U.S. Navy vessels collide near Iran

[Lex]

Repair cost for sub Hartford nearly $87M

The Navy will pay another $36.6 million to repair the fast attack submarine Hartford after a collision March 20, 2009, with the amphibious transport dock New Orleans. This will bring the total repair cost to $86.9 million.

General Dynamics Electric Boat was awarded the contract April 1. It will cover the final fabrication and installation of the hull patch, bridge access trunk, port retractable bow plane and the sail. The work, which will be performed primarily in Groton, Conn., is scheduled to wrap up by November.

This is the fourth contract awarded for Hartford's repair work. Though the contracts total $139.2 million, the company was able to do the work for less than estimated, according to Bob Hamilton, Electric Boat spokesman. The previous three contracts totaled $102.6 million, but most of those funds expired Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.

The Los Angeles-class sub collided with New Orleans in the Strait of Hormuz. New Orleans, which was on its maiden deployment, suffered a 16-by-18-foot gash in its hull that ripped open a fuel tank and two ballast tanks and required $2.3 million in repairs.

Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart was relieved of command of Hartford on April 14, 2009, due to loss of confidence. A Judge Advocate General Manual investigation found an informal atmosphere, crew complacency, a "weak" command and inferior submariner skills led to the "avoidable" accident. Specifically, the navigator was listening to his iPod during a critical evolution, watchstanders were known to sleep on the job, and stereo speakers were rigged for music in the radio room.

Navy Times,
Posted : Wednesday Apr 7, 2010 13:01:27 EDT

[Lex]

Report: Lax leadership led to Hormuz collision

The navigator was listening to his iPod during a critical evolution.
Watchstanders were known to sleep on the job.
Stereo speakers were rigged for music in the radio room.

An informal atmosphere — along with crew complacency, a "weak" command and inferior submariner skills — are named as contributors to the March 20 collision between the attack submarine Hartford and the amphibious transport dock New Orleans in the Strait of Hormuz.
And according to a heavily redacted 102-page Judge Advocate General Manual investigation obtained by Navy Times through a Freedom of Information Act request, what turned into a major embarrassment for the submarine fleet was entirely "avoidable."
The collision happened just after midnight in calm seas as Hartford was at periscope depth and southbound, crossing the strait bound for a port call in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates.
New Orleans — 70 days into its first deployment — was westbound, exiting the surface transit lane of the strait. The state-of-the-art gator was entering the Persian Gulf as part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group.
The ships crashed as they intersected. Fifteen sailors on Hartford were hurt, none more seriously than during a typical swim call, according to the boat's corpsman. No one on New Orleans was injured.
The crew of New Orleans "bears no fault" for the accident, the report said.
When it was all over, Hartford would take one month to limp home to Groton, Conn., on the surface, its captain and chief of the boat both fired. Today, Hartford is still undergoing extensive repairs to its bent sail, internal components and damaged bow planes at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton. Industry experts estimate the bill to be more than $100 million.
New Orleans suffered a 16-by-18-foot gash in its hull. It would spend 53 days in Bahrain undergoing $2.3 million in repairs while stranding embarked leathernecks from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

PROBLEMS AT THE TOP
Blame for the whole debacle lands squarely with a command team on Hartford that tolerated an "informal" atmosphere on the ship, the report said.
Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart was detached for cause and chief of the boat Master Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Stefan Prevot was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 4 in the aftermath. The navigator, executive officer and weapons officer underwent nonjudicial punishment, as did 10 sailors. Also, administrative action was taken against three direct support element members assigned to Naval Information Operations Command in Georgia as well as a fleet intelligence specialist based near Washington, D.C. The report did not explain what role they played.
The report's final endorsement, by Fleet Forces Command head Adm. John Harvey, called the accident the result of "nearly 30 tactical and watchstander errors" in the hour before the collision. He also noted that the command failed to hold subordinates accountable, "and a high price has been paid for that shortcoming."
Harvey also directed the submarine force to review all collisions back to the attack sub Greeneville's fatal crash into a Japanese fisheries training boat in 2001 near Hawaii.
Vice Adm. Jay Donnelly, Submarine Force commander, spoke candidly about the mishap Oct. 28 during the annual Naval Submarine League meeting in McLean, Va.
He said the crew had just finished an intense operational phase of its deployment and "everybody let down their guard" for what was actually one of the most challenging phases, crossing the strait at periscope depth.
He also noted that more or better technology would not have helped the situation, as the sub crew knew New Orleans and another ship were nearby.

A BIGGER ISSUE
The collision illustrates the force's larger problem with contact management. An internal message sent by Submarine Force Pacific commander Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny less than a month after the collision urged commanders and commodores to boost crews' ability to track surface contacts.
"Over several months" prior to the incident, hundreds of watchstanders were tested in their ability to understand how to analyze the movement of surface contacts. The exams yielded results of 10 percent to 15 percent passing grades among enlisted watchstanders and 60 percent of officers.
"Given the attention I have personally placed on submerged contact management in briefing the waterfronts, this is unacceptable," McAneny wrote in the message obtained by Navy Times.

NOT UP TO STANDARD
At the time of the collision, the sub was southbound at periscope depth, periodically raising and lowering its periscope.
When the ships collided, the New Orleans crew felt "a shudder and rumbling." That bridge team slowed to 3 knots and launched a small boat to look for damage. The big amphib had flooding in ballast and fuel tanks and listed "1.5 degrees to starboard."
On Hartford, the crash caused the door of the control room to be jammed shut by a battle lantern, a fuel leak in the machinery room, and "light smoke" in that space and in the torpedo room.
The bow planes were not working and the periscopes would not rise. The towed array was retrieved and baffles cleared before conducting an emergency blow and surfacing 3,000 yards from New Orleans. It took the crew nearly four hours using "wedges and a portable hydraulic jack" to pry open hatches up to the bridge.
Blame is on Brookhart for failing to plan the "strait transit and crossing evolution," for failing to communicate the plan, and leaving watchstanders without "the heightened risk that should have been foremost on everyone's mind."
But the watchstanders were not up to standard to begin with, according to the report.
Control room understanding of contact management was found to be poor enough that crewmembers "routinely failed to critically evaluate the validity" of computer-generated contact information with "raw sensor data."
But as McAneny urged commanders to get their crews up to standard, the causes of the collision point to leadership. Brookhart, the executive officer and COB were together tagged with setting a command climate that lacked a "questioning attitude" that is expected in the submarine force and for fostering a "general level of complacency."
It was felt by even the youngest sailors. Helmsmen — always the newest crew — told investigators they often would "slouch in their seats with one hand on the controls," and would "take off their shoes while driving the ship."
Sailors also reported a lax attitude in the sonar division about taking breaks.
On the night of the crash, sonar operators chatted "for the majority of the time [in the hour before] the collision." An officer of the deck did not look through the periscope prior to the collision after taking over contact management duties.
The navigator, off-watch, was found to have been taking an engineering exam in the wardroom "while listening to his iPod," despite the hazardous evolution underway.
Brookhart was never in the control room during any time crossing the strait, the investigators found.
Prior to the accident, speakers had been installed in the ultra-sensitive radio room "that allowed music to be played from an iPod while on watch. This was hidden from the Chain of Command."
Perhaps most shocking was this revelation: "Many crewmembers stated there were numerous 'known' sleepers [five specific names were reiterated by the majority of those crewmembers interviewed]. Those personnel would routinely fall asleep ['nod off'] on watch, and no disciplinary action was taken."
Two of the known sleepers were on watch during the collision, the report states.
The investigating team does make a point at the end of the report to say most of the sailors on the ship were of an "absolutely superb caliber" now "hungering for effective leadership" and "eager to restore their ship's standing."

Navy Times,
Posted : Monday Nov 16, 2009 6:55:49 EST

[Lex]

Admiral: Complacency Caused U.S. Sub Collision

MCLEAN, Va. - Complacency and poor management of surface contacts led to the March 20 collision between the attack submarine Hartford and the amphibious transport dock New Orleans in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. Navy's leader of the undersea fleet.
Speaking on Oct. 28 at the annual Naval Submarine League meeting, Submarine Force commander Vice Adm. Jay Donnelly described a control room with "a lot of informality" and a "series of personnel failures" he blamed on the sub's leadership.
The collision, which happened at night, came as the sub was making a submerged transit to Jebel Ali, its last port call before heading home to Groton, Conn.
The crew had just finished an intense operational phase of its deployment and "everybody let down their guard" for what was actually one of the most challenging phases, crossing the strait at periscope depth, he said.
"There was a great deal of complacency involved in the crew," he said. "They had been at sea for 63 days operating in areas with high contact density."
After the collision, both ships limped into Bahrain, New Orleans with a giant gash in the hull and Hartford with a sail partially torn from its hull, among other damage. No one was seriously injured in either crew.
Hartford's damage was complicated and the ship is still in the yard. New Orleans rejoined the fleet from Bahrain.
The commanding officer of Hartford, Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart, and chief of the boat Master Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Stefan Prevot were both fired after the incident.
Speaking in response to a question after his prepared remarks, Donnelly said he had just spent a day on Capitol Hill last week explaining the incident to House and Senate armed services committees.
He also noted that more or better technology would not have helped the situation, as the sub knew the New Orleans and another ship were nearby.
"There were a whole host of watchstanders that failed to recognize the sensor data that was presented to them," he said.
Lessons learned are already being integrated into submariner training, he added.

Navy Times, Published: 28 Oct 2009 16:35

[Lex]

Hoeveel kost eigenlijk zo'n nieuwe sub?

Ongeveer $900 miljoen (prijspeil 2003)

[Enforcer]

Hoeveel kost eigenlijk zo'n nieuwe sub?

[Lex]

Hartford repair bill reaches $102.6 million

The Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a third major contract — this one for $65.2 million — to repair the attack submarine Hartford, the company announced Thursday. The sub collided with the amphibious transport dock New Orleans in the Strait of Hormuz on March 20.
The three contracts push Hartford's repair bill to $102.6 million.
As part of this latest contract, Electric Boat will install a hull patch and a bridge access trunk on the sub, along with a portside retractable bow plane and sail. The last two items were pre-fabricated under a previous $21.6 million contract, awarded in July. Workers will also perform selected maintenance on the sub.
The first contract, for $15.8 million, was awarded on May 21 for advanced planning on the parts.
The crash, which occurred at night just after the two ships passed through Hormuz on the way into the Persian Gulf, tore a hole in the hull of the New Orleans. That ship, which was on its maiden deployment, was repaired over a two-month span in theater, costing $2.3 million. Hartford was forced to take a month-long surface transit home.
The collision injured some members of Hartford's crew, but none was serious. The commanding officer and chief of the boat were fired after the incident.

Military Times, Posted : Friday Aug 7, 2009 13:05:54 EDT

[Lex]

Damaged sub crossing ocean, amphib in dry dock

After being out of action in the Middle East for more than a month, a submarine and amphib that collided just outside the Strait of Hormuz on March 20 have begun the next phase of their repairs.
The week of April 19, the attack submarine Hartford began a surface transit back to the U.S., and amphibious transport dock New Orleans went into dry dock Saturday in Bahrain, said Lt. Nate Christensen, a 5th Fleet spokesman.
Christensen said the mishap and safety investigations are not yet complete.

The collision occurred with Hartford submerged but near the surface as both were entering the Persian Gulf at night. The contact tore a 16-by-18-foot hole in the hull of New Orleans, ripping open a fuel tank and two ballast tanks. There was "substantial" flooding after the accident, Christensen said.

Hartford's sail was bent and partially torn off the hull. A bowplane was also reported damaged.
Both were able to limp into Bahrain.

Ship repair teams from Naval Sea Systems Command have been working on the ships since shortly after the accident.
"There were repairs made to Hartford when it was in port," he said. "They made the ship safe for transit."
By Saturday, Hartford was scheduled to have cleared the Strait of Hormuz. Christensen said he didn't know Hartford's final destination, but the ship will likely return to its home port of Groton, Conn., for repairs. Experts have said such a submarine surface transit would require an armed escort.

The Navy relieved Hartford's commanding officer, Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart, on April 14. Christensen said there have been no other personnel changes on either ship, pending completion of the two inquiries.
The ship left San Diego as part of the Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group on Jan. 9. This is New Orleans' maiden deployment.

Navy Times, Posted: Sunday Apr 26, 2009 10:53:26 EDT

[Lex]

CO of sub that collided with amphib fired

The commander of the attack submarine Hartford, which collided with an amphibious ship March 20 in the Strait of Hormuz, was relieved of command Tuesday in Bahrain, according to a Navy news release.
Cmdr. Ryan Brookhart was removed from his duties aboard the Hartford by Rear Adm. Michael Connor, commander of Submarine Group 7 and Task Force 54. According to a news release from 5th Fleet, Connor cited a "loss of confidence in Brookhart's ability to command."
Hartford collided with the amphibious transport dock New Orleans at night at the entrance to the Persian Gulf off Iran's coast. Navy officials said the submarine was "submerged but near the surface" at the time of the accident. No one was reported seriously injured and both ships limped into Bahrain for damage assessments and repairs.
New Orleans has a 16-by-18-foot gash in its hull. Hartford's sail is bent and partially torn from the hull.
Although the safety and mishap investigations into the accident are not concluded, "Connor determined that there was enough information to make the leadership change," the release said.
Cmdr. Chris Harkins, deputy commander of Submarine Squadron 8 and previous commanding officer of the submarine Montpelier, has taken command of Hartford.

Navy Times,
Posted : Tuesday Apr 14, 2009 13:06:51 EDT

[Lex]

85 graden slagzij!?  Er zijn denk ik niet veel schepen/boten dat kunnen na vertellen.

Ja roept vraagtekens op over de oorzaak. Maar als dit zo is, dan is het vermogen om zich op te richten na zo'n slagzij een goede zaak.
Voor oppervlakte eenheden ligt dat bij zo'n 60 graden. Bepaalde apparatuur bovendeks (denk oa aan radarantennes) zullen dan breken en overboord vallen, waardoor de eenheid minder topgewicht heeft en zich kan op richten.

[VandeWiel]

85 graden slagzij!?    :o

Er zijn denk ik niet veel schepen/boten dat kunnen na vertellen.

het is ook een sub he?!

[Cobra4]

85 graden slagzij!?    :o

Er zijn denk ik niet veel schepen/boten dat kunnen na vertellen.

[Lex]

Sub rolled 85 degrees after collision

Investigators think the attack submarine Hartford rolled 85 degrees after it collided with the amphibious transport dock New Orleans in the Strait of Hormuz on March 20, according to a Navy statement.
The Friday press release from 5th Fleet confirms initial chatter on how violently the two vessels collided, which occurred around 1 a.m. while the submarine was transiting into the Persian Gulf submerged but near the surface. Fifteen Hartford sailors were injured but were able to return to duty.
"Despite the roll, engineering investigations have confirmed the propulsion plant of the submarine was unaffected by this collision," the statement said. "However, Hartford sustained damage to its sail and periscope, as well as the port bow plane."
The collision punched a 16-by-18 foot hole in New Orleans' fuel tank, and two interior ballast tanks were damaged, the statement said.
Both vessels are in Bahrain undergoing repair assessments. At the same time, two investigations are underway: a Judge Advocate General Manual investigation and a safety investigation. The JAGMAN is being led by Capt. Craig Kleint, commodore of the Dock Landing Ship Class Squadron. He is joined by a post-command submarine officer and a three-person legal team.
Both investigations are expected to last 30 days, but that can be extended, the statement said.

Navy Times,
Posted : Friday Mar 27, 2009 16:44:05 EDT

[Cobra4]

Allemachtig wat een schade. Dat die toren nog overeind blijft.
Een flinke klus voor de werf.

En volgens wiki is deze boot in 2003 als eens aan de grond gelopen met miljoenen dollars aan schade.
Mocht dit waar zijn, dan is het niet echt een boot met veel geluk.

[Enforcer]

Die vaart voorlopig niet meer. Kan mij voorstellen dat die op een andere boor gezet wordt en terug gevaren wordt naar de US.

[Lex]

Gezien van achteren.



Photo: AFP/Getty Images