In article , says...
"Mike Kanze" wrote in message

Never having stood OOD on a Bird Farm I don't know if the Rules of the
Road
are modified during such things as FLTOPS, UNREP, etc. My very dim
recollection is, "no." But it's been many years since Navigation and
Piloting.

Many years here, too.

Speculation: It wouldn't surprise me if certain operations like you cited
create a "burdened vessel" situation, one in which other traffic would be
obliged to steer clear despite their otherwise having the right-of-way.
This also presupposes that the burdened vessel is flying all the proper
flags, lights and shapes, and is signaling appropriately for her
situation.

Could be. I just don't remember.

No 'Shoes about, eh? :-)

Not a Black shoe, but here is my experience as OOD of USS Abraham
Lincoln from the 2000-02 time period.

The ship should have been flying Ball-Diamond-Ball or the appropriate
lights to show that the huge gray ship launching and recovering aircraft
was "Restricted in its ability to manuver." That means that the
carrier, according to the Rules of the Road for international waters,
has the right of way except for vessels adrift/not under command or
anchored. The dhow, even if actively engaged in fishing or under sail
power should have done everything practicable to avoid the collision.

During my OOD board, the XO asked a very similar question. My answer
was that the OOD should have advised the CO to suspend flight ops,
manuver the ship to avoid the CBDR(constant bearing, decreasing range)
situation, got back into the wind envelope ASAP, and continued on. CIC
and the TOP (tactical ops plot, usually ran by an OS1 who acts as a go
between with the TAO and the OOD) should have noticed the dhow long
before the Junior Officer of the Watch located him on his surface search
radar or visually. Visual range from the bridge of a CVN is usually
about 10-12nm and most lights for night can be seen anywhere from 3-6nm.

The dhows in the Gulf are pretty fearless. They operate among the
Supertankers and other commerical shipping, plus all the US Navy ships,
day in and day out. They can be a real pain when they want to be. From
my experience, the plane guard helo or another BG asset should have
warned them away and with everything up to warning shots or more once
the dhow broke the CO's comfort zone.(Obviously different for individual
CO's, but we took notice at 8nm, started getting nervous at 5nm, manned
the .50cal at 2nm and would have started with warning shots for 1nm)

BTW, an OOD board is something not to be missed. You are in a room with
the CO, XO, Reactor Officer, Navigator, Air Boss, and usually the Cheng.
You are quizzed on everything about the ship and its mission. Air ops,
ship handling, reactor plant operation and emergencies, flight deck ops,
damage control, ships systems, etc...If everything goes well, it can be
as short as 20-30 minutes or if you have trouble, 90+ minutes or they
tell you to go study and try again. Mine lasted about 50 minutes and I
was spent we it was over. Pretty heady stuff for a newly pinned LTjg.

Like I said, I don't know the whole story, just what I read in Navy
Times. So there may be something else we, or I, don't know about.

--LT H.
Naval Advancement Center DivO.