Naval officers punished after deadly crash
WASHINGTON — The captain of a U.S. warship that lost seven sailors in a collision with a commercial container ship in June will be relieved of command and nearly a dozen others face punishment, the navy’s secondranking admiral said Thursday.
Adm. William Moran, vicechief of naval operations, said that the top three leaders aboard the USS Fitzgerald, which was badly damaged in the collision off the coast of Japan, will be removed from duty aboard the ship. They are the commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson; the executive officer, Cmrd. Sean Babbitt; and Master Chief Petty Officer Brice Baldwin, who as the ship’s command master chief is its most senior enlisted sailor.
The actions are being taken by Rear Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of the navy’s 7th Fleet, based at Yokosuka, Japan, because he lost confidence in the three, Moran said.
In addition, nearly a dozen crew face non-judicial punishment, Moran said, adding that details on those actions are to be announced today after they are completed.
Moran said the actions are to be taken shortly, although the navy’s investigation into how and why the USS Fitzgerald collided with the container ship in June has not yet been completed.
“Serious mistakes were made by members of the crew,” Moran said, adding that he could not fully detail those mistakes because the investigation is ongoing. He said “the bridge team,” or the sailors responsible for keeping watch on the ship’s bridge to ensure it remains safe, had “lost situational awareness,” which left them unable to respond quickly enough to avoid the disaster.
The crash occurred in the predawn hours of June 17 off the coast of Japan in an area known for congestion. That area is within Japanese territorial waters. The seas were relatively calm and visibility was unrestricted. The bow of the container ship, the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, slammed into the Fitzgerald’s right side above the waterline, quickly flooding several areas inside the ship, including a berthing, or sleeping, area.
Of the 35 sailors who were in Berthing 2 at the time, 28 escaped. Seven drowned.
The collision knocked out external communications and cut power in the forward portion of the ship.