3 ms·

They should scuttle it and let the sea put it out.

by tokai 6y ago

chipsa 6y ago
Probably not enough draft under the keel for the ship to actually submerge. Also, expensive for having to replace a bunch of equipment that is now dunked in seawater. Let alone raising the ship afterward.
- tokai 6y ago
  Putting out the fire and preventing a health emergency should be put above saving equipment.
  - jki275 6y ago
    You might be dumping 900k gallons of diesel fuel in the harbor by doing that. Anyway, sinking a ship isn't easy. There's no self destruct button, and they're designed not to sink.
- bredren 6y ago
  Not to mention the sheer embarrassment. It’s one thing to choose to junk a ship. Another to do so in public after an accidental fire at port on a 1.5B mini aircraft carrier.
  - crisnoble 6y ago
    The entire county smelling the burning ship for the 3rd day today, and they estimate a week total, seems more of an embarrassment to me. The military blows through 1.5B and the public wouldn't bat an eye. Leaving a flaming ship less than a mile from a major downtown for a week, and everyone will (is) complaining at the wastefulness of the Navy. I live 6 miles away and going outside is unbearable, people are smelling it 20+ miles away in Alpine and North County. I have been trying to imagine what it is like in the neighborhoods adjacent to the base right now, it was a hot week, and many don't have AC, keeping the windows closed is a nightmare.
- m4rtink 6y ago
  Yep, check some salvage related documentaries on Youtube. Raise a ship even in harbor is far from easy, especially if it ends up on a side, which is apparently quite common.
smitty1e 6y ago
Retired Navy here. She's pierside at 32nd Street in San Diego. You could try to tow her out past Point Loma, I guess, if the towing hawser itself doesn't part, and the "front fall off[1]" the ship, at the risk of bottling up the 3rd Fleet in the channel. Ships can be rebuilt from extensive damage, as USS Cole, USS Stark, and USS Samuel B. Roberts show. It's a question of whether there is sufficient motive to do it, given the age and opportunity cost. You can bet your bippy that everyone even remotely related to this disaster is going to get hammered when the investigation is completed. Military officers are held accountable in ways that politicians and bureaucrats (almost) never are. [1] Yes, it's the "bow", but watch this humor clip => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPwlMv8lNI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPwlMv8lNI
pjc50 6y ago
Generally harbours aren't very deep. You could "sink" it by a couple of meters .. but most of the ship would still be above water. This was an advantage after Pearl Harbor, when several of the ships could be refloated: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2012/1207/Pearl-Harbor-resurrection-the-warships-that-rose-to-fight-again https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2012/1207/Pea...

They should scuttle it and let the sea put it out.

by tokai 6y ago

They should scuttle it and let the sea put it out.

Probably not enough draft under the keel for the ship to actually submerge. Also, expensive for having to replace a bunch of equipment that is now dunked in seawater. Let alone raising the ship afterward.

tokai 6y ago
Putting out the fire and preventing a health emergency should be put above saving equipment.
- jki275 6y ago
  You might be dumping 900k gallons of diesel fuel in the harbor by doing that. Anyway, sinking a ship isn't easy. There's no self destruct button, and they're designed not to sink.
bredren 6y ago
Not to mention the sheer embarrassment. It’s one thing to choose to junk a ship. Another to do so in public after an accidental fire at port on a 1.5B mini aircraft carrier.
- crisnoble 6y ago
  The entire county smelling the burning ship for the 3rd day today, and they estimate a week total, seems more of an embarrassment to me. The military blows through 1.5B and the public wouldn't bat an eye. Leaving a flaming ship less than a mile from a major downtown for a week, and everyone will (is) complaining at the wastefulness of the Navy. I live 6 miles away and going outside is unbearable, people are smelling it 20+ miles away in Alpine and North County. I have been trying to imagine what it is like in the neighborhoods adjacent to the base right now, it was a hot week, and many don't have AC, keeping the windows closed is a nightmare.
m4rtink 6y ago
Yep, check some salvage related documentaries on Youtube. Raise a ship even in harbor is far from easy, especially if it ends up on a side, which is apparently quite common.

smitty1e 6y ago

Retired Navy here. She's pierside at 32nd Street in San Diego. You could try to tow her out past Point Loma, I guess, if the towing hawser itself doesn't part, and the "front fall off[1]" the ship, at the risk of bottling up the 3rd Fleet in the channel. Ships can be rebuilt from extensive damage, as USS Cole, USS Stark, and USS Samuel B. Roberts show. It's a question of whether there is sufficient motive to do it, given the age and opportunity cost. You can bet your bippy that everyone even remotely related to this disaster is going to get hammered when the investigation is completed. Military officers are held accountable in ways that politicians and bureaucrats (almost) never are. [1] Yes, it's the "bow", but watch this humor clip => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPwlMv8lNI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWPwlMv8lNI

pjc50 6y ago

Generally harbours aren't very deep. You could "sink" it by a couple of meters .. but most of the ship would still be above water. This was an advantage after Pearl Harbor, when several of the ships could be refloated: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2012/1207/Pearl-Harbor-resurrection-the-warships-that-rose-to-fight-again https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/Decoder/2012/1207/Pea...