Be very when the US Navy's around

Indeed it is. So here’s another pop quiz: we should be very WHAT when the US Navy’s around?

Wary? Scarce? Conspicuous?

There was an era when naval seamanship was excellent. Now it is usually only conspicuous by its absence. The ship’s no 2 (the Executive Officer) excuses his and his fellow senior officers’ refusal to take a test on the colregs just two weeks after the event on the grounds that as they’d been on unrelated duties, they hadn’t been thinking about the colregs for that fortnight. That betrays their attitude to seamanship: it’s something you just bone up on when you are required to, and a beginner’s level of familiarity is not just normal, it’s all that should be expected.
 
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Ship travel is governed by the “rules of the road,” a set of guidelines regarding speed, lookouts and other best practices to avoid collisions, but Fort’s report casts doubt on whether watchstanders on board the Fitz and sister warships in the 7th Fleet had sufficient knowledge of them to safely navigate at sea.

About three weeks after the ACX Crystal disaster, Fort’s investigators sprang a rules of the road pop quiz on Fitz’s officers.

It didn’t go well. The 22 who took the test averaged a score of 59 percent, Fort wrote.

“Only 3 of 22 Officers achieved a score over 80%,” he added, with seven officers scoring below 50 percent.

The same exam was administered to the wardroom of another unnamed destroyer as a control group, and those officers scored similarly dismal marks.
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I seem to recall that monthly written IRPCS tests are mandatory for RN watchkeepers. The pass mark for the CO and XO and Navs is 100%.

Just sayin...
 
Every one was well aware when a USS had entered the western approaches on e day in the 90s, they were calling every ship up to 12nm ahead to organise passage.

One day USS Stark called the CG with a medivac problem, officer with kidney stone pain. SAR from Culdrose, you could almost hear them slip into top gear. About 15 minutes later Stark was asked could their helideck take a Seaking? Er, Yes, slightly bemused. OK, with you in a three minutes. After about 40 minutes the casualty was comfortable and sitting up in bed in 'Treliskey?' as the OOW tried to repeat. Later the OC called the CG in a pretty much gobsmacked tone of voice to say thanks and "Gee, that's really well done". "What? Oh, phooey, all part of a normal day's work".
 
BelleSerene said:
Indeed it is. So here’s another pop quiz: we should be very WHAT when the US Navy’s around?

Wary? Scarce? Conspicuous?

There was an era when naval seamanship was excellent. Now it is usually only conspicuous by its absence. The ship’s no 2 (the Executive Officer) excuses his and his fellow senior officers’ refusal to take a test on the colregs just two weeks after the event on the grounds that as they’d been on unrelated duties, they hadn’t been thinking about the colregs for that fortnight. That betrays their attitude to seamanship: it’s something you just bone up on when you are required to, and a beginner’s level of familiarity is not just normal, it’s all that should be expected.
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Oops, I hadn't even been drinking - Scared
 
I remember seeing in a posting here that while naval vessels are not obliged to follow the Dover TSS, almost all of them do. The exception being the Yanks, who cheerfully hurtle across or against the flow, forcing everybody else to take avoiding action.

I used to think that was down to arrogance - now simple ignorance seems more likely.
 
Have been fortunate enough to see the transits of dozens of Warships of various nationalities using the very busy Straits of Gibraltar. Every single one has used the Traffic Seperation Scheme. Including a large US fleet escorting a Carrier.

Just sayin.
 
JD, I am confused.

naval vessels are not obliged to follow the Dover TSS: Where in the IRPCS are warships excused of Rule 10 (TSSs)? Or where else under international law are they immune from the IRPCS? They are exempt from the Dover Straits reporting scheme for big ships (actually I wonder if this is what the poster was thinking of?), but by what right exempted of TSS responsibilities?

Why does the US Navy respect the Gibraltar TSS but not the Dover one?

Just sayin: So you are, but I must have missed your point?
 
capnsensible said:
Have been fortunate enough to see the transits of dozens of Warships of various nationalities using the very busy Straits of Gibraltar. Every single one has used the Traffic Seperation Scheme. Including a large US fleet escorting a Carrier.

Just sayin.
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If only us mortals could ascend just a little to such heady heights of seamanship ;)
 
Remember the old 2nd world war saying: "When the Germans open fire the British duck. When the British open fire the Germans duck. When the Americans open fire everyone ducks".
Not a lot changes.
Having said that, the cause of the collision was primarily the fault of the merchant ship but the way the USS Fitzgerald's crew kept watch appears to have been a disgrace.
 
BelleSerene said:
Jnaval vessels are not obliged to follow the Dover TSS: Where in the IRPCS are warships excused of Rule 10 (TSSs)? Or where else under international law are they immune from the IRPCS?
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I really don't know. I simply repeat what I saw here. From a retired CG, I think. I'd be quite surprised if customs and other enforcement vessels had to obey the TSS, though. Or lifeboats.

There is nothing in MGN364 about this so I have emailed the MCGA to ask.
 
BelleSerene said:
Of course. They associate more closely with that other colony of ours than with us. Silly me. Perhaps they should grow up.
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Talk about missing the point...... warships operating in peacetime conditions follow TSS.

Gib Straits are between Morocco and Spain. Neither of which have been a British Colony. :rolleyes:
 
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