A few comments on the radio traffic before the Norwegian frigate “Helge Ingstad” and the tanker “Sola TS” collided, and the warship sank. This recording will go over in history as an example of how not to avoid an accident.
Navigation and seamanship
Norwegian frigate “Helge Ingstad” sinks after collision
The Norwegian frigate “Helge Ingstad” is sinking after a collision with a Maltese tanker. It is a surreal event to observe. Will be interesting to hear more details about what went wrong. Here are a few quick thoughts.
Article recommendation: The Status Quo Killed 17 US Sailors. The Navy Must Change.
Jon Paris makes a compelling case that the U.S. Navy needs to change its education system and introduce specialized career paths for engineering and operations. This step is well overdue. The idea that one can have the responsibility of either engineering or navigation of a large warship with a one-size-fits-all educational background is just mind boggling.
Comparison between U.S. and U.K. naval officer training
There is an interesting comparison of U.S. Navy and Royal Navy Officer Training in the March edition of Proceedings. Dr. Anthony Wells has experience from both navies and insights into their training programs. In short, Wells is not impressed by the U.S. seamanship education. He suggests the U.S. Navy can learn a lot from their […]
Things to look for in near future for Russian Baltic Fleet: Return of AGI and naval exercise
Intelligence ship Fyodor Golovin (AGI) of the Russian Baltic Fleet has been relieved off Syria and is now returning to the Baltic Sea. That reported Russian military news site flot.com on Tuesday. Fyodor Golovin was replaced on duty by the intelligence ship Ekvator of the Black Sea Fleet. Russia has had a shortage of intelligence […]
Homicide charges for US warship collisions are a big mistake
Four officers from USS Fitzgerald and one from USS John S. McCain including both commanding officers will face criminal charges for negligent homicide. As Navy Times notes, this is a very rare step, and now the internet is boiling over with discussions about it. I think the criminal charges are a big mistake.
Critical review of lessons from US warship collisions
The US Navy’s report on recent collisions of USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain fails to see the true shortcomings of seamanship and procedures.
Jamming of phones and GPS during Zapad causes concerns
Did Russia jam GPS signals in Norway and phone services in Latvia and Sweden and during exercise Zapad in September? Apparently there are many indications that they did, and now Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg has expressed his concerns about the Russian demonstrations of electronic warfare capabilities. Ideally, military units have redundant systems so they […]
Worrying initiatives to improve navigational safety in US Navy
The US Navy attempts to improve navigational safety in the wake of a series of accidents involving ships from the Pacific Fleet, reports Geoff Ziezulewicz for Navy Times after obtaining a command message outlining some of the initiatives. The list of revised procedures does give grounds for some worry, though. It starts off well enough. […]
U.S. Navy needs better procedures for driving a ship
Paul Lobo nails it in The Maritime Executive in a piece called Collisions Show That “Navy Way” is the Wrong Course: In addition, there are far too many personnel on Navy ships, which is not only costly, but can be distracting when cruising at 25 knots. Consider that a modern 1,200-foot commercial container ship operates […]
