Whoops! USS Port Royal edition

The CO gets it. The navigator gets it. The Officer of the Deck might not get slammed, but his career's probably over at a young age. The Executive Officer may or may not be in trouble depending on what his duties were.

One person who media types probably never think to ask about, however, is the harbor pilot. They are typically civilians who assist ships entering and leaving port. Technically, they aren't in command, but when that guy says something, it usually gets done.

 

I am now amazed that we're all alive.

 

Yeah, one of those links mentioned the harbor pilot. I'm guessing the Navy has no authority in regards to that guy, but he'll probably never guide another billion-dollar ship back to port again.

 

I've never been involved in a bad situation with a pilot, so I don't know how it works in a situation like this. But the harbor pilot business is typically a pretty closed, old-boy network stretching back a long time. Tough to get into, so I don't know how hard it is to get rid of them.

 

Thanks for not launching your missiles, del.
Just sayin'.

 

I was on a fast-attack boat, so all we ever had was cruise missles.

 

But if they were pulling into Pearl Harbor wouldn't the tug drivers have been Navy guys?

 

Not necessarily. Plenty of civilian tugs used in Navy ports all over the place. I don't have any experience with bigger ships, but we never used them until we were ready to tie up to the dock (except in the Panama Canal, a whole different bag of chips). I can't imagine a ship of that size needing a tug outside the actual harbor.

 

aaaaannnnddd.... the captain has been relieved of his command pending an investigation.

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/bulletin/Fourth_try_frees_Navy_ship.html

 

Going through the Canal was a cool experience. It was neat to look into the jungle and see wild parrots sitting the trees. Every time we'd come up to one of the locks and get ready to be tied onto the little trains that pull you through, there were always a bunch of kids hanging around begging us to throw Cokes over to them.

 

Like an air traffic controller. You'd better listen to that motherfucker. He's keeping you from hitting shit.