The US Navy fired the captain after a steering problem led to the near miss

Earlier reports of Yaste’s removal referred to a viral photo of the captain holding a rifle with a scope mounted on his back. But the command inquiry said Yaste was relieved after the McCain lost direction during a July refueling that damaged a Navy oiler.

The August investigation into the loss of steering said Yaste and his crew made mistakes that may have contributed to the incident, such as poor maintenance and failure to follow established procedures.

The investigation also found, however, that the Navy had failed to fix an ongoing steering problem that hampered its own technical experts a month before the incident. Steering problems happened so regularly that the ship’s crew appeared to eventually overlook the potential severity, the inquest found.

This steering problem came at a dangerous time – while the McCain was connected to a supply ship to refuel.

A Navy spokesman declined to comment on the investigation, saying it was still ongoing. BI was unable to obtain comment from Yaste for this article.

A persistent steering problem

The McCain deployed from its home port in March and arrived the following month in the Middle East, where it joined other US warships tasked with defending against Iranian-backed hostilities, including relentless Houthi attacks on merchant shipping.

Yaste’s career had been built for this mission. The career surface warfare officer had previously been McCain’s executive officer and had taken command in late 2023, about five months before the deployment.

According to the investigation obtained by the BI, McCain lost control several times. These losses were caused by the uncontrolled displacement of the hydraulic units that steer one of its two rudders.

After the destroyer lost direction in April, McCain sent out an accident report, or CASREP, asking technical experts to visit the ship. These experts attempted to troubleshoot the warship while it was docked in Bahrain in June.

McCain’s leadership requested to go to sea to properly address these issues, but technical personnel were not funded or authorized to sail with the destroyer. The warship left Bahrain in early July and immediately experienced the same problems.

McCain released another CASREP for recurring issues. Steering problems can become especially serious if they involve a stuck or unresponsive rudder near another vessel or in shallow water. The ship received remote support in the following days, but the results of those efforts were ultimately inconclusive, the inquest said.

The troubled destroyer remained at sea, and the command inquiry said there was no evidence of significant repair efforts after July 9.

The investigation said the McCain experienced a total of 18 problematic steering system incidents between May 17 and July 20 when the destroyer was refueling at sea.

The command investigation attributed the recurring steering problems to poor maintenance practices by the crew, although it acknowledged that no problem could be identified as the source of the problem.

The crew called attention to the steering problem through the multiple CASREPs they issued, indicating that the problem was beyond the crew’s capabilities.

It is unclear whether the crew ever received a response from the Navy that would actually fix the ship’s problems.

Refueling gone wrong

On July 20, McCain stopped alongside the oiler USNS Big Horn in the northern Arabian Sea and connected for a replenishment at sea, where the ship received fuel via a wire strung between two ships that are usually less than 200 of feet one of them. .

During refueling, the destroyer suffered a serious problem. One of the two hydraulic units controlling the starboard rudder began to leak oil, and engineers rushed to repair it.

Minutes passed. The surveillance team decided to switch to alternative HPUs, but then the system failed. The control was locked with the unit “gushing” hydraulic oil, as reported by a crew member. Engineers tried to refill the HPU, but it ran out of oil and shut down. However, the alternative HPU failed to take over.

On the bridge, where the watchmen were driving to stand by the oil, a crew member noticed an alarming sign: the starboard rudder was locked.

In response, the commanding officer ordered an emergency escape, which damaged some of the equipment on Big Horn and temporarily rendered one of its refueling platforms inoperable. No personnel were injured on either vessel.

The command’s investigation in August found that McCain crew members made a variety of mistakes, including failure to follow loss-of-direction procedures or sufficient communication between control stations.

The inquest blamed Yaste for his handling of the refueling, in part because he spent 10 minutes with the refueling oil trying to fix the steering problems before it came off. The inquiry also heavily criticized other senior officers, including the executive officer and chief engineer.

The investigation’s findings also suggested that McCain faced challenges long before the refueling. Specifically, it appears the captain and crew have been dealing with a broken ship for months, leaving them operating outside of normal circumstances.

Command investigators concluded that the technical experts’ inability to go to sea with the McCain prevented a proper resolution of the steering problem. It also said that on-board support at sea was the appropriate response and had been guaranteed since July 3, the day after the destroyer left Bahrain.

Ten days after the July 20 incident, McCain called into port in the United Arab Emirates for a brief fuel stop and issued another CASREP for steering problems. Technical representatives who flew into port to review the ship found multiple problems that needed to be fixed. The destroyer continued to experience steering problems until mid-August.

The Navy has not publicly disclosed what happened to McCain, nor has it acknowledged leadership problems during the deployment.

The Navy released a brief statement Aug. 30 revealing that Yaste had been relieved of his duties as commanding officer of the McCain “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command the guided-missile destroyer.” The Maritime Service said there was “no impact to the ship’s mission or schedule due to the relief,” without providing further details.