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« Elections board rules against Republican candidates | Today | Traffic Alert: Route 95 in downtown Providence » July 3, 2008Coast Guard boat had new commander aboard / Video
The Coast Guard vessel Morro Bay was returning to its homeport in New London with a new commander aboard after a change of command ceremony in Newport when it collided with a Block Island ferry in thick fog yesterday afternoon. In a press release issued last night, the Coast Guard identified the commander as Lt. Douglas Wyatt, who took command of the vessel in a ceremony on Tuesday, the day before the incident. Wyatt, who enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1978, had been the officer in charge of the 65-foot ice-breaking tug Coast Guard Cutter Hawser. He had also served as the executive petty officer at Station Castle Hill in Newport, and in the same role on the 65-foot ice-breaking tug Coast Guard Cutter Wire. He was also the commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Fire Island, N.Y. The Coast Guard said it is continuing its investigation into the minor collision between the ferry, named Block Island, and 140-foot Coast Guard vessel, which serves as an ice-breaking tug. (It had incorrectly been described at first as a buoy tender.) A cause has not yet been determined, the Coast Guard said. Coast Guard investigators are interviewing both the crew of the Morro Bay and the ferry, and drug and alcohol tests are being conducted on ferry and Coast Guard crewmembers. No one was seriously injured in the collision, which occurred in thick fog about three miles north of Block Island, where the ferry was headed from Galilee with 257 passengers aboard. The bow of the ferry, named Block Island, was dented, and the Coast Guard vessel was left with a gash on the railing on its rear starboard side. The ferry has been taken out of service. Another ferry, the Manitou, has been brought in to replace it, according to Interstate Navigation, which operates the Block Island service. Schedules to and from the popular tourism spot remain the same as the long Fourth of July weekend approaches. Posted by Andrea Panciera CommentsMorro Bay or Moron Boy? | July 3, 2008 3:15 PM link I'VE SAILED IN HEAVY FOG MANY TIMES. AS RECENT AS LAST WEEK FROM NEWPORT TO MONTAUK. WITH RADAR AND CHART PLOTTER TO SHOW THE WAY IT'S EASY. THE RADAR SHOWS ALL SHIP IN THE AREA WITH SETTING FROM 1/4 OF A MILE TO OVER 32 MILES, AT SETTINGS THAT YOU SELECT. THIS APPEARS TO ME THAT THE FERRY HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY. THE COAST GUARD IS IN ERROR. THE FERRY WAS HIT ON THE PORT SIDE. IN THIS HEADING THE FERRY HAD THE RIGHT OF WAY. BOTH ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR NO RADIO CANTACT. SAL | July 3, 2008 4:20 PM link The CO of the Coast Guard vessel is toast. You have multiple "systems" aboard ship to prevent such a mishap: lookouts, sounding signals on the ship's whistle in a high traffic area, bridge to bridge communications, radar, slow speed, and if all else fails you drop anchor and don't move if you are not in a channel, until visibility improves. I am sorry for the new CO. But this is a no-brainer. He's toast. As we said in the Navy, "a collision at sea can ruin your whole day." Rod Haynes | July 4, 2008 12:31 AM link Yeah, well, when I was the Commanding Officer of a Coast Guard Cutter, my boss "wrote me up" as if I had bad judgement when I elected to NOT proceed in a thick fog. Remember, it IS a government agency. It IS incapable of doing the right thing. Hopley Yeaton | July 4, 2008 10:16 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
So, um, is it possible that in the fog he thought that the huge object in the distance was just an iceberg?