[TXnMA]

No, AFAIK, that photo of the very lightly laden ACX Crystal -- with the bulbous lower bow gloriously exposed -- was taken on a date prior to the accident.

But it surely gets the "point" across... '-)

I'm using a scaled, vectorized object of it in my "Z-Axis" vector analysis of the rolling and twisting I believe the Fitzgerald underwent during the collision...

(BTW, one of my first questions was, "How did the main deck of the low-slung Fitzgerald get raised high enough to cut that big slash through the stem of the Crystal?"

(Did the Crystal, at the last moment, hit reverse thrust -- causing its bow to "dive"?

~~~~~~~~~~

BTW, I agree with you -- in that I also expected more visible "scraping and dinging" on the bow protrusion -- but... WYSIWYG...

I guess anti-fouling paint is designed to be tough -- as, apparently, is that bow protrusion...

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Thanks for confirming the starboard photo is pre-collision.

I am still puzzled by the lack of paint scrapes or dents to the Crystal’s bulbous bow.

We see the scrapes down to the metal on the Crystal where it slid against the superstructure of the Fitzgerald. I am guessing the superstructure of the Fitzgerald is 1/4 inch steel to maybe 1/2 inch max.

Meanwhile, the bulbous bow hits the hull of the Fitzgerald, punches a 10 or 14 foot hole in the hull, and nary a scratch to the paint job. I am guessing the hull of the Fitzgerald is 3/4 inch steel. So why no damage to the bulbous bow?

Maybe I need to wait until Sept when the Navy tells us. Or maybe we need to send a FR sleuth to the Crystal drydock which I believe will be in Thailand.

[mad_as_he$$]

“(Did the Crystal, at the last moment, hit reverse thrust — causing its bow to “dive”? “

FWIW I don’t think a ship that size and power would do much of a nose dive if full reverse was commanded. I like your original thinking that the Fitz was in a hard turn, heeled over and once the Crystal’s bow bulb penetrated the hull then there was no way for the Fitz to roll back down during what was surely a scissor action. I am very curious about how the two ships disengages and really want to see the underwater damage of the Fitz.

[happytpr]

So far as I can tell, ACX Crystal has a slow-speed diesel turning a fixed-pitch propeller, so no changing direction on the fly. It takes a lot longer than people think to kick in reverse, since that means completely shutting off the engine, waiting for it to finish turning, and blowing compressed air to start it again in reverse. Judging from the track, I doubt they even stopped the engine, let alone reversed it.