Civil and Merchant Vessel Encounters with United States Navy Ships 1800-2000

This work documents contacts or incidents (collisions, rescue missions, groundings, founderings, intentional scuttlings, and other contacts) occurring between nearly 1,000 United States Navy ships and nearly 900 merchant vessels, yachts, workboats, and other craft during peacetime and wartime throughout the history of the Navy.

The oldest contact in the book occurred in the year 1800 and the latest happened in February of 1999 when the Navy grounded the merchant vessel New Carissa off the coast of Oregon.

Some events have become international incidents, such as when Russian MiGs from Cuba fired rockets at the Ala, an American shrimpboat, in international waters between Florida and Cuba.

Some encounters between civil craft and merchant vessels and the Navy have gone to the courts for investigation and this work ncludes accounts given by participants or survivors, witness statements trial and appellate testimony and opinions and official reports made by those involved.

The civil and merchant vessels are arranged alphabetically and indexes are provided for the naval ships and persons.

There is also a general index.