Navy officer blamed for RSS Courageous accident
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http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/latest/story/0,4390,181215,00.html?
SINGAPORE -- A Republic of Singapore Navy officer has been found responsible for a fatal collision earlier this year between the RSS Courageous and a massive container ship that killed four, the port authority said on Friday.
Lieutenant Ng Keng Yong made 'errors of judgment' on Jan 3, when he instructed a trainee to manoeuvre the RSS Courageous into the path of a Dutch-owned cargo ship, said Senior Director of the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) Lee Seng Kong.
The ports authority revealed the findings of its three-month-long investigation into the collision between the RSS Courageous, a 500-ton submarine hunter, and the cargo ship ANL Indonesia in the eastern Singapore Straits off Pedra Branca.
The accident killed four servicewomen and left eight other officers injured. One of the servicewomen was never found, and is presumed dead.
The incident was described by former Chief of Navy Rear- Admiral Lui Tuck Yew as the worst naval accident in Singapore's history.
Lt Ng was guiding a trainee, fellow officer Lt Chua Chue Teng, who was in control of the boat at the time of the collision.
According to RSN regulations, the officer-of-the-watch - in this case Lt Ng - was in charge, and not the trainee.
'By not intervening, the officer of the watch had shown that he was either not fully aware of the situation around him or had wrongly agreed with the actions and instructions given by the trainee...thus he had either failed to keep a proper watch or had made similar errors of judgment as the trainee,' said the report.
The report also said that the collision was not due to failure of machinery or equipment, fatigue of crew members or weather conditions.
Mr Lee said the findings would be sent to the state coroner.
'It's up to the coroner and the public prosecutor to decide what measures to take,' he said.
Defence Ministry concurs with findings
Defence Minister Tony Tan told reporters on Friday that his ministry agreed with the MPA's finding that the incident was the result of an error of judgement, and that it was next up to the coroner on the measures to be taken. -- AP
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The sequence of events
AT about 11.20 pm on Jan 3, both the navy ship RSS Courageous (RC) and the merchant ship ANL Indonesia (AI) were headed in the same north-easterly direction in waters off Pedra Branca. The AI was behind RC.
RC made a U-turn to avoid leaving Singapore waters and its patrol limits, said one of the investigators. AI, which had the RC in its radar, assessed that the smaller vessel that was coming at it would pass safely on its port (left) side.
But the RC altered course to port at 11.30 pm, putting it on a collision course with the AI. At this point, the vessels were 1.7 nautical miles (3 km) apart.
In the next three minutes, the RC made two further alterations of course to port.
At about 11.33 pm, the AI altered its course to starboard (right) to give the RC a wider berth, that is, to increase the passing distance between the two ships.
A little after 11.33 pm, while the AI was turning to starboard, its crew saw the starboard sidelight of the RC, which meant that RC had altered course to port. Once again, AI altered course to starboard.
At 11.34 pm, the RC made an alteration of course to port again and sped up. By then, the distance between the two vessels was down to 0.8 nautical mile (1.4 km). AI sounded a prolonged blast on its horn to alert the RC.
At about 11.35 pm, the RC made a helm order of 'hard-a-port' and gunned its engine at full throttle. The vessels collided at just after 11.35 pm. -
wah this 1 guy's fault.....wah he die liao......
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it's a mistake by navy itself..
they overloaded the ship... with trainees and they let the trainees control the ship...
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the damage he's gotta pay for is gonna be so unfunny
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the armed forces are understuffed lah.....come on they despo for ppl leh...go ask Xav!Originally posted by IamAngeline:it's a mistake by navy itself..
they overloaded the ship... with trainees and they let the trainees control the ship... -
i not sure but it is what one of my navy regular friend told me... whether a fact... also duunoOriginally posted by |-|05|:the armed forces are understuffed lah.....come on they despo for ppl leh...go ask Xav! -
ya alot of trainees cuz no ppl wanna join and stayOriginally posted by IamAngeline:i not sure but it is what one of my navy regular friend told me... whether a fact... also duuno -
icc. sorry i dun mean it.. just tot it might be fact to shareOriginally posted by |-|05|:ya alot of trainees cuz no ppl wanna join and stay
gtg byebye -
huh?Originally posted by IamAngeline:icc. sorry i dun mean it.. just tot it might be fact to share
gtg byebye -
The news at ST/CNA is a watered-down version of the report.
See the in-depth report from Maritime Port Authority of Singapore here:
http://www.mpa.gov.sg/homepage/pressreleases/030404.html -
No, it is not. Posting the text as well as the link serves the following purposesOriginally posted by Spetznaz:how come some ppl like 2 post da link at da same time post da whole article???
isnt it redundant???
- Acts as credit given for the source of the information.
- Helps us know whether we're dealing with a printed story or an unsubstantiated rumour
- In the case of websites, internet users without appropriate plug-ins can access info via the forum w/o having to go to the site
- Allows the information to be still available for use even if the link would be outdated (common in the case of frequently updated news websites) -
Wha I wonder what the will do to the poor officer?
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I must stressed that the vessel was not overloaded at that time. The ship crew number at the time of collision was standard. The trainee officer of the watch is called the 2nd OOW and it is the navy practice to let the 2nd OOW have the con of the ship under the supervision of the actual OOW. This form of training is extended to all vocation and ranks within ships. This is the best possible way of training people for no amount of simulation can be a subsitute for real sea experience. This incident should not be used as an indictment of systemic failure within the organisation but is rather a case of INDIVIUAL negligence.Originally posted by IamAngeline:it's a mistake by navy itself..
they overloaded the ship... with trainees and they let the trainees control the ship... -
it's called referenceOriginally posted by Spetznaz:how come some ppl like 2 post da link at da same time post da whole article???
isnt it redundant??? -
sign a 1206Originally posted by SingaporeMacross:Wha I wonder what the will do to the poor officer? -
I think he will feeling very bad. Four people die bcos of his overlook.
Think he will go DB..
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speaking of which... is the Courageous a write-off or are they gonna repair it?Originally posted by AzRaeL:sign a 1206 -
he will be court martial
and the ship will be write off -
poor sailor...Originally posted by Arena:he will be court martial
and the ship will be write off
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Military sgboy2004 -
I think it will a few yrs in jail if guility as charge.
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i say poor ship... headed for the scrap-yard no thanks to one careless orcifer.Originally posted by sgboy2004:poor sailor...
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Military sgboy2004 -
CX,
i don't know what ypu personally think of orcifers
but the MPA report does bring up a LOT of questions with regards to operation guidelines..
having said that.. that is one hell of a big 1206.
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What does orcifers means?Originally posted by chainsawieldinun:CX,
i don't know what ypu personally think of orcifers but the MPA report does bring up a LOT of questions with regards to operation guidelines..
having said that.. that is one hell of a big 1206. -
iOriginally posted by fugue:What does orcifers means?
i think means officers.