Dismantling the USS Guardian

[Fly320s]

Photos:

http://leenks.com/gallery2111.htm

Link is SFW, other links at that site are not.

[geronimotwo]

me want one of those chainsaws! 

why would this be done over a reef? 

[Fly320s]

me want one of those chainsaws! 

why would this be done over a reef? 

That was the ship that ran aground on the reef. The US determined it would be less detrimental to the reef to dismantle the ship rather than tow it off.

[Gewehr98]

Well, the U.S. and Philippine Government who owned the reef, that is.   

[drewtam]

Was the Captain ever court martialed or the Navy equivalent?

[MillCreek]

Was the Captain ever court martialed or the Navy equivalent?

I don't think so.  They think it was a mapping error and the charts were incorrect.

[BobR]

Was the Captain ever court martialed or the Navy equivalent?

No, he is now the skipper of the USS Warrior, another Avenger class mine sweeper.

bob

[Gowen]

I was showing this to my wife and her first reply was the reef won?!?  Then she says our Guardian has been dismantled?  My answer was yes. 

[drewtam]

I don't think so.  They think it was a mapping error and the charts were incorrect.

The story I read was that despite the mapping/charting error, the local Filipinos were broadcasting warnings to the ship to turn aside, as they were getting too close to the reef. The US Navy was apparently too arrogant to heed warnings from know-nothing locals. And apparently too arrogant to look out side or turn on a sonar.

This side of the story reminds me of a joke...

US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.
CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!
US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!
CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/nav_legacy.asp?id=174

[K Frame]

Wow. That aerial shot shows that this wasn't a grounding, it was a frigging beaching.

[geronimotwo]

i can't imagine they didn't have a depthsounder running all the time.

[Jamisjockey]

i can't imagine they didn't have a depthsounder running all the time.

Not sure about some fancy navy equipment, but depth sounders look down.  That looks like a sudden reef edge.  At speed, you'd hear the crunch of the hull as the depth finder told you it was too shallow.

[RoadKingLarry]

Not sure about some fancy navy equipment, but depth sounders look down.  That looks like a sudden reef edge.  At speed, you'd hear the crunch of the hull as the depth finder told you it was too shallow.

I don't know about the mine sweepers but we had fathometers and other depth sounding equipment that looked forward, down, sideways and even had equipment to look up that not only measured distance but also the thickness of the ice we were under.

[kgbsquirrel]

I don't know about the mine sweepers but we had fathometers and other depth sounding equipment that looked forward, down, sideways and even had equipment to look up that not only measured distance but also the thickness of the ice we were under.

Iwo only had a down-facing fathometer. Surface ships generally aren't concerned with the 3 dimensional space below them. Just "is it deep enough for me to go there?"

[Jamisjockey]

I wouldn't be surprised if a minesweeper had something designed for looking forward, though.

[Waitone]

Disgusting waste of taxpayer money all in the name of the environment.something that will regenerate itself if left alone.

[Jamisjockey]

Disgusting waste of taxpayer money all in the name of the environment.something that will regenerate itself if left alone.

Who cares about some Phillipino reefs, anyways? They've probably fished the *expletive deleted*ing thing out.   

[BobR]

Who cares about some Phillipino reefs, anyways? They've probably fished the *expletive deleted* thing out.   

The reefs are an excellent source of tropical fish for the aquarium trade. They use cyanide to stun the fish, and then the cyanide settles on the reef and kills the coral.

Of course, if they can't afford the cyanide, they go the old fashioned route:



The coral reefs in the PI are probably in the worst shape of anywhere in the world.

bob

[HankB]

". . .  less detrimental to the reef . . . " as a reason to destroy rather than recover a Navy ship is the sort of idiocy that makes me despair for the future of this country's military.

Almost as bad as delaying the trial of Major Nidal Hassan for MONTHS over the "issue" of whether he should shave or not.

(Is the whole bleeping command structure full of buffoons, or does it all flow from the CinC?)