The Yokohama Maritime Accident Tribunal determined Jan. 22 that insufficient surveillance on the part of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's 7,750-ton Aegis destroyer Atago was the main cause of its Feb. 19, 2008, collision with the 7.3-ton trawler Seitoku Maru, which killed the two fishermen aboard the trawler.
The tribunal stopped short of issuing "recommendations" to the Atago's captain and three other officers designated as "parties concerned in the accident." But the MSDF and the Defense Ministry should seriously consider the fact that the tribunal did issue a recommendation to the 3rd Escort Flotilla's 3rd Escort Division — the fifth party concerned in the accident — to which the Atago belongs.
The tribunal said the flotilla division established neither an adequate surveillance structure for the bridge and radar-linked Combat Information Center nor a proper communication and reporting system between them. It added that a similar accident could recur unless the division takes "effective steps" to "comprehensively improve" the situation. This is a strong indictment of systemic problems in the MSDF organization.