Someone is not going to get their flag

Wow, I didn't know they had raised this, I thought it was sunk during the Japanese attack in 1941, or at least severely damaged according to the 2001 movie...

 

nope, it just ran aground. lol.

 

Port and Starboard for the Black Gang.......

 

In the words of that great naval officer, Captain Homer J Simpson, "D'ho!"

 

This is NOT going to look good on his resume....

 

Navy Takes Off Fuel, Water, People to Lighten Missile Cruiser
Sunday, February 08, 2009

HONOLULU — The Navy offloaded fuel, water and personnel from a grounded, $1 billion guided missile cruiser so tugboats and a salvage ship can try again early Sunday morning to free it from a rock and sand shoal.

The USS Port Royal ran aground on Thursday evening, about a half-mile south of the Honolulu airport where it was visible from several vantage points on Oahu.
No one was injured and no oil or other contaminants have leaked, said representatives of the Navy and Coast Guard, as well as state officials.

At a press conference, Rear Admiral Joseph Walsh, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the ship is structurally sound. But he added that a thick, underwater rubber encasement that surrounds sonar equipment at the bow has taken on seawater.

A barge received fuel and fresh water from the Port Royal on Saturday, which Walsh said should make the grounded vessel approximately 200 tons lighter. The 9,600-ton warship will also be an additional 15 tons lighter because half the crew of 360 is on shore.

Another reason for moving half the crew was that the ship's air conditioning was not functioning because the vent through which seawater is drawn to cool the system is blocked as the ship sits on the shoal, Walsh said.

A lighter Port Royal, combined with a peak high tide and the pulling power of an oceangoing tug, some smaller harbor tugs and the salvage ship Salvor, should do the trick when a third effort is made to free the ship around 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, Walsh said.

"The issue becomes one of how much weight is on the ship versus our ability to pull that weight off of the reef," Walsh said.

Two previous efforts on Friday and Saturday mornings using harbor tugs that tried to pull the ship backward and away from the shoal were unsuccessful.

The 15-year-old Port Royal had just ended a four-month routine maintenance visit to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and was finishing the first day of sea trials when it ran aground at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday.

"The ship was maneuvering to off-load some of the sailors and some of the contractors and shipyard personnel, and she was in her normal spot for doing those types of small-boat transfers," Walsh said.

He added later that the shoal was known to the Navy. "Clearly, the ship is not where the ship should have been. The investigation will determine exactly why the ship got to the point where she was in shoal water," Walsh said.

The Port Royal is sitting in about 22 feet of water, aground along the length of her port side on a bed of sand and rock of the type that was used to construct one of the nearby airport's runways, Walsh said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,489590,00.html

 

It seems that the Navy takes that getting their ships stuck in the mud seriously.

 

It's obvious that the crew was entirely at fault and this whole unfortunate incident was the result of the crew undermining his authority.

 

Sounds like something from "The Caine Mutiney." More than likely the official report would reflect your assessment too.

 

Double post

 

I am glad someone caught that. LOL

 

Hawaii pursues Navy over reef damage from warship


By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 2, 12:48 am ET

HONOLULU – Hawaii officials said Wednesday they plan to seek money from the U.S. Navy for environmental damage to a coral reef caused by a warship that ran aground in February.
The state said it would file a claim in Admiralty Court for the damage and cost of emergency restoration for the reef, which dates back hundreds of years. Hawaii would also seek money for other coral habitat restoration projects. Officials did not specify a dollar amount, which would be decided by the court.
Laura Thielen, chairwoman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, told the Navy of the state's intentions in a letter Tuesday to Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald, judge advocate general, in Washington.
The 9,600-ton USS Port Royal ran aground Feb. 5 about a half-mile offshore near Honolulu. It sustained between $25 million to $40 million in damages while lodged on top the reef in about 14 to 22 feet of water in an area "clearly marked on all navigational charts," Thielen's letter said.
"There is a critical need for the U.S. Navy to mitigate the damage which has occurred, which continues to occur, and which will get worse with the upcoming south summer swell," Thielen wrote. "We urge the U.S. Navy to commit appropriate resources to rescue disturbed or destroyed coral, remove or stabilize rubble, and protect loose live coral."
In a statement, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said it planned to meet with state officials Thursday about a coordinated plan to fix the damage. The Navy's assessment of the damage was only recently completed, the fleet said, and they have been trying to do a detailed analysis of the data before proposing a plan to fix it.
The ship left a main gash through the reef covering about 1,600 square yards. The full extent of the damage has not been determined, but it is estimated to cover about 5,500 to 8,700 square yards.
Thielen described it as a complex, ancient reef, with coral colonies that took hundred of years to take form and provides shelter and feeding grounds for many different species.
The $1 billion ship is currently in dry-dock at its home port of Pearl Harbor for repairs.
The Navy hasn't said what caused the grounding. An investigation is ongoing, and the Navy relieved the ship's commanding officer, Capt. John Carroll, of his duties in the meantime.