Posted on 12/23/2019 8:54:41 AM PST by Oatka
Dakota Bordeaux had rarely traveled outside his home state of Oklahoma before he joined the Navy in February 2017. He’d certainly never seen the ocean.
But only four months later, Bordeaux was standing at the helm of the USS John S. McCain, steering the 8,300-ton destroyer through the western Pacific. Part of the Navy’s famed 7th Fleet, the McCain was responsible for patrolling global hot spots, shadowing Chinese warships in the South China Sea and tracking North Korean missile launches.
It filled the high school graduate with pride.
“Not many people of my age can say, ‘Hey, I just drove a giant-ass battleship,’” said Bordeaux, 23.
To guide the McCain, Bordeaux relied upon a navigation system the Navy considered a triumph of technology and thrift. It featured slick black touch screens to operate the ship’s wheel and propellers. It knit together information from radars and digital maps. It would save money by requiring fewer sailors to safely steer the ship.
(Excerpt) Read more at gcaptain.com ...
“Not many people of my age can say, ‘Hey, I just drove a giant-ass battleship,’” said Bordeaux, 23.
I would wager that the namesake of the ship was at least equally responsible for ship disaster.
Making thumb-down motion with my other hand.
Some say it’s The Curse of Juan McCain.
McCain always had technical problems that prevented him from steering a good or accurate course. His steering system always pulled hard to the left.
**Standing orders** in the Navy are for someone to keep a watch out the bridge windows at all times while underway. The problem isn’t the technology.
So, the same problem as it’s namesake.
And neither can you.
A 8,300-ton destroyer is a far cry from a 58,400-ton battleship.
“There was actually a lot of functions on there that I had no clue what on earth they did,” Bordeaux said of the system.
And he was in charge of steering. He should not have been on the bridge, except to observe in training, until he knew what EVERY dial, display, and control on the bridge did.
“The problem isn’t the technology.”
No tech on board. Chief with one hour of instruction in Charge of watch quals.
ping.
When i was in in the early 90’s we didn’t have any touch screen tech in the engineering mainspaces themselves but every sailor knew CYA. CYA at all costs because even if you followed orders to a T, shit rolls downhill and the NAVY and its upper brass will punish you even if its not warranted. Document, Document, Document. COVER YOUR ASS..........
The Navy’s karma ran over its dogma. They have very good ships and technology, but the leadership in many cases has a defective CMA mentality.
Doesn't the Navy have simulators ? I know for a fact that the US merchant marine have used simulators for decades.
Again, the technology isn’t the problem. The people (and more specifically, their training/training organization) are.
Fortunately, the Navy requires more training for its nuclear reactor operators.
I’ve got experience myself piloting commercial motor vessels this size
Three and one half minutes is plenty time to avoid another vessel while underway
I’m not a veteran but it seems like our military always blame service men first before systems or technology
Was there no way to simply override this vexed steering system and revert to manual
If not how to steer if a power loss to the bridge?
A genuine pilot wheel could averted this
She’s a twin shaft.....that makes another way to steer clear of danger
I will say as someone who been in the port of Singapore there should have been a serious officer or high ranking enlisted man on that bridge
Another question is if they were but 20 miles from docking Singapore when the hell does the bar or port pilot board?
I’ve been on a ship collision on a small freighter in Miragoane Haiti
You do reach a. Point where it’s impossible to avoid contact
My captain was attempting a beam to beam anchorage to lighter from us to the ship at the old pre slave revolt dock
He came in too hard..from 100 yards out there was nowhere to go but to hit gunnel to gunnel enough to scrape paint and dent the railing in the contact spot
Another time on the Calcaseiu river in St Charles a chem carrier hit us barely...that was pilot error but trust me they never ever own it
River pilot association are extortion rackets
Loss of steering? Did anyone consider stopping??? Say nothing of the two female officers who weren’t talking to each other.
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