The more I think about this incident, the more questions I have.

1. If the cause really is due to the volume of vessels transiting the anchorage why were there not a vast number of binocular equipped lookouts on duty? Like a few hundred. I bet the sailors who almost never see topside (e.g., head cleaners, trash handlers, black gang) would have volunteered to be a deck lookout for an hour.

2. How do you miss the fact there is a large ship headed toward you when you are one of the most technologically advanced vessels on the seas? And then when those technologies failed (likely due to operator and OOD failures), why didn’t human lookouts pipe up? The horizon, even at night, is at least 12 miles away. That’s a long way off giving ample time to see and avoid the impending collision.

This story continues to prompt questions that hopefully Secretary Hegseth gets answers to, and then publishes the unvarnished truth, no matter how embarrassing it is to each individual, from Seaman Second to the Captain, involved, the ship, the Task Force, the Navy, DoD, and the USG. Only that level of diligent analysis will reduce the possibility of this happening yet again.

Here's a couple of articles from NavyTimes.com about the USS Fitzgerald colliding with a container ship in 2017:

The ghost in the Fitz’s machine: why a doomed warship’s crew never saw the vessel that hit it By Geoff Ziezulewicz

Worse than you thought: inside the secret Fitzgerald probe the Navy doesn’t want you to read

The first article highlights the how in the Fitzgerald's case.

And Here’s the Fitzgerald CO’s side of the story.

World’s largest nuclear Navy. And they still run into shit.

USS Harry S. Truman CO Removed From Command Following Collision with Merchant Ship

by Sam LaGrone
February 20, 2025 1:30 PM

The commander of the aircraft carrier that collided with a merchant ship off the coast of Egypt last week has been removed from command, USNI News has learned.

Capt. Dave Snowden was removed from command of USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on Thursday, according to a Congressional notification reviewed by USNI News and confirmed by a Navy official.

According to the notification, Snowden was removed due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command following the Feb. 12 collision between Truman and the merchant vessel MV Besiktas-M off the coast Egypt, near the entrance to the Suez Canal.

The late night collision damaged the aircraft carrier, piercing the hull above the waterline on the starboard quarter of the ship and damaging a sponson located aft of its starboard elevator. No injuries were reported...

Complete article:

https://news.usni.org/2025/02/...n-with-merchant-ship

Looks like it's time to get the 7018 out of the oven. Things need fixing.

An unfortunate reality with command. Bend or tear the ship in any way not related to combat, expect to be canned.