8/22/2017

Avoidable tragedy in the Andaman Sea

The United States Navy Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) managed to collide with an oil tanker in the Straits of Malacca on Monday morning Singapore time (Sunday in USA). 

A number of sailors are missing.  Severe damage to the McCain. 

How does this even happen?

I was thinking about the problem of naval collision back on 2 August this year, when the anniversary rolled around of the loss of PT-109 skippered by Lt. jg. John F. Kennedy in 1943.  Setting aside Kennedy's reputed heroics after the fact, how the hell does the lightest, fastest, and most maneuverable craft in the theater get cut in half by a Japanese cruiser?  Hold my beer and watch this?  What the hell, JFK?  At least he pulled one of his passengers out of the water, which is more than you can say for brother Teddy. 

Back to the McCain though:  they can make a car that parallel parks itself.  They have all the computing and technical power of the United States military.  And they can't prevent peacetime collision?  

How does this even happen? Maybe they already do have collision avoidance technology. 

"What's this blinking light, sir?"

"Oh, it always does that when we're in the Straits of Malac-- Holy F--!"


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