Lucky for them that tanker was not going all that fast and they were not really t-boned. If you want to know what happens a speed, look up the USS Frank E. Evans. Sailors died that night because of some jackass JO. (My buddy was a radioman on watch that night. As it happened, he had to take a crap and went aft. He was on the crapper when the collision occured. All in the radio shack died.)
Hmmm, it happened at 0100, I wonder if the old man was on the bridge, or was it another JO OOD who thought he was a hot shot.
Who in the heck would cross the bow of a tanker? You do not have to even see the tanker to know it is there. Where was CIC surface plot with all their fancy computer equipment. Were the RD's (or whatever they are called these days) asleep or playing some computer games? Shoot, even I as an ET knew how to look at the display of an old SPS-10 radar and plot an intercept with a grease pen.
I hate to see this s***t happen. There is no exuse for it. All I can say I is there was certainly a training issue on the ship, or is it epidemic.
So another Captain will bite the dust because of someones stupidity, maybe even his.
