Tag Archives: USS Fitzgerald

NTSB 2020 Digest of Maritime Accident Investigations

NTSB 2020 Digest of Maritime Accident Investigations

The following is the National Transportation Safety Board recently released Safer Seas Digest 2020 that summarizes major maritime accidents and lessons learned including the 2017 collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) off Japan and the collision of then-under construction USS Delbert Black (DDG-119). Read More

NTSB: ‘Unexplained’ Course Change Was ‘A Critical Error’ in Fatal USS Fitzgerald Collision

NTSB: ‘Unexplained’ Course Change Was ‘A Critical Error’ in Fatal USS Fitzgerald Collision

Undated photo of USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) pierside in Japan shortly after accident. US Navy Photo

Federal investigators highlighted an “unexplained course change” by a U.S. guided-missile destroyer as “a critical error” that put the warship on the path to the fatal 2017 collision that would kill seven sailors, according to a new report released Thursday. Read More

USS Fitzgerald Returns to Sea After Repairs Caused by Fatal 2017 Collision

USS Fitzgerald Returns to Sea After Repairs Caused by Fatal 2017 Collision

USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) departs Huntington Ingalls Industries – Ingalls Shipbuilding’s Pascagoula shipyard to conduct comprehensive at-sea testing on Feb. 3, 2020. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated to clarify where USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) was built. The destroyer was constructed at Bath Iron Works, Maine.

After more than two years of repairs, guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) left the Mississippi coast for sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico, Navy officials announced on Monday. Read More

Former USS Fitzgerald CO Benson to Retire as Commander Next Month

Former USS Fitzgerald CO Benson to Retire as Commander Next Month

Cmdr. Bryce Benson, then-executive officer, assists in bringing down the battle ensign aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) in 2016. US Navy Photo

The former commander of a guided-missile destroyer that was involved in a fatal collision in 2017 will retire at his current rank and will be eligible for retirement and medical benefits, his lawyer confirmed to USNI News on Wednesday. Read More

NTSB: Lack of Navy Oversight, Training Were Primary Causes of Fatal McCain Collision

NTSB: Lack of Navy Oversight, Training Were Primary Causes of Fatal McCain Collision

Sailors assigned to the navigation department aboard the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) look on as the ship arrives in Singapore to provide support to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56). US Navy Photo

Almost two years after the collision between a U.S. destroyer and a merchant ship off Singapore, the first in-depth independent investigation has determined the most probable cause for the incident that killed 10 sailors was lack of adequate Navy oversight and training. Read More

Navy Adding Fifth Amphib to Japan-Based Fleet for Operational Flexibility; 1 DDG Leaving Japan

Navy Adding Fifth Amphib to Japan-Based Fleet for Operational Flexibility; 1 DDG Leaving Japan

Amphibious assault vehicles depart the well deck aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) during Exercise Dawn Blitz 2015 (DB-15).
US Navy photo.

This post has been updated to note that USS New Orleans would be the fifth amphibious ship forward-deployed to Japan. USS Germantown (LSD-42) is also homeported in Japan and was not included in the original version of this story. The future amphibious force in Japan will include two LSDs, two LPDs and an America-class LHA.

The Navy is adding a fifth amphibious ship to its forward-deployed fleet in Japan and is bringing home one of the destroyers that has been forward-deployed the longest, the service announced. Read More