking area was only two ladders down in the MMR from the point of origin. 
 
Yeah, someone is going to lose their command for this. I expect an Article 15 Non Judicial Punishment, if not a Court Martial. Funny enough, the Coast Guard sold one of its aging cutters to the Nigerian Navy last year. They've already smacked it up TWICE!!!!
 
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