THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270201
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 75 lines
A boat owner has complained to the Coast Guard and the Navy's top brass that the Norfolk-based guided-missile cruiser Mississippi harassed his boat off Cape Hatteras, shadowing its every move and sending out helicopters that appeared to use it as an exercise target.
Navy officials sternly denied the accusation, saying the Mississippi, returning to Norfolk after a month's deployment, was true to maritime regulations, was maintaining its course and was restricted in its movements because it was refueling two helicopters in flight.
``We will respond to any Coast Guard inquiries,'' said Cmdr. John Tull, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet Surface Force.
Gilbert H. Walker of Gloucester Point, Va., a retired scientist from NASA, is not satisfied with the Navy explanations.
``We were scared,'' Walker said of the midday incident Wednesday in which he and his wife were alone aboard their 29-foot fishing boat, named Ice Tea Too.
``He told me to `stand clear.' I took it as a threat he was going to ram me,'' said Walker, docked Thursday at Pirate's Cove, near Manteo.
Walker left Oregon Inlet and fished about 30 miles offshore from 8:30 a.m. until shortly after noon. During most of that time he could see the Navy ship 5 to 6 miles away.
``Basically, when I trolled one direction, he went that direction,'' said Walker. ``I would turn and he would follow me.
``When I headed out, he moved to a position in front of me. I told my wife he was using me as part of a training exercise. That didn't bother me so much. I didn't like it, but there was nothing I could do.''
But about 12:30 p.m., Walker finished fishing and set a course for Oregon Inlet. As he picked up speed, he said, so did the Mississippi.
``He hadn't been going that speed all day long,'' Walker said.
He set his radar on ``guard'' to warn him when anything came within two miles, said Walker.
``I noticed the guard on my radar beeped and saw he was getting closer and closer to me. I was running on autopilot on a straight line. I don't think he wants to go to Oregon Inlet, but it was obvious he was coming at me.''
Walker called the Coast Guard station at Cape Hatteras to complain and was told to call the Navy warship, which he did.
``He said, `Stand clear.' Then he said something about a helicopter exercise.''
A Navy message, sent from the Mississippi to Atlantic Fleet officials in Norfolk on Thursday, describes the incident differently.
Capt. Lawrence A. Lewandowski, the ship's commanding officer, said he was conducting in-flight refueling of two Navy helicopters about 1 p.m. and noticed Walker's boat approaching his port bow.
He requested the vessel to stand clear, but said ``the master of the fishing vessel stated several times that he did not understand what Mississippi meant by `stand clear' and that he was proceeding to port at Oregon Inlet.''
The message, which gives various courses, speed and locations, indicates the Mississippi remained at 10 knots through the incident and 1 to 5 miles away.
It also states that the Navy ship was displaying signals indicating it was restricted in its ability to maneuver while refueling the helicopters in flight.
``The fishing vessel approached the Mississippi's port bow in a crossing situation,'' the message states. ``The Mississippi was the stand-on vessel,'' he said, meaning it was entitled to continue on its same course.
Walker, meanwhile, has sent complaints to Sen. John W. Warner, the secretary of the Navy, the Atlantic Fleet and 2nd Fleet.
``They deliberately shadowed me all day long and deliberately set a collision course for me on my way home,'' said Walker, who has retained his longitude and latitude locations on his computerized radar screen.
The Mississippi, returning on its final cruise before being retired Sept. 6, is a nuclear-powered ship that has seen 18 years of service. It has been the pride of the Atlantic Fleet in past years, winning the coveted Battenberg Cup, honoring it as the fleet's best ship. by CNB