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Japanese cargo ship WAS on autopilot when it collided with the USS Fitzgerald - and five of the seven sailors who died in the crash were 'incapacitated' almost instantly

By Michael Fitzpatrick In Japan For Dailymail.com and Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 11:18 EDT, 23 June 2017 | Updated: 12:54 EDT, 23 June 2017 Rear Admiral Brian Fort has been named the US Navy's lead investigator into the collision

Fresh details have emerged in the deadly crash between the USS Fitzgerald and the ACX Crystal cargo ship, as Rear Admiral Brian Fort names the US Navy's lead investigator into the June 17th collision.

A defense official has confirmed earlier reports that there are indications that the Philippines-flagged cargo ship was on autopilot when the pre-dawn collision occurred, CNN reports.

The same official says that five of the seven sailors who were killed in the incident were 'incapacitated' nearly instantly, as the bow of the Crystal collapsed the berthing area where they were sleeping.

The official said that the other two sailors killed may have been trying to rescue their crew mates, 'but at some point the ship somehow lost communication' with them and they perished. Heavy damage is pictured on the US Navy missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald after it collided with a cargo ship near Japan early on Saturday morning Damage: The ACX Crystal reveals the damage caused by her collision with the USS Fitzgerald on Saturday Course: This was the approximate route of the ACX Crystal before it collided with the USS Fitzgerald on Saturday morning - both ships officially reported a crash to the Japanese Coast Guard just after 2.20am on Saturday Seven US Navy sailors were killed in the collision, authorities have confirmed. They are (top row, left to right) Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlos Victor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, CA; Gunner's Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, VA; Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, CT; and Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego, CA. Bottom row (left to right Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., from Elyria, OH; Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, MD; and Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, TX

All seven sailors were found dead in the flooded area of the ship.

The official said it may never be known whether the order to seal the hatch to the flooded compartment came while the two sailors were still alive.

The official added that the collision impacted near a communications node on the Fitzgerald, and that the crew had to resort to using satellite phones to communicate both on board and back to shore - potentially explaining the apparent one hour delay between the collision and the first report to the Japanese coast guard.




Meanwhile, Japanese investigators said Thursday that they had recovered a data recorder from the ACX Crystal, which is owned by a Japanese firm and is currently docked in Yokohama near Tokyo.

Investigators are examining the ship's movements, including its location, direction, speed and other data to determine the cause of its collision with the USS Fitzgerald early Saturday off Izu Peninsula, west of Tokyo.

'By analyzing the data, we should be able to determine the circumstances of how it crashed,' Transport Safety Board spokesman Katsunori Takahashi said.

The safety board is focusing on the cause of the collision and the lessons to be learned, while Japan's coast guard is investigating possible professional negligence in the accident.

US Navy and Coast Guard officials are investigating the destroyer at its home port, Yokosuka naval base. Official time: The Japanese Coast Guard have said that the ACX Crystal collided with the USS Fitzgerald at 1.30am before the 30,000 ton cargo vessel began to perform a large U-turn - seen in red Account: Following the collision at 1.30am the ACX Crystal was observed making a huge loop round which ended with it returning to the site of the accident with the USS Fitzgerald at 2.20am where they both reported their deadly crash

Japanese coast guard official Takeshi Aikawa said the first distress call came from the container ship at 2.25am, and it identified the other party as 'a US warship.' The coast guard immediately contacted the destroyer to ask about its damage.

The Japanese coast guard has revised its estimate of the collision time from an initial 2.20am to 1.30am after interviewing the Crystal's crewmembers and examining the ship's location.

The US Navy still uses 2.20am as the time of the collision, but U.S. military officials say they have no intention to dispute the Japanese coast guard, and that the investigation will settle the issue.

There is speculation that the Fitzgerald might have been temporarily unable to communicate because of damage from the collision, or because its crew was working frantically to keep the ship from sinking.

Rear Admiral Fort, who was named on Friday to lead the Navy's investigation, is a former commander of a squadron of six destroyers. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and the Naval War College. The victims might have been killed by the impact of the collision or drowned in the flooding, said Navy spokesman Lt Paul Newell, who led the media on a visit to get a firsthand look at the mangled destroyer. 'The damage was significant,' he said. 'This was not a small collision'

Earlier this week, a defense expert claimed there was nobody on the bridge of the cargo ship when it struck the USS Fitzgerald.

Speculation has centered on why the USS Fitzgerald and its skeleton crew was struck on its starboard side in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Under international maritime rules, the Fitzgerald would be expected to give the ACX Crystal the right of way and real-time charts appear to show the Filipino-crewed vessel was sailing on that side.

Multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations are under way on how a ship as large as the container could collide with the smaller warship in clear weather said coastguard spokesman Takeshi Aikawa. Listing: A shot of the ship's helipad shows how dramatically the USS Fitzgerald is listing after the accident

The impact of the collision crushed the starboard side of the Fitzgerald. The ship was visibly listing as it sailed into its home port in Yokosuka, Japan on Saturday afternoon.

Janes expert Watkins says that a sudden and unexplained U-turn observed on charts was performed by the ACX Crystal to see what had been hit - after human control was re-established on the bridge.

The Japanese authorities confirmed to DailyMail.com that they received the distress call from the Crystal container ship - which is crewed exclusively by Filipinos - at 2.20am local time.

But the owners, Tokyo based shipping firm NYK Line, told the DailyMail.com that the collision occurred at 1.30am.

Commercial shipping can be tracked, such as the ACX Crystal, in real time via maps on maritime websites.

Steffan Watkins told DailyMail.com that the u-turn could have been carried out to find out what had been hit. The damaged US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald is seen berthing at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo The damage to the destroyer suggests that the ACX Crystal might have slammed into it at a high speed, raising questions about communication between the two vessels in an area where as many as 400 ships pass through every day, according to Japan's coast guard The container ship was seen making a U-turn before the collision on some ship trackers, a move that has raised questions about what happened. Both Aucoin and the Japanese coast guard, however, said it was too early to determine what led to the collision

After shifting through the data of the Crystals tracks at sea Watkins has concluded the cargo carrier mistakenly blindsided the Fitzgerald as the ship was without a human pilot at the time.

According to the the tracking data 15 minutes after the presumed 1.30am collision with the Fitzgerald, the ship righted its course, and increased speed, readjusting for the change in course the collision had made.

'This is, to me, proof that a computer was driving. No captain shakes off a collision with a US Navy Destroyer and resumes course so perfectly,' said Watkins.

The company that charted the Crystal, NYK Line, confirmed to DailyMail.com that its offices received a call from to say they had hit something.

It wasn't until an hour later that the merchant ship informed the Japanese coast Guard.

'After further review of all the data and their own information (I am not privy to what sensors and transponders they might have) I'm sure the US Navy knows by now the hit was at 1.30am, but is in a difficult position to explain that time difference,' said Watkins. A screenshot provided by vessel-tracking service MarineTraffic shows a track of the route of the container ship ACX Crystal that collided with the USS Fitzgerald in the waters off Shimoda in the Izu Peninsula, southwest of Tokyo

'Not calling it in until 2.25am is unbelievable unless you consider they had no idea what they hit until 2.25am.

'It is unconscionable to think a 30,000 ton vessel collided with, and could have utterly destroyed, another vessel, and waited an hour to call the Japanese Coast Guard and report the collision.'

So far there is nothing to indicate how two well equipped vessels could not avoid one another.

Scott Cheney-Peters, division officer aboard the Fitzgerald 2006-2008, suggested the accident was down to human error. The coast guard questioned crew members of the ACX Crystal, and is treating the incident as a case of possible professional negligence, said Masayuki Obara, a regional coast guard official This screenshot shows a track of the route of the container ship ACX Crystal that collided with the USS Fitzgerald: The track of the container shipís route by MarineTraffic shows it made a sudden turn as if trying to avoid something at about 1:30 a.m., before continuing eastward. It then made a U-turn and returned around 2:20 a.m. to the area near the collision

'There's a lot that can go wrong even when the bridge team one or both ships is doing everything it can to avoid a collision. It's too early to speculate on the exact circumstances in this case so this is only to help understand the context,' he told Mailonline.

'The first thing to remember is the physics - ships can carry an immense amount of momentum with them given their size.

'Every time two ships approach each other at sea they rely on codified rules of the road to govern how they perform their delicate dance.

'But making sure they get the steps right depends on a shared understanding of the situation - which can be more difficult at night - and failing that, communication.'

The US Navy and the Japanese authorities, and NYK have declined to comment on aspects of the ongoing investigation, nor has an explanation been offered as to why USS Fitzgerald did not see the ACX Crystal coming and vice versa.

All parties have refused to discus the investigation which they say is still ongoing.

According to Japanese law suspects in criminal proceedings, such as these, can be held for at least 23 days without charge and without access to lawyers.

The coast guard declined to confirm if they were still questioning the Philippine crew and captain in Yokohama where the Crystal is now berthed. Most of the damage is below the waterline, including a large gash near the keel, Aucoin said. 'So the water flow was tremendous, and so there wasn't a lot of time in those spaces that were open to the sea,' he said adding that the accident was 'traumatic'



ACX Crystal was on autopilot in crash with USS Fitzgerald
