Under international maritime rules, a vessel is supposed to give way to another one on its starboard side, and the damage indicates
that the Crystal was to the Fitzgerald’s starboard, and therefore had the right of way.
The collision with the Philippines-registered cargo ship, the ACX Crystal, occurred about 60 miles off the coast
at 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, at a time when most of the crew of the Fitzgerald would have been asleep.
“When a big ship like that makes a drastic change in a high traffic area, that has to be explained.”
Sean P. Tortora, a veteran merchant marine captain
and consultant who said he had sailed through the area of the collision many times, said that evidence suggested the Fitzgerald was at fault.
Captain Tortora described the collision as a “T-bone” in which the bow of the Crystal hit the starboard side of the Fitzgerald.
Search crews had to work their way through the extensive damage to the Fitzgerald’s starboard side before they found the sailors, the Navy said.
