usns comfort being slow walked....

[getagrip_already]

It hasn't made much progress. It seems to be doing 10 knots during the day (should be doint 15-20), but appears to have not made way overnight. A ship like that should almost be to new york by now. It is still off the coast of virginia.

What gives? Why the slow walk? It seems intentional.

[dhol82]

1. Damn! If it's intentional, then it's criminal.

[gibraltar72]

3. That's a long list.

[dewsgirl]

26. There are several current scenarios I would lump into the criminal

category.

[RockRaven]

2. Wasn't it in drydock for maintenance/repairs when Trump first boasted he was sending it?

Then the send-off was used as a Trump PR stunt. Lord knows if the ship was even ready to be put into service.

Is the ship even capable of it's normal speed? Are they still performing maintenance while it is en route (i.e. going slower on purpose to give them time to finish what needs to be done before arriving in NYC)?

[mr_lebowski]

4. That would make sense ... do what you can while at sea, making for a shorter delay ... (nt)

[benld74]

13. Maintenance yes

PR Stunt definitely

Still hoping it provides something though

[JHB]

19. Yeah. I don't think it was drydock-level maintenance, 'cause that would have been...

...much harder to turn around, but it was definitely on downtime.

I think the big question here is "does it have its medical crew?"

if it was rushed back into active service, that's a pretty big question. 'Cause if the answer's "no", then it's just a bunch of beds.

[Yonnie3]

5. The position fix off of Virginia is over 21 hours old.

It is likely that is has been out of range of the shore stations and is well up the Eastern Seaboard at this time.

Edit to add: vesselfinder.com has a 12 hour old position of 38.8811 N / 73.91034 W which is about 40 miles off shore from Atlantic City NJ

[Amishman]

28. Thank you, glad to see it is moving along after all

The crew question is big though, I'd love to see an answer for that too

[DinahMoeHum]

6. I don't believe it's out there for COVID-19 cases, anyway.

Navy hospital ships are designed to handle military and massive trauma injuries, as well as other cases regular ships' sick bays can't handle. They're really not designed to handle pandemics.

I think the hospital ships are out there to handle all other cases the shoreside hospitals are dealing with, thereby making more shoreside beds available specifically for the COVID-19 cases.





#newrostrong

[getagrip_already]

9. thats what they said...

It would handle non-covid patients only. But it frees up a lot of regular hospittal and icu beds that can be shifted to covid patients.

[Princess Turandot]

18. It also helps lessen the chances that a non-covid patient who needs hospitalization..

..won't get the virus as a door prize, so to speak.

[Leghorn21]

22. Yes, that's the plan, Dinah...but I don't understand how anybody thinks the virus won't somehow

be brought into the ship, I honestly don’t - people will be coming and going, bringing patients and supplies - the odds of remaining COVID-free would seem to be minimal at best.

But hey, I hope I’m wrong and that this great ship and her people soothe and comfort many a distressed patient’s brow!!!

[Totally Tunsie]

7. Wouldn't be surprised if Chump sent orders that USNS Comfort

isn't to pull into port until he can be on hand to greet and welcome them to NY. Everything is just a photo op to him.

[dhol82]

10. Just so.

Wonder if he will be wearing a flight suit with a cod piece?

[getagrip_already]

8. or maybe it turned off ais?

I didn't notice the timestamp, but I do watch marinetraffic often (I have a fishing boat I take way past where they are) and satellites will pick up positions when they are out of vhf range.

Maybe they are further along. It's possible. But they should still be picked up by ais receivers.

[Yonnie3]

14. One shore AIS fix about 12 hours ago off Atlantic City

I don't pay to get the satellite data as my interests are all close to shore

vesselfinder.com was my source

[KY_EnviroGuy]

11. Interesting article on USNI News

USNS Comfort Will Depart for New York on Saturday with XXXXX, Modly in Attendance
By: Megan Eckstein
March 26, 2020 7:36 PM

Read here: https://news.usni.org/2020/03/26/usns-comfort-departs-for-new-york-on-saturday-with-trump-modly-in-attendance

(snip)

Comfort will not take on infected patients but will rather care for patients with other needs – emergency surgeries, trauma care and more – to free up beds and doctors at New York hospitals so they can deal with the virus.

It's possible New York is still preparing a suitable berth for her in port for receiving those type patients.

KY.............

[ramblin_dave]

12. Scheduled to arrive tomorrow

New York City cruise terminal preparing for USNS Comfort's arrival

[Yonnie3]

17. Thanks for the link.

NY dredging to get slip ready. Hopefully they're ready now.

[global1]

15. It's Got To Arrive In New York At A Prime Time So Trump....

can take another bow as it's arrival is shown on TV.

He's got an election to win ya know!!!!

[Princess Turandot]

16. It's expected to arrive tomorrow and be online on Tuesday...

According to USA Today, the area where it will be docked, one of the Manhattan Cruise Terminal piers on the Hudson River in midtown, required some extra dredging over the weekend to accommodate it. Perhaps that had something to do with the timing.

BTW The ship isn't going to be used for covid-19 patients. It will be used as an overflow facility for people requiring hospitalizations for other medical reasons.

[mercuryblues]

20. Sound like it

it should not take more than 18 hrs to get to NYC.

[canetoad]

21. Here's where it is right now

Courtesy of this very cool website: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-60.6/centery:26.6/zoom:4

[SoCal Roomba]

23. As a former Sailor I felt the need to sign up and post about this.

Those ships rarely leave port as they aren’t used much.

This one was undergoing some repairs, the crew would never slow play an underway movement, no matter what POTUS suggests.

The Navy just doesn’t work that way.

It’s more than likely not ready for sea yet, and they are being safe. And believe it or not, Trump probably told them to get underway and make it work. Yeah, sometimes bat shit crazy works. Somehow.

The Mercy is already ported in LA. Granted, it’s a much shorter trek.

Believe me, the Sailors on that boat want to get to NYC to help out.

Besides, these ships are only going to be used for people that don’t have symptoms. Not that they shouldn’t hurry, but you don’t want it to be stuck out at sea either.

Relax. This isn’t some nefarious plan by Trump. It’s more than likely an abundance of caution. The Navy treats every vessel the same.

[lamp_shade]

24. Thank you... and welcome to DU.

[Raine]

25. Thank you 👍

and Welcome to DU!

[murielm99]

27. Thank you.

And welcome! Please post more here.

[maxrandb]

29. Great post Shipmate

They pulled it out of its maintenance availability. More than likely they deferred required work to a later date.

It might be limited in speed due to limitations on stressing the propulsion plants.

As you said, barring any unforeseen issue, they will make their scheduled berthing in NYC on time.

[The Magistrate]

30. I Expect You Are Right, Sir

"If it moves, salute it. If it doesn't, paint it."