United States Navy almost blows Clyde Ferry out the water

imported_Fluffy_Bunny

Saw this being discussed over at the Royal Navy forums & couldn't resist as the idea of this little, dinky, boat facing a US Warship is quite funny biggrin: Apparently theres a 'right of way' rule for ships passing each other & the only reason the ferry got close to the warship is because it had the right of way to pass. Mark you, what with the inicident with USS Cole & the current crisis I can hardly blame the crew for being a bit trigger happy. But the Clyde isn't exactly the Red Sea... eek: Every vessel in the vicinity would have been tuned on to Channel 16 as it's the emergency radio freq, it must have been quite interesting to hear the radio broadcast.

[url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=us-navy-declare-war-on-clyde-ferry&method=full&objectid=17980625&siteid=66633-name_page.html:5bce6]link[/url:5bce6]

[quote:5bce6]US NAVY DECLARE WAR ON CLYDE FERRY
Exclusive By Cara Page
THE skipper of a tiny Clyde ferry feared his boat was going to be blown out of the water by a US warship yesterday.

The Kenilworth was sailing from Kilcreggan to Gourock when the American threatened to open fire.

The US ship had just set out from the nearby Faslane Navy base when it radioed the warning.

A source said: "The ferry skipper was just toddling across to Gourock when he got a call on the radio.

"A departing US naval ship warned, 'Unidentified vessel approaching on my starboard side, please identify yourself. If you fail to do so, we will open fire on you with live ammunition.'"

The source added: "The skipper got a real fright and radioed him back, saying he was just a wee ferry.

"If you've got a big battleship loaded with guns bearing down on you and threatening to shoot, it's quite scary."

The incident happened at 9.40am on the first day of a massive international training exercise - Operation Neptune Warrior - off the west coast of Scotland.

The first phase involved ships and submarines fighting off simulated terrorist attacks by small boats and jetskis manned by Royal Marines.

But unknown to the US crew, the Kenilworth, owned by Clyde Marine Services, was also in the vicinity.

In addition to threatening to blow it out of the water, the US ship also ordered the Kenilworth, built 70 years ago, to give it a wide berth of 1000 yards.

The shaken skipper put as much space between him and the warship as he could in a 10-minute crossing.

The messages were broadcast on VHF channel 16, which is the international calling and distress frequency.

Naval operations normally take place on secure channels which other maritime traffic cannot listen in to.

The source said: "A warning like that should not be broadcast on Channel 16 unless it is a real situation."

The ferry, carrying around a dozen passengers, arrived safely in Gourock before continuing its timetable.

A spokeswoman at Faslane confirmed the incident but said it was unclear who had been threatened.

She said six ships left the Clyde, including a US destroyer and frigate.

She said: "One of the US ships challenged a vessel to identify itself and its intentions and used channel 16 correctly for navigational safety reasons.

The ferry identified itself and was requested to keep a 1000-yard clearance which it complied with.

"The warship then issued a warning, threatening to take action. But it's unclear who they were trying to identify, as there were a number of ships nearby.

"The ferry heard this and identified itself. But channel 16 was wrongly used.

It should have been on an excercise frequency."

But she insisted: "There was absolutely no danger to the ferry or its passengers."

She said Commander Don Chalmers, the deputy director of the Joint Maritime Operational Training Staff, who organised the excercise, had apologised to the skipper.

She added: "All participants have been briefed on the correct procedures, to make sure it doesn't happen again."

A spokesman for the Clyde Coastguard said: "We are reviewing the incident and looking at radio logs."

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v150/roghead/2002_0724_104757AA.jpg[/img]

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Pyro · 11-02-2006, 12:55 PM

Typical.

Arkan · 11-02-2006, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro

Typical.

So was your response.

Anyway, getting back on topic.....Even though the smaller ferry may have had the "right of way", sometimes the size of the vessel matters most. I'm sure the ferry could out manuver the ship, thus making the ship having the "right of way". When i'm boating, sometimes i'll yield to a larger vessel because it would be harder for them to steer clear of me. And after the cole, who could blame the ships captain? At least he gave a radio warning.

CoMaToSe · 11-02-2006, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro

Typical.

....

Vance · 11-02-2006, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro

Typical.

Yeah, it's better not to worry about past incidents at all. It's not like they could ever happen again.

Simo Häyhä · 11-02-2006, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyro

Typical.

you're a fucking moron did you know this?

elstatec · 11-02-2006, 04:37 PM

fucking knobs.

Doctor Duffy · 11-02-2006, 04:49 PM

I say we go to war with england over this.

imported_Fluffy_Bunny · 11-02-2006, 05:04 PM

That means u gotta kill the bitch in yer sig, now thats psychological warfare. ed:

elstatec · 11-02-2006, 05:05 PM

What the US Warships captain apparently saw;

[img]http://jesusburger.net/upload/clyde.jpg[/img]

Chronic Diarrhea · 11-02-2006, 05:09 PM

[quote="Fluffy_Bunny":e45df]That means u gotta kill the bitch in yer sig, now thats psychological warfare. ed:[/quote:e45df]

I lol'd.

Mr.Buttocks · 11-02-2006, 05:56 PM

The assheads in the warship should count themselves lucky that the captain didn't pull alongside and chew through their hull.

Nyck · 11-02-2006, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elstatec

What the US Warships captain apparently saw;

[img]http://jesusburger.net/upload/clyde.jpg[/img]

try this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uss_cole

get your facts straight you limey cunt
[quote:e0c7b]On 12 October 2000, under Commander Kirk Lippold, the Cole was attacked from a small boat by suicide bombers, while it was harbored in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 were injured.[/quote:e0c7b]

and

[quote:e0c7b]The USS The Sullivans attack plot

In Yemen, members of the group planned to bomb USS The Sullivans with a boat laden with explosives. Militants deployed a bomb-laden boat on January 3, 2000, but the over-loaded bomb boat sank before detonating[/quote:e0c7b]

c312 · 11-02-2006, 06:24 PM

Nyck, you obviously didn't get the memo about the US being wrong about everything....

Nyck · 11-02-2006, 06:29 PM