HMS Barfoam at Singapore, early in World War II
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USNS Alan Shepard ran aground in Bahrain after captain left bridge to eat, investigation finds By J.P. LAWRENCE STARS AND STRIPES • May 6, 2024
A nearly 700-foot-long U.S. Navy cargo ship ran aground in Bahrain in 2023 almost immediately after its top officer left the bridge to eat dinner, a service investigation found. The decision by the master of the USNS Alan Shepard to leave the bridge and place a junior officer in charge was one of the key reasons for the ship’s grounding, according to a recently released summary of an investigation by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The incident last year on July 15 left the Alan Shepard stuck in the shoals for more than seven hours but caused only minor paint scratches on the hull and left no one injured, the investigation said. The U.S. narrowly avoided a disaster, said Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian and professor at Campbell University in North Carolina. “It could have easily resulted in the loss of the ship,” Mercogliano said by phone last week after reviewing the investigation summary. The Alan Shepard, launched in 2006, transports dry cargo and ammunition, and has accommodations for more than 120 people, according to the Naval Vessel Register. The ship is crewed by civilian mariners licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard. The ship’s master when it went aground was Adel Desouki, a civilian captain with the Military Sealift Command, according to a statement by Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, NAVCENT spokesman at the time of the incident. The ship had 85 crewmembers aboard during the grounding, Hawkins said. The Alan Shepard was moving to a pier at Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Bahrain to complete repairs to one of its marine diesel generators, NAVCENT’s investigation summary said. Bahraini port authorities told the crew to wait for a harbor pilot to guide them into the pier, the summary said. The ship transited toward a designated waiting area. At 4:49 p.m., the master of the ship handed control to the third officer, told him to stay the course and keep the ship within the waiting area. The master, the navigator and the chief mate all then left the bridge to eat dinner, according to the findings. The third officer, who was not named in the report, navigated the ship into the waiting area but became distracted by a fishing boat, the report said. He turned the ship to the right to avoid the fishing boat, but in doing so ran the Alan Shepard into the nearby shoals. Roughly 20 minutes separated the ship’s master leaving the bridge and the Alan Shepard running aground, according to the investigation summary and publicly available maritime data reviewed by Stars and Stripes. The investigation blamed the grounding on officers failing to follow navigation procedures and the ship’s master not being present on the bridge as required by policy, the summary said. The ship’s standing orders said the master is supposed to be on the bridge near shallow waters, such as those in Bahrain. “This for me solely falls on the shoulders of the master,” Mercogliano said. A ship’s master would not typically leave the bridge while sailing through Bahrain’s busy waters, said Mercogliano, who has transited the region before as a merchant mariner. “You’re asking your most junior officer to do some tight maneuvering,” Mercogliano said, adding that the master could have gotten food delivered to the bridge. NAVCENT on Monday declined to provide information beyond what was released in the investigation summary. Desouki currently holds a valid merchant mariner credential, Melissa Leake, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Coast Guard, said in an email Friday. The Alan Shepard is underway in the Middle East, according to data by the maritime monitoring site MarineTraffic.com. Ship groundings can cause significant damage to hulls, propellers and surrounding infrastructure. In 2017, the missile cruiser USS Antietam ran aground in Japan and leaked an estimated 1,100 gallons of hydraulic oil into Tokyo Bay, Stars and Stripes reported at the time. And in 2014, the frigate USS Taylor ran aground in the Black Sea, causing $4.8 million in damage and leading to the commanding officer’s dismissal. J.P. LAWRENCE J.P. Lawrence reports on the U.S. military in Afghanistan and the Middle East. He served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2017. He graduated from Columbia Journalism School and Bard College and is a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines. Read more at: https://ift.tt/PrqCKQn from JC's Royal New Zealand Navy and other Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/tN8KIzm via IFTTT via Blogger https://ift.tt/EXBVC90 May 07, 2024 at 11:44AM See all posts in full - click here https://jcsnavyandmilitarynews.blogspot.com/
ADF trials new docking facilities at Kuru Wharf, HMAS Coonawarra
NAVAL 06 MAY 2024 By: Robert Dougherty The Australian Defence Force has successfully docked one of Navy’s largest ships at HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin, for the first time, following the completion of the new Kuru Wharf. The 230-metre-long landing helicopter dock (LHD), HMAS Adelaide, recently berthed at the new facility, which is part of a wider redevelopment of Navy’s Fleet Base North, Coonawarra. Commanding Officer Coonawarra Captain David Shirvington said the first visit by an LHD was an important milestone in the development of the strategic northern maritime base. “Having the ability to berth and sustain the RAN’s largest vessel class at 28,000 tonnes alongside a naval wharf in the north of Australia enhances our ability to support and achieve impactful projection of naval effects into Australia’s primary area of military interest,” CAPT Shirvington said. “In this respect, the visit was an important stress test of the capability and has provided many lessons that can be applied to sustain further operations.” The 322-metre-long wharf includes two approach dolphins and has already received a vote of confidence from Adelaide’s executive officer Commander Nicholas Paterson. “The new Kuru Wharf at HMAS Coonawarra is a capability multiplier for the LHD,” CMDR Paterson said. “The ability to have reliable, secure berthing space in the north is important to ensure the LHD’s ability to operate in these important strategic areas. Promoted by Elexon Electronics Elexon Electronics Launches Zero-Defect Elexon2Zero InitiativeREAD MORE The Vital Case for Australia’s Sovereign Combat Management SystemREAD MORE Find the latest insights and news from our esteemed partnersREAD MORE “The infrastructure supporting the wharf is also excellent. “There are excellent staging areas for cargo and stores, the bollard placement means LHDs can securely remain alongside with very little need to adjust lines, and the state-of-the-art gangway system ensures safe, easy access, even with Darwin’s high tide ranges.” Capable of transporting up to 18 helicopters, the two Canberra Class LHDs are the largest ships ever constructed for Australia’s fleet. from JC's Royal New Zealand Navy and other Naval, Maritime or Military News https://ift.tt/qGLFAcB via IFTTT via Blogger https://ift.tt/KMiD3Pc May 07, 2024 at 11:29AM See all posts in full - click here https://jcsnavyandmilitarynews.blogspot.com/
USS NEBRASKA 1907
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USS Nebraska and USS Connecticut, 1909
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AuthorJohn Currin served 15 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy and has retained an interest in naval, marine, military and happenings around the world. Archives
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