“La sabiduría de la vida consiste en la eliminación de lo no esencial. En reducir los problemas de la filosofía a unos pocos solamente: el goce del hogar, de la vida, de la naturaleza, de la cultura”.
Lin Yutang
Cervantes
Hoy es el día más hermoso de nuestra vida, querido Sancho; los obstáculos más grandes, nuestras propias indecisiones; nuestro enemigo más fuerte, el miedo al poderoso y a nosotros mismos; la cosa más fácil, equivocarnos; la más destructiva, la mentira y el egoísmo; la peor derrota, el desaliento; los defectos más peligrosos, la soberbia y el rencor; las sensaciones más gratas, la buena conciencia, el esfuerzo para ser mejores sin ser perfectos, y sobretodo, la disposición para hacer el bien y combatir la injusticia dondequiera que esté.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES Don Quijote de la Mancha.
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21 de agosto de 2017
U.S. Navy Orders Global Fleet to Pause After Latest Collision
By Nafeesa Syeed
and Andy Sharp
Collision is second in months involving a U.S. warship in Asia
Navy concerned there is a broader problem ‘we’re not getting’
The U.S. Navy directed its worldwide fleet to take stock
of operations and pinpoint gaps after the second collision involving an
American naval vessel in Asia in recent months left 10 sailors missing.
The
Navy ordered fleet commanders to execute a one- to two-day “operational
pause” within the next week to look at the “fundamentals” of naval
practices, Admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, said
Monday. The pause is a time to “stand down,” but it’s up to fleet
commanders to determine what the impact on their operations will look
like, Richardson said.
Ten sailors are missing and five were
injured after the USS John S. McCain collided with a petroleum tanker
near Singapore Monday. Richardson called the crash “an extremely serious
incident,” saying he was “devastated and really just heartbroken.” It’s
the second such incident within three months -- both being “very
similar” -- and the latest in a “series of incidents” in the Pacific
Fleet, he said.
“That gives great cause for concern that there’s something
out there that we’re not getting at,” Richardson told reporters at the
Pentagon. “My hope is that we will learn, continue to improve in the
short term -- validating that we are sound on the fundamentals, and, if
not, then we’ll take action to correct that and then look at broader,
more systemic issues.”
Singapore Arrival
Search-and-rescue
efforts are under way after the McCain collided with the Alnic MC. The
U.S. Seventh Fleet said on its website that the vessel had significant
damage to its hull, resulting in flooding to compartments including
berthing, machinery and communications rooms. Following the crash, the
ship sailed under its own power to Singapore’s Changi Naval Base, the
Seventh Fleet said on Twitter.
There’s no indication yet that the
crash was intentional on either side, but the Navy continues to look
into that, Richardson added.
The collision
comes shortly after the top three commanders of the USS Fitzgerald -- a
Navy destroyer that ran into a cargo ship near Yokosuka, Japan, in June
-- were removed from their positions following an investigation that
found flawed teamwork and inadequate leadership contributed to the
accident. Seven sailors drowned in that accident.
Connecticut
Representative Joe Courtney, the top Democrat on the House Seapower and
Projection Forces subcommittee, said Congress needs to undertake
"rigorous oversight” and review the "rising trend lines of accidents.”
"Our sailors are asked to operate every day in contested
waters vital to the interests of the United States,” Courtney said in a
statement. "We need to make sure that they have the tools, training, and
support they need to do their jobs successfully and safely.”
Besides
the operational pause, over a few months the Navy will complete a
longer-term, comprehensive review of U.S. naval forces in Japan,
including looking at training and certifying readiness. The review
also will consider the Navy’s process “for developing surface warfare
community, ship-drivers” and whether that could be improved, Richardson
said. Private industry experts, such as operating systems manufacturers,
could help in that, he added.
“Thoughts
& prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnSMcCain
where search & rescue efforts are underway,” President Donald Trump
said on Twitter.
There was no report of oil pollution, and traffic
in the Singapore Strait was unaffected, the Singapore government press
center said in a statement. The collision took place in waters claimed
by Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
director Zulkifili Abu Bakar told reporters.
China hopes the
missing sailors are safe, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said
at a regular briefing in Beijing. She also expressed concern for
“dangers to freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea and the
related area, and hoped it would be “dealt with appropriately."
The USS John S. McCain is named after the father and grandfather of Republican Senator John McCain. In a tweet, the Arizona lawmaker said he and his wife were praying for the sailors and appreciated the efforts of search-and-rescue crews.
The
Malacca and Singapore straits are key choke points of the oil trade in
Asia. About 40 percent of oil shipped by water passes through the area,
as well as about a quarter of the world’s traded goods, according to the
Marine Department of Malaysia.
The
Alnic MC was chartered on Aug. 17 to ship a cargo of petroleum from
Southeast Asia to the Far East, according to ship-broker data compiled
by Bloomberg. It was supposed to load its cargo on Aug. 25.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have come under fire for stretching resources to keep up with demand for deployments.
Between
1998 and 2015, the Navy shrank by 20 percent, to 271 ships, while the
number of vessels deployed overseas remained at about 100 ships, Bryan
Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary
Assessment, wrote in a 2015 article for The National Interest. Clark concluded that each ship has to work 20 percent more to meet demand.
“The navy is maxing out limited ships and crews to do
an expanding array of jobs to keep up with security commitments here
and elsewhere,” said Collin Koh Swee Lean, a research fellow at the
maritime security program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies in Singapore. “Recent problems faced by USN such as manpower
shortages can mean the individual crew on board can spend a higher
average number of days out at sea.”