Norfolk, Va. – The U.S. Navy announced on Tuesday that the commanding officer and the executive officer of the USS Tortuga have been relieved of duty after the ship slammed into a buoy causing $2.5 million worth of damages.
The incident happened at 7:30 a.m. back on October 6th when theTortuga hit the Thimble Shoals buoy while on the way to a scheduled anchorage off the coast of Virginia. The buoy became adrift and the ship was badly damaged in the process.
Officials say during their investigation, they found Commanding Officer Cmdr. Thomas Goudreau and Executive Officer Cmdr. John Fleming failed to obey an order of regulation and hazarding a vessel.
They have both been temporarily assigned to Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic.
The ship was repaired at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in Norfolk. The repairs were completed on December 11th.
