TROUBLESPOT Q


manner to climb the port side ladder and exit through the port side watertight scuttle. Even though the sailors were up to their necks in water by that point, they moved forward slowly and assisted each other. Two of the sailors who had already escaped from the main part of Berthing 2 stayed at the bottom of the ladder well to help their shipmates out of the berthing area. One sailor escaped via the


starboard side of Berthing 2. After the collision, this sailor tried


at this time and does not remember how he escaped from Berthing 2, but he ultimately emerged from the flooding into Berthing 1, where he could stand to his feet and breathe. He climbed Berthing 1’s egress ladder, through Berthing 1’s open watertight scuttle and collapsed on the main deck. He was the only sailor to escape through the starboard egress point. The flooding of Berthing 2


The impact destroyed the commanding officer’s cabin and flooded a crew area


be pulled from his rack and into the water before he woke up. Senior sailors checked for others that might still be in their racks. The occupants of Berthing 2


described a rapidly flooding space, estimating later that the space was nearly flooded within a span of 30 to 60 seconds. By the time the third sailor to leave arrived at the ladder, the water was already waist deep. Debris, including mattresses, furniture, an exercise bicycle, and wall lockers, floated into the aisles between racks in Berthing 2, impeding sailors’ ability to get down from their racks and their ability to exit the space.


Rescue efforts Sailors recall that after the initial shock, occupants lined up in a relatively calm and orderly


to leave his rack, the top rack in the row nearest to the starboard access trunk, but inadvertently kicked someone, so he crawled back into his rack and waited until he thought everyone else would be out of Berthing 2. When he jumped out of his rack a few seconds later, the water was chest high and rising, reaching near to the top of his bunk. After leaving his rack, the


sailor struggled to reach the starboard egress point through the lounge area. He moved through the lounge furniture and against the incoming sea. Someone said, “Go, go, go,


it’s blocked,” but he was already underwater. He was losing his breath but found a small pocket of air. After a few breaths, he eventually took one final breath and swam. He lost consciousness


resulted in the deaths of seven Fitzgerald sailors and three injuries requiring medical attention. The racks of the seven sailors were located in the area closest to the starboard access trunk and egress point and directly in the path of the onrushing water.


Report conclusions


In the US Navy, the responsibility of the commanding officer for his or her ship is absolute. Many of the decisions made that led to this incident were the result of poor judgement and decision- making by the commanding officer. That said, no single person bears full responsibility for this incident. The crew was unprepared for the situation in which they found themselves through a lack of preparation, ineffective command and control, and deficiencies in training and preparation for navigation.


s7ATCHTEAMMEMBERSWERENOTFAMILIARWITHBASICRADAR fundamentals, impeding effective use. sFitzgerald failed to manoeuvre early as required with risk of collision present. s7ATCHTEAMMEMBERSRESPONSIBLEFORRADAROPERATIONSFAILEDTO properly tune and adjust radars to maintain an accurate picture of other ships in the area. s7ATCHSTANDERSPERFORMINGPHYSICALLOOK OUTDUTIESDIDSOONLYON Fitzgerald’s left side, not on the right side where the three ships were present with risk of collision.


s3UPERVISORSANDWATCHTEAMMEMBERSONTHEBRIDGEDIDNOT communicate information and concerns to one another as the situation developed.


s4HECOMMANDLEADERSHIPALLOWEDTHESCHEDULEOFEVENTS preceding the collision to fatigue the crew.


The commanding officer was


in his cabin at the time of the collision. ACX Crystal’s bow directly struck his cabin, located above the waterline. The impact severely damaged his cabin, trapping him inside. A junior officer and two chief


petty officers removed debris from in front of the door and crawled into the cabin. The skin of the ship and outer bulkhead were gone and the night sky could be seen through the hanging wires and ripped steel. The rescue team tied themselves together with a belt in order to create a makeshift harness as they retrieved the commanding officer, who was hanging from the side of the ship.


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