In the case of the Fitzgerald, the ship was within sight of land and was running with only external navigation lights on when it came into contact with the ACX Crystal, a common procedure. Per the official International Rules of the Nautical Road, the American destroyer was in a so-called “crossing situation” and should have moved out of the path of the other vessel. When that didn’t happen, the container ship’s crew was supposed to do the same.
Though aware of the situation for 30 minutes before the collision, neither ship took evasive action leading up to the mishap. Minutes before the two smacked into each other, Fitzgerald’s Officer of the Deck and Junior Officer of the Deck, the former in charge of the ship’s safe navigation and the other there to assist, were still debating on the bridge whether or not change course.
At no point did any other personnel on the bridge appear to offer substantive advice, according to the review, and the ship’s captain, who was asleep at the time, was completely unaware of what was going on, a breach of protocol, until the ACX Crystal literally smashed its way into his quarters. The destroyer’s Combat Information Center, which fuses data from the ship’s radar and other sensors, never offered information or advice to the Office of the Deck.
At no point did personnel on the bridge sound a collision warning or otherwise alert the rest of the crew, many of whom were also in their bunks, of the impending danger. The accident caused such significant damage as to knock out the Fitzgerald’s external communications systems, preventing the crew from quickly calling for help, and all power to the forward spaces of the ship.
As we at The War Zone reported before, based on an initial release of information to the public, that the incident wasn’t worse is a testament to the courage of the ship’s crew in the immediate aftermath. Along with these latest reports, the Navy released a number of haunting hand drawn sketches investigators had sailors draw of how they escaped the flooding in the compartments.
