> Based on AIS data, Besiktas-M had just transited the Suez Canal and was bound for the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania. Besiktas-M, a bulk carrier, is more than 550 feet long with a deadweight of 53,000 tons. It’s unclear who owns and manages the ship.
So I don't want to discount likely case of "just an accident" or even "the carrier messed up"... But with all the recent news of "dark fleets" (e.g. smuggling Russian oil) I have to wonder what it would look like if another country wanted to semi-deniably dent up some US military ships.
How is this possible today, with all the radars etc? Apparently the other ship wouldn’t respond - why wouldn’t the carrier move out of the way or treat the other vessel as a potential weapon? Imagine if it was an intentional collision - could have been far worse. Is this really the level of competence in the American navy?
We won't know until the incident investigation is completed but it's worth pointing out that an aircraft carrier at speed requires a lot of space to turn or stop. In a crowded area with crossing traffic all ships rely on other ships reasonably maintaining speed and direction.
For example, if they were passing each other in opposite directions in a marked channel, each ship is responsible for staying to the right of oncoming traffic. If the other ship veered into the carrier's path, it's like an oncoming car swerving across the yellow line on an undivided road.
The radar on ships is designed to detect weather, not vessels. The aircraft carriers had AIS turned off, which is the naval transponder system that would have alerted other vessels to their presence. This is similar to the helicopter crash over the Potomac, where the helicopter's transponder was turned off.
It is crucial that military vessels power off their transponders when performing covert operations, but it's even more critical to have them on, when performing normal maneuvers through high-traffic areas, and there seems to be a spate of that not happening.
The radar on ships is designed to detect all objects on the water's surface. Therefore, it is challenging for a merchant ship not to see it, particularly a warship of this size. However, it can be said that if the warship were jamming, the signals might not be possible to detect. What kind of operation was being conducted in this area that required the warship to conceal itself? Furthermore, one must question why the warship, primarily upon sighting a merchant ship, did not issue the necessary warnings or take measures to prevent the collision.
> Based on AIS data, Besiktas-M had just transited the Suez Canal and was bound for the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania. Besiktas-M, a bulk carrier, is more than 550 feet long with a deadweight of 53,000 tons. It’s unclear who owns and manages the ship.
So I don't want to discount likely case of "just an accident" or even "the carrier messed up"... But with all the recent news of "dark fleets" (e.g. smuggling Russian oil) I have to wonder what it would look like if another country wanted to semi-deniably dent up some US military ships.
Out of curiosity, went and found this:
> Ship's Name : BESIKTAS-M
> Former Name 1 : GLOBAL GALAXY
> Registered Owner 1 : BLACK HAWK SHIPPING LTD.
> Management Company 1 : SYNERGY SHIP MANAGEMENT TURKIYE PTE. LTD.
https://www.classnk.or.jp/register/regships/one_dsp.aspx?imo...
Small discussion (5 points, 6 hours ago, 6 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43040489
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TBF they didn't actually say it was a dupe, nor critique OP for posting it.
I see the stats+link as a mildly useful cross-reference.
> The merchant vessel previously collided with M/V Common Spirit
Jikes.
How is this possible today, with all the radars etc? Apparently the other ship wouldn’t respond - why wouldn’t the carrier move out of the way or treat the other vessel as a potential weapon? Imagine if it was an intentional collision - could have been far worse. Is this really the level of competence in the American navy?
We won't know until the incident investigation is completed but it's worth pointing out that an aircraft carrier at speed requires a lot of space to turn or stop. In a crowded area with crossing traffic all ships rely on other ships reasonably maintaining speed and direction.
For example, if they were passing each other in opposite directions in a marked channel, each ship is responsible for staying to the right of oncoming traffic. If the other ship veered into the carrier's path, it's like an oncoming car swerving across the yellow line on an undivided road.
Large ships crash into things more often than you'd think. Often due to either engine failure or negligence (see Costa Concordia).
> why wouldn’t the carrier move out of the way
They're not all _that_ maneuverable.
The radar on ships is designed to detect weather, not vessels. The aircraft carriers had AIS turned off, which is the naval transponder system that would have alerted other vessels to their presence. This is similar to the helicopter crash over the Potomac, where the helicopter's transponder was turned off.
It is crucial that military vessels power off their transponders when performing covert operations, but it's even more critical to have them on, when performing normal maneuvers through high-traffic areas, and there seems to be a spate of that not happening.
The radar on ships is designed to detect all objects on the water's surface. Therefore, it is challenging for a merchant ship not to see it, particularly a warship of this size. However, it can be said that if the warship were jamming, the signals might not be possible to detect. What kind of operation was being conducted in this area that required the warship to conceal itself? Furthermore, one must question why the warship, primarily upon sighting a merchant ship, did not issue the necessary warnings or take measures to prevent the collision.
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