Why Did a U.S. Destroyer Fail to Dodge a Cargo Ship?

Re:Why Did a U.S. Destroyer Fail to Dodge a Cargo Ship? by rsync on Saturday June 24, 2017 @02:05PM (#14626671)

"As someone with a few years experience at sea, I've never experienced this culture."

I encourage you to read the book - it makes the case that among very large ships there is indeed such a culture.

My personal experience as a sailor in the US Navy neither bolsters nor diminishes what is described in the book but I do believe that a culture of machismo and egomania can permeate the ranks.

Just because it was the officer in charge and not the actual (sleeping) captain might not make much difference.

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Re:Why Did a U.S. Destroyer Fail to Dodge a Cargo Ship? by mjlee on Saturday June 24, 2017 @02:14PM (#14626720)

I did read as much as I could from https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VC5hYoMw4N0C before commenting.

I spent years at sea as an Officer of the Watch in the Royal Navy - during that time I spoke to quite a few other watchkeepers from around the world. The attitude I encountered was always one of terror of getting it wrong rather than machismo.

I can see how in ambiguous scenarios with large cargo vessels this could lead to a collision. In a relatively nimble destroyer I'm very confident this wasn't a simple case of "I'm the stand on vessel, I won't move."

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Re:Why Did a U.S. Destroyer Fail to Dodge a Cargo Ship? by jessaustin on Saturday June 24, 2017 @02:43PM (#14626853)

Additionally, it's difficult to imagine how a boat with its AIS transmitter intentionally turned off could ever be a "stand-on" at night.

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