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Star-Bulletin file photo
The USS Denver, shown entering Pearl Harbor, rammed the
USNS Yukon during a refueling exercise July 13. Both
ships suffered damage, but no injuries.

Navy blames
ship’s captain, ensign
in July collision

The other captain, based at
Pearl Harbor, is said to have
averted worse damage

---

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

The skipper and a junior officer of the amphibious ship USS Denver have been blamed for the collision with a tanker during a refueling exercise last summer.

Capt. Charles Webber, who had assumed the helm of the 32-year-old troop transport in September 1998, was replaced after the mishap 180 miles west of Oahu on July 13. The seas were reported to be calm and clear.

After returning from a six-month Persian Gulf deployment, the Denver was about to be refueled by the USNS Yukon.

The Navy blamed Webber and an ensign it declined to identify for the vessel's collision with the Yukon, a Pearl Harbor-based tanker. Also on the bridge was a midshipman -- a college student enrolled in a Navy officer commissioning program -- on her summer cruise.

The Military Sealift Command took no disciplinary action against Yukon civilian Capt. Mark Wilson.

A Sealift Command spokeswoman said Wilson's actions prevented a major mishap, averting a strike on the tanks which contained 6 million gallons of marine and jet fuel.

The Navy said a breakdown in communication among key personnel on the Denver led to the collision.

The ensign, who was officer of the deck and in charge of the ship's navigation, failed to take actions which would have prevented the collision. Webber took over seconds before the collision.

The Denver plowed into the starboard aft quarter of the oiler, damaging it and ending up with a gash in its bow.

The Navy declined to say what type of punishment either sailor received. Webber is now assigned to the Pentagon.

Pearl Harbor shipyard workers placed a temporary patch over the gaping hole in the Denver, and the ship returned to its San Diego home port for repairs. Repairs on the 570-foot vessel are expected to cost $1.54 million, while damage to the Yukon was estimated at $4.5 million.

The Yukon's hull was gouged and dented on its right side.

During the July 13 refueling, the Denver and the Yukon approached each other. But instead of falling behind the tanker, as in normal procedure, the Denver ignored calls from the Yukon and continued into the path of the tanker.

The ships were less than a mile apart when the Denver changed course and Webber took charge, but it was too late.

The Navy's investigation said the bridge and combat information center crew seemed confused about rendezvous and refueling plans.