Sleepwalking into a Crisis

Introduction At 01:29 hrs on 17 June 2017, MV ACX Crystal collided with USS Fitzgerald in the approaches to Tokyo Bay, resulting in the deaths of seven sailors. Fatigue was identified as a key factor in the incident.1Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, ‘Report on the Collision Between USS FITZGERALD (DDG 62) and Motor Vessel ACX CRYSTAL’ Department of the Navy, Washington, DC, 2017. Six weeks later, at 05:24 on 21 August 2017, USS John S McCain collided with MV Alnic MC in the Singapore Strait, killing ten sailors. The Commanding Officer, fatigued from having been on the bridge since 01:1…