Two U.S. Navy vessels collide

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090320/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_us_navy_ships_collide

Damn! I hate it when this happens. First the Port Royal and now this.

 

Do they have turn signals?

 

Well I'll be darned. I opened a Yahoo News link and it didn't crash my browser.
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As much naval traffic as there is in some places, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

 

Nice

 

Having been through the straits, as well as the Suez Canal and Gibralter, on several occasions, the amount of precautions they take is actually pretty stunning. That this happened at all is a shock.

Not trying to pick apart your post, but just wanted to provide the sailor's perspective.

 

any thoughts on how this could happen?

 

Well, one key point in all this is the height of the USS Hartford when she's transiting on the surface. Even then, she doesn't present as obvious a "view" as a larger, non-submerged vessel might. Couple that with the height of the USS New Orleans and it can be more difficult.

With two surface vessels, this should never happen. But the forward lookouts on the New Orleans may, for some reason, have been unable to spot the Hartford, although that is absolutely their job.

Conversely, the lookouts on the Hartford definitely should have been aware.

The only way this usually happens is if the Hartford got boxed in by other traffic and couldn't do a sufficient course change to avoid the New Orleans.

 

And proving that if a butterfly flaps its wings in China, or whatever the hell that saying is. . .

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i5TtajgUpSm7KY5jf-lCJGHBB-tAD971QMC80

Oil prices rise after news of Hormuz collision
By GEORGE JAHN – 1 hour ago

VIENNA (AP) — Oil prices reversed course and traded higher Friday on news that two U.S. Navy vessels had collided in the Strait of Hormuz, the portal for about 40 percent of all seaborne traded oil last year

 

And of course the price of gas here went up a dime a gallon over night. No reason for that to happen at all.

 

Hell, the Ayatollah could fart and Big Oil will use it as an excuse.

 

plus, throw in the fact that once they did see each other, it's not exactly like they could slam on the brakes.

 

Lousy government can't even spring for anti-lock breaks.