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Near Collision Between U.S. and Russian Warships in Pacific

There are times when the media overplays conflict, but that was not the case in this near collision.

The USS Chancellorsville and a Russian warship came within feet of each other while the American ship was in the midst of recovering a helicopter.

Tensions on the Rise

Watching the video, this was no accident.

As the USS Chancellorsville was maintaining a steady course to recover the aircraft, the Russian ship appeared to be steaming at full speed on a direct course for the ship.

Only a last-second emergency move by the USS Chancellorsville prevented a collision…

Reports stated the ships came as close as 50 feet, but the video shows ships that appear to be much closer.

Clearly, the Russian warship was at fault, as is evidenced by the wake.

According to international maritime law, the USS Chancellorsville had the right of way here.

Ships are required to keep a distance of roughly 1,000 yards from each other to ensure safety.

Furthermore, when a ship is recovering an aircraft, as the USS Chancellorsville was doing, that ship is granted the right of way.

The wake shows the USS Chancellorsville was in fact travelling in a straight line and the Russian warship, the Admiral Vinogradov, was headed directly for it before making a turn.

Carl Schuster, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, stated, “The wakes suggest the Russian ship didn’t adhere to either the rules of the road or the incidents at sea agreement.”

The Russians, of course, have put the close call on the U.S. Navy.

An RIA-Novosti report stated, “When moving (on) parallel courses of a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet and a carrier group of the US Navy, the cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed its direction and crossed within 50 meters of the Admiral Vinogradov.”

Schuster believes this was a message being sent to President Trump from Vladimir Putin.

He stated, “Putin clearly has ordered the Russian Navy to pressure the USN whenever opportunities exist.

It may possibly be a show of political support for China while Xi is in Moscow, but more likely to signal that Russia is willing to challenge the US dominance on the world stage and at sea.”

This incident occurred on the tail of an incident earlier this week when the Russians intercepted a U.S. aircraft by making a high-speed pass in front of the U.S. plane.

If Putin was trying to get our attention, he clearly has it, as Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan has already indicated he will be picking up the phone to discuss the matter with his Russian counterpart.

Source: CNN

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