Arson on board a US ship.

[TheGreenGoblin]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy report has concluded there were sweeping failures by commanders, crew members and others that fueled the July 2020 arson fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, calling the massive five-day blaze in San Diego preventable and unacceptable.

While one sailor has been charged with setting the fire, the more than 400-page report, obtained by The Associated Press, lists three dozen officers and sailors whose failings either directly led to the ship's loss or contributed to it. The findings detailed widespread lapses in training, coordination, communication, fire preparedness, equipment maintenance and overall command and control.

“Although the fire was started by an act of arson, the ship was lost due to an inability to extinguish the fire,” the report said, concluding that “repeated failures” by an “inadequately prepared crew” delivered "an ineffective fire response."

It slammed commanders of the amphibious assault ship for poor oversight, and said the main firefighting foam system wasn't used because it hadn't been maintained properly and the crew didn't know how to use it. The report is expected to be released Wednesday.

U.S. Navy officials on Tuesday said that while crews at sea consistently meet high firefighting standards, those skills drop off when ships move into maintenance periods. The Bonhomme Richard was undergoing maintenance at the time of the fire.

During maintenence there are more people and organizations involved with the ship, including contractors. And the repairs often involve equipment and chemicals that present different hazards and challenges.

The report describes a ship in disarray, with combustible materials scattered and stored improperly. It said maintenance reports were falsified, and that 87% of the fire stations on board had equipment problems or had not been inspected.

It also found that crew members didn't ring the bells to alert sailors of a fire until 10 minutes after it was discovered. Those crucial minutes, the report said, caused delays in crews donning fire gear, assembling hose teams and responding to the fire.

Sailors also failed to push the button and activate the firefighting foam system, even though it was accessible and could have slowed the fire's progress. “No member of the crew interviewed considered this action or had specific knowledge as to the location of the button or its function,” the report said.

The report spreads blame across a wide range of ranks and responsibilities, from the now retired three-star admiral who headed Naval Surface Force Pacific Fleet — Vice Adm. Richard Brown — to senior commanders, lower ranking sailors and civilian program managers. Seventeen were cited for failures that “directly” led to the loss of the ship, while 17 others “contributed” to the loss of the ship. Two other sailors were faulted for not effectively helping the fire response. Of the 36, nine are civilians.

Adm. William Lescher, the vice chief of naval operations, has designated the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet to handle any disciplinary actions for military members. The Navy officials said the disciplinary process is just beginning. One official said the key challenge in making improvements will be addressing the “human factor,” including leadership skills and ensuring that everyone down to the lowest ranking sailors understands their responsibilities, and can recognize problems and correct them.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the report ahead of its public release.

Specifically, the report said failures of Vice Adm. Brown; Rear Adm. Scott Brown, the fleet maintenance officer for the Pacific Fleet; Rear Adm. William Greene, the fleet maintenance officer for U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Rear. Adm. Eric Ver Hage, commander of the regional maintenance center; Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, commander of Navy Region Southwest; Capt. Mark Nieswiadomy, commander of Naval Base San Diego; and Capt. Tony Rodriguez, commander of Amphibious Squadron 5, all “contributed to the loss of the ship.”

The report also directly faults the ship’s three top officers — Capt. Gregory Thoroman, the commanding officer; Capt. Michael Ray, the executive officer; and Command Master Chief Jose Hernandez — for not effectively ensuring the readiness and condition of the ship.

“The execution of his duties created an environment of poor training, maintenance and operational standards that directly led to the loss of the ship," the report said of Thoroman. And it said Ray, Hernandez and Capt. David Hart, commander of the Southwest Regional Maintenance Center, also failed in their responsibilities, which directly led to the loss of the ship.

The report only provides names for senior naval officers. Others were described solely by their job or rank.

More broadly, the crew was slammed for “a pattern of failed drills, minimal crew participation, an absence of basic knowledge on firefighting” and an inability to coordinate with civilian firefighters.

“The loss of the USS Bonhomme Richard was a completely avoidable catastrophe,” said U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee. He said he read the report “with shock and anger,” and will look into the matter carefully to “determine the full extent of the negligence and complacency that occurred.”

The ship was undergoing a two-year, $250 million upgrade pierside in San Diego when the fire broke out. About 115 sailors were on board, and nearly 60 were treated for heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and minor injuries. The failure to extinguish or contain the fire led to temperatures exceeding 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, melting sections of the ship into molten metal that flowed into other parts of the ship.

Due to the damage, the Navy decommissioned the ship in April. In August, Seaman Apprentice Ryan Mays was charged with aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel. He has denied setting the fire.

The blaze began in the lower storage area, which Mays’ duty station had access to, according to a court document. Investigators found three of four fire stations on the ship had evidence of tampering, including disconnected firehoses, and highly flammable liquid was found near the ignition site.

Efforts to put out the fire were hampered because the ship’s crew and other outside fire response departments and organizations were not coordinated, couldn’t communicate effectively, hadn’t exercised together and weren’t well trained, the report said.

The report, written by Vice Adm. Scott Conn, included a number of recommended changes and improvements that have been endorsed by Lescher. The Navy set up a new fire safety assessment program that conducts random inspections, and has taken steps to increase training. Nearly 170 of those inspections have already been done, and officials said they are finding good results.

The Navy also conducted a historical study, looking closely at 15 shipyard fires over the last 12 years. It found recurring trends including failures to comply with fire prevention, detection and response policies.

As a result, Navy leaders are expanding the staffing and responsibilities of the Naval Safety Center, to perform audits and unannounced assessments of Navy units. The final costs are still being calculated.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/us/navy- ... np1taskbar

[TheGreenGoblin]

On a more constructive note, a friend's company subcontracted on the work on this US naval vessel in Cape Town.

The US Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) USS Hershel “Woody” Williams has become the first such vessel to complete repairs in South Africa after undergoing two weeks of maintenance in Cape Town’s Cruise Terminal.

The US Navy said the ship received preventative and preservative repairs to the flight deck safety nets, mission deck, freeboard and superstructure, as well as the insulation and lighting fixtures and these were concluded on 11 October. The vessel arrived in South Africa on 25 September.

The Voyage Repair (VR) work packages were completed on, or ahead of schedule, marking a milestone for maintenance in new and unchartered territory for the US Navy.

The maintenance activity in South Africa also prompted the first Naval Logistic Support flight into Cape Town in support of a US naval warship.

The US Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US Sixth Fleet (Naveur-Navaf-Sixthflt) Readiness and Logistics team and US Embassy to Pretoria coordinated this logistic support through the US Air Force Europe-Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) Multinational Heavy Lift Airlift Wing (HAW), based out of Papa Air Base, Hungary. The Hungarian C-17A Globemaster III is operated by the United States, alongside 11 NATO and Partnership for Peace nations, under the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) programme.

“I am so proud of the incredible cooperative efforts between our partners in South Africa, HAW, and our team to enable this milestone resupply flight for HWW,” said Rear Admiral Michael Curran, Readiness and Logistics, Naveur-Navaf. “The accomplishment of the mission and level of coordination between the teams was nothing short of outstanding. This flight demonstrated what can be accomplished with our friends when we bring our collective capabilities together.”

The HAW provides worldwide airlift response capability for the 12 member nations. Operations can include national support to the European Union, NATO, United Nations operations, or national military, peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations. In this case, the military flight carried approximately 12 000 kg of critical medical and general material as well as mail and other items required to continue mission tasking in the southern border of the Africom and Navaf area of operations, the US Navy said.

Hershel “Woody” Williams previously visited Cape Town in February to resupply fuel and promote maritime security through a persistent presence in African waters.

“As the only ship permanently assigned to Africom, much of what we do is geared toward continuing to build ties with partner nations in Africa, and exploring how we can work together,” said Captain Chad Graham, commanding officer, Hershel “Woody” Williams. “This maintenance period was a perfect example of that, where we received mission critical repairs from a South African company, and benefitted the local economy.”

The US Navy said South Africa is an important partner of the United States in promoting peace and security in Africa. Both South Africa and the United States rely on maritime shipping, and free and secure sea-lanes for economic prosperity.

https://www.defenceweb.co.za/sea/sea-se ... -cape-town

[Pontius Navigator]

In any novel of a warship in dockyard hands the story is the same. A ship in commission is a work place and a home. In the dockyard simply a place of work.

[Boac]

USN have been doing so well, too............................

[TheGreenGoblin]

The Navy has charged a sailor with starting a fire in July 2020 that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship that became engulfed by an inferno for days as the ship was docked in San Diego, California.

On Thursday, the service announced it was charging the sailor “in response to evidence found during the criminal investigation” into the fire, which caused so much damage to the ship that the Navy decided to scrap it altogether. The service concluded in November 2020 that it would take at least five years and more than $3 billion to get the ship back up and running. It would have cost more than $1 billion to modify the ship to a different type of vessel, such as a hospital ship.

“Evidence collected during the investigation is sufficient to direct a preliminary hearing in accordance with due process under the military justice system,” said Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Navy spokesman. “The sailor was a member of Bonhomme Richard’s crew at the time and is accused of starting the fire.”

The sailor, a seamen apprentice, has been charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with allegedly violating Article 110, improper hazarding of a vessel; and Article 126, aggravated arson.

“My client adamantly denies the allegations,” said Gary S. Barthel, a retired Marine lawyer now in private practice who is representing the sailor. Barthel told Task & Purpose on Friday that he had not yet seen any evidence against his client, who was briefly detained at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar brig last year and later released. “It has been a very strenuous situation for him, as you can imagine. In time his name will come out. I don’t want to create any more stress for him.”

Navy charges sailor with starting the fire that destroyed USS Bonhomme Richard [Updated]
Sailors attached to repair locker 1H prepare to fight a simulated fire during a main space fire drill aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). Bonhomme Richard, commanded by Capt. Daniel Dusek, is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed amphibious ready group.

Robertson declined to give the name of the sailor or provide a copy of the charge sheet before the sailor went to a preliminary hearing, called an Article 32, which will determine if there is enough evidence to take the sailor to court-martial. Officials could not say when that hearing would take place.

Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, the commander of the Navy’s 3rd Fleet, is overseeing the case and “has directed a preliminary hearing at which an impartial hearing officer will make determinations and recommendations required by the UCMJ prior to any further trial proceedings – including whether or not there is probable cause to believe an offense has been committed and to offer a recommendation as to the disposition of the case,” Robertson said.

The fire began in the lower vehicle storage area of the 844-foot ship at around 8:30 a.m. on July 12, 2020, as it sat pierside at Naval Base San Diego. Hundreds of Navy and civilian firefighters worked inside the vessel as helicopters flew through Sunday evening and into Monday morning to dump buckets of water on the ship. The blaze was finally extinguished only after a grueling four-day battle to contain it ended on July 16. Dozens of sailors and civilians were injured while fighting the firestorm, which reached temperatures of 1,000 degrees.

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-sa ... California.

[tango15]

I spent a few days on a Type 42 a few years ago and one of the officers was telling me that he spent a bit of time in an exchange posting on one of the USN flat tops - can't remember which one now. Apparently there was a bank on board and a hold-up took place one day. Seemingly, the perp (or perps) were never traced, which I found astonishing, but he said the the crew numbered more than 5000, so perhaps it is not entirely surprising. I gather that after the next port of call, a couple of the crew went AWOL and were never seen or heard of again!