Mistakes by crew and problems with navigation technology contributed to USS John S McCain collision

On November 1st the US Navy released a report on the collision of the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain with a tanker merchant vessel.

The USS John S. McCain is named after John S McCain Sr. and John S McCain junior both of whom were admirals in the US Navy. They are the father and grandfather of Senator John McCain.

On the 21st of August this year the destroyer was involved in a collision with the merchant ship Alnic MC off the coast of Singapore. The collision resulted in the death of ten of the ship's crew and injured another five.

The accident was in part caused by an error made when switching which control console on the bridge would have control over steering. The report blames this error on poor training of the personnel involved.

However, there were also problems with the user interface (UI) of the ship's central navigation systems that played a role.

At shortly after 5 AM local time the commanding officer of the ship Alfredo J Sanchez, noticed that the Helmsman steering the ship was having difficulty maintaining its course as he was simultaneously adjusting the throttle for speed control. In response Sanchez split the responsibilities among the watch team for steering and speed control.

Sanchez shifted control of the throttle to another station. The Ship's Control Console has a wheel for manual steering but both steering and throttle can be controlled with trackballs. The adjustments will show up on a screen.

The Helmsman accidentally switched all control not just throttle control to the other control station. This caused the rudder to revert to the default position on the center line of the ship while the helmsman had been steering slightly to the right to keep on course in the ocean currents.

As a result, the ship began drifting off course. As the watch team was scrambling trying to figure out what was happening the destroyer overtook and steered across the bow of the Alnic MC.

Everyone on the bridge mistakenly thought that there had been a loss of steering. The report claims that in the confusion and commotion the bridge crew lost track of what was happening around them.

Sanchez ordered that the engines be slowed, but the helmsman only slowed the left throttle as the throttle controls on-screen were not linked because of the switch-over of control. This resulted in the destroyer continuing on a collision course with the chemical carrier Alnic MC.

Just 3 minutes later steering control was reestablished and the throttle problem corrected but it was too late to avoid the collision as the destroyer crossed in front of the Alnic's bow and collided with it.

The Navy report said that the destroyer did not have the proper type of watch on duty for navigation in congested waters. It also found that the watchstanders' training was insufficient. Both ships shared blame for the collision. The report notes:

"Despite their close proximity, neither JOHN S MCCAIN nor ALNIC sounded the five short blasts of whistle required by the International Rules of the Nautical Road for warning one another of danger, and neither attempted to make contact through Bridge to Bridge communications."

Commander of the guided-missile destroyer Alfredo Sanchez and executive officer Cmdr. Jessie Sanchez were relieved of their duties due to a loss of confidence in them according to a statement from the 7th fleet in Yokosuka Japan. Both were assigned to other duties in Japan.

The McCain accident was the fourth involving US warships in the Pacific so far this year. The report also dealt with the collision of the USS Fitzgerald in June with a merchant vessel that killed seven US sailors.

The accidents have resulted in the dismissal as well of 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin.