USS Guardian stuck on reef

[Kelvin Davies]

I don't think either of the above 2 posts are really relevant.
Although they blamed the electronic charts initially, the US Navy has since blamed "bad weather, wind and waves". Well, who would have expected waves? At sea?
But, charts or no charts, they compounded the error by telling the Philippines park authorities to direct their complaints to the US Embassy when they were warned (repeatedly) of their impending demise.
Kelvin

[davidships]

Couldn't agree more with N3lson and Capt Ted on the broader question od ECDIS.  But to get back to the case in hand, to me it is a different issue.  I find it hard to believe that any digital chart likely to have been used by this ship did not show these world-famous reefs in a broadly correct location.  What's the point of passage planning if the course chosen intentionally takes one unnecessarily close to (or across) a known major hazard.  Not only that, into a sea area which has had a special protected status for years, where permits are required to enter.  Or does that not appear on charts either?

All this talk about whether the electronic charts were the latest version or not looks like a weak attempt to shift the responsibility away from those who decided to go there in the first place.

David

[Captain Ted]

@ N3lsoN

Yes, I agree with you on that, some areas will have may be longer times use for paper charts. But in general they will be abolished, once all ships have double ECDIS systems
and so on. That in some instances some will still have to rely on paper charts,, sure thing !!!!
We have now on my ship rough 1500 paper charts,,they will be gone then. As for the others, we will see. Of course it,s always the action to apply the knowledge the OOW,s have.
When I tell my young officers,,Man,,look out of the window,,they look at me like I live on another planet. Navigation is today purly done (99%) by ECDIS. Even charting a position into the paper chart on approaches to ports, If you don,t tell them, they will not do it.
The wrong interpretation and the faulty ECDIS maps is another story. In the beginning the ECDIS was hailed as the" super never a accident again " thing. Then the rude awakening came. Now it takes 5-10 years to train them. While Europeans/americans etc going nice back to school, making new ARPA/ECDIS etc etc,,90% of officers coming back from their home countires with colorfull certifications and when you ask them where they made them,, it,s on a high school,,very high on a mountain !!!