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Click here Click here Click here Click here « Click here   Click here Click here Click here Incident on the Kaiser class oiler TAO 190 Andrew J Higgins during operation Desert Storm  Theodore Carl Soderberg San Francisco, CA After separating from the aircraft carrier Independence and joining an amphibious assault group the Andrew J. Higgins slammed into an uncharted pinnacle nine miles off the coast of Oman. In August of 1990 the battle group Independence carrier group was staged off of Diego Garcia as the Andrew J. Higgins underway replenishment oiler refueled. We had taken on fuel for the better part of the day when the word was given to do a quick release, and get underway ASAP. Saddam Hussein had just invaded Kuwait, and the closest military asset was the Independence. She and her support ships immediately steamed to the Gulf of Oman, and the Higgins joined a day later. This was the beginning of operation Desert Shield, and there we would remain in a mod lock (modified location), for about for two months. Desert Storm was the next phase, and as things intensified and we were re-assigned to an Amphibious group, and were told an invasion was imminent. Steaming nine miles off the coast of Oman we were following numerous LST's (Landing Ship Tank) amphibious ships when it happened. It was 0815 in the morning, and I just settled in my rack to catch a few hours of sleep after standing the 0400-0800 bridge watch, when I feel an abrupt shock to the ship. Fortunately, we were steaming at about 6 knots, and not full sea speed. I felt the ship striking something hard, and then all stop. I immediately swung out, put clothes back on, and headed to the main deck. I was the first on deck, and went to the port rail to see huge bubbles of air surfacing to the water, and shortly thereafter product was coming to the surface. We were hard aground on a pinnacle that had grown up from the ocean floor that was evidently uncharted. The Kilauea, an ammo ship, ahead of us hit another pinnacle, but had suffered lesser consequences, and they sent over a dive team. In a matter of hours the divers had pictures of the damage to the Higgins hull, and we were indeed severely damaged. The Higgins came to rest squarely at her mid-ship, many decks below my cabin, atop the pinnacle, and in the evening the Captain made a failed attempt to back her off. The next day we did back off after discharging cargo to a tanker. We then got underway and made a precarious trip (listing 10-15 degrees, sometimes to port, sometimes to starboard), to a dry dock in Dubai. Submitted on 4/28/2008 through KQED, San Francisco, CA Want to recommend this story to others? Click here