The captain of the cargo ship that collided with the U.S. destroyer Fitzgerald earlier this month said in a report that the U.S. warship failed to respond to warning signals or take other evasive maneuvers, Reuters reported Monday.
The collision early on June 17 off the coast of Japan killed seven sailors. They were still in their living quarters at the time of the impact.
The cargo vessel's skipper, Capt. Ronald Advincula, submitted a report to the ship's owner, Dainichi Investment Corporation. The captain's statement alleges that the container ship, the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, had "signaled with flashing lights after the Fitzgerald 'suddenly' steamed onto a course to cross its path," according to the Reuters article.
The Crystal steered hard to starboard to avoid the destroyer, but hit the Fitzgerald 10 minutes later at 1:30 a.m., according to Advincula's report that was seen by Reuters.
The Fitzgerald sustained damage to its starboard side in the collision, which initially trapped the commanding officer in his quarters.
The U.S. Navy declined to comment and Reuters states it has been unable to verify the account.
The time of the collision remained murky in the days following the fatal collision. The Navy initially placed the time of collision at 2:20 a.m. local time.
Japanese coast guard officials later revised the time of the collision to 1:30 a.m. after interviewing Crystal crew, last week.
A tracking of the Crystal's route by the vessel-tracking service MarineTraffic showed the massive container ship made a sudden turn as if trying to avoid something at about 1:30 a.m. before continuing eastward and making a U-turn before returning to the collision area at about 2:30 a.m., the AP reported.
As several U.S., Japanese and Philippine investigations into the crash get underway, what remains unclear is how the hulking cargo ship was able to get that close to the advanced, Arleigh Burke-class Fitzgerald.
"It’s virtually unprecedented," Lawrence Brennan, a retired Navy captain who now teaches admiralty law at Fordham University's School of Law, said last week. "For two large ships, both operated by world-class shipping companies, to be in waters where they should expect traffic and not see each other, boggles the imagination."
Geoff Ziezulewicz covers the Navy for the Military Times. Contact him with tips and feedback at geoffz@miltarytimes.com, or on Twitter at @JournoGeoffZ.
Geoff is the managing editor of Military Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.
