US Navy Woes

[KevinB]

That's insane, I can't believe they routinely dump fuel. We just normally have storage and ready use tanks, and clean the fuel when you move between the two.

I suspect that it’s not a USN SOP.

Having that coincide with stopping the ship, maybe a high suction (ours are at the bottom of the ship) are all a bit of a recipe for disaster.

Have had minor contamination of potable water tanks before, it was a nightmare to clean up. I can't even imagine what we would do if we had fuel in the water tanks.

I think this will result in a a few destroyed careers and the end of any crews thinking this is an acceptable solution to spoiled fuel.

Given the recent issue with other water sources on bases etc being contaminated, I think this will result in a larger issue in the USN, especially with results the loss of all the email etc.

 

[Navy_Pete]

I suspect that it’s not a USN SOP.


I think this will result in a a few destroyed careers and the end of any crews thinking this is an acceptable solution to spoiled fuel.

Given the recent issue with other water sources on bases etc being contaminated, I think this will result in a larger issue in the USN, especially with results the loss of all the email etc.

I agree it's not the SOP, and expect this will blow up in a few faces, but I can't imagine dumping fuel then continuing to try and cover it up after the water tanks got contaminated, then not remembering spending a week crawling tanks cleaning it out.

For perspective I've had to report a few liters spilling over the side in the middle of the ocean from a RAS emergency breakaway, and few cups full left a clearly visible slick behind us, so doesn't really make sense no one would notice if the ship was floating in the middle of a puddle when they stopped. Unless they have one of the old 'sneaky Pete' pumps that discharges near or below the waterline or something; those were on old ships for discharging oily bilge water, but haven't been used in a long time. (and yes, got that nickname a few times).

Just such a 180 from our norm, couldn't even imagine starting to argue that we were technically exempt from MARPOL regulations (although I still think prohibition on discharging garburated food waste is dumb and no one has been able to explain that one when countries are putting raw sewage into the ocean).

 

[daftandbarmy]

Poisoned Water: How a Navy Ship Dumped Fuel and Sickened Its Own Crew

A years-long investigation reveals that the Boxer unintentionally compromised its own water supply in 2016.

www.military.com