J u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 1 7 5 9 Newsmakers U.S. Navy Photo by mass communication specialist 1st class peter burghart Peril on the Sea The USS Fitzgerald, built at Bath Iron Works, suffers a deadly collision in Japan that hits close to home. O n a clear early morning just weeks ago, US Navy destroy- er USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62), was traveling from her home port in Yokosu- ka with her American crew when she was blindsided by a collision with the ACX Crystal, a Philippine merchant container ship. Almost three times the size of the de- stroyer–weighing in at over 29,000 tons– the Crystal struck Fitzgerald with her bow, penetrating the starboard side of the Na- vy ship below her waterline. The collision claimed the lives of seven Navy sailors. Thenewssentshockwavesthroughout America–feltkeenlyinBath,wherethe USS Fitzgerald wasbuiltandlaunchedbyBath IronWorksin1994.TheDailyMailplaces theship’scostat$1.4billion.AtByrnes’Irish Pub,locatedneartotheshipyard,localsand boatbuildershavebeendiscussingtheevent atlength.“Everyoneissayinghowsaditis,”a bartendertellsus.“Regularshaveaskedactive Navysailorswhattheythinkhappened.They justsaythey’renotallowedtocomment.” “It’s a tragedy,” says Nathan Gould, Har- bormaster of Bath. “There hasn’t yet been an official report about the incident. I know that the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. mili- tary, and the Japanese Coast Guard are all doing different investigations. At this point, it’s hard to say anything conclusive.” What about the fate of the ship? “We don’t know if the Navy will decide to bring Fitzger- ald back to Bath for repairs,” Gould says. “It’s a possibility since this is where she was built. Or they may decide to just scrap the ship. But I can tell you the way the ship was designed, and the way in which the crew was trained, are what saved more loss of life. Fitzger- ald was designed well, with different com- partments that the crew was able to close off in order to stop further flooding. What do I think happened? I’ve read many online theo- ries, but there’s really no way of knowing un- less you were there.” n By Blair Best