There is rarely a sole fault collision at sea. Even the U.S. Navy is not immune from this principal. Despite the Navy’s dominating presence at sea, a recent pair of fumbles placed the Navy’s ship-handling squarely on the radar.

Destroyers Destroyed

On June 18, 2017, the USS FITZGERALD, a guided missile destroyer valued at $1.8 billion, collided in darkness with the container ship ACX CRYSTAL in a heavily congested shipping lane off the coast of Japan. Prior to the incident, the FITZGERALD was proceeding on a collision course with not one, but three vessels. Two of those vessels took evasive action to avoid collision. The third vessel, the 728-foot ACX CRYSTAL, inexplicably on autopilot in the channel, collided with the starboard side of FITZGERALD when the destroyer turned directly in front of the other ship and was not detected. Seven Navy sailors died, two sailors sustained traumatic brain injury, and the steel warship sustained millions of dollars in damage. As the destroyer began to take on water with ship and crew in peril, the sailors onboard were ordered to lock watertight doors to prevent sinking, thereby trapping their shipmates behind closed doors. The deceased sailors ranged in age from 19 to 37 years old.