re: #27 Targetpractice

There’s a rather distinct difference between running silent and getting run over by an enemy destroyer in war-time and having a dry-goods carrier come down on your head in peace-time. An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer has sensors and navigational aids that should have clued her in that she was about to get t-boned. Short of a total systems failure that rendered her blind, deaf, and dumb as a post, there’s no excuse for missing 40,000 tons of unstoppable force bearing down on you.

Well, there are other reasons (for example, if the commercial ship had turned into the Navy ship). From the audio, it appears the Navy vessel was making five knots. Getting up to speed or whatnot takes a couple minutes. A destroyer isn’t exactly a quick turning vessel either (well, in relation to a sailboat).

Despite all the sensors and such, that is also why they use watches on a vessel. I imagine the Navy is pouring over all the information they have to find out who screwed up and when (if there was a screw up).

If the Navy vessel was where it was supposed to be in the shipping lane and the commercial vessel wasn’t, the blame will still fall on the commercial shipping company (which wouldn’t necessarily absolve folk on the Navy vessel).