Untold Tale Behind USS Guardian Reef Grounding: NGA’s Map Was Wrong By 8 Miles

[unhappycamper]

http://breakingdefense.com/2013/07/26/untold-tale-behind-uss-guardian-reef-grounding-flawed-nga-map-data/



USS Guardian lies crippled on UNESCO World Heritage Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines

Untold Tale Behind USS Guardian Reef Grounding: NGA’s Map Was Wrong By 8 Miles
By Colin Clark on July 26, 2013 at 2:08 PM

WASHINGTON: The January grounding of the minesweeper USS Guardian in a Philippine coral reef was caused in large part by a National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) map that was, quite simply, wrong by eight nautical miles, Breaking Defense has learned.

“It really was just a terrible fluke that caused the error,” NGA spokeswoman Christine Phillips said in a frank discussion of the incident and its aftermath.

The Sulu Sea grounding prompted NGA to order an agency-wide review of the nautical charts detailing the entire surface of the earth covered by the oceans. Also, NGA and the Navy have convened a team of maritime experts to take “an exhaustive look to make sure we are as sound as we can be,” Phillips told me.

The error boiled down to someone at NGA failing to update a map with corrected data after cartographers discovered an inaccuracy.



unhappycamper comment: Congratulations to whomever 'forgot' to update their nautical charts. That was a $233 million dollar (plus removal costs) not-ready-for-prime-time error.


Other pics and video from the article:

USS Guardian grounded in this position. Strong waves later shoved ship sideways.




Clear view of damage to reef by USS Guardian

[Scuba]

1. Now is the second-best time to check our maps to be sure they're accurate.

[Downwinder]

2. It was exacerbated by a Captain too pig headed to listen to

local "natives" who tried to warn him off.