Oct. 11 (UPI) — The deaths of two U.S. Navy Seals in January 2024 who drowned while boarding a suspected Houthi arms smuggling vessel off the coast of Somalia were preventable, according to a Navy report released Friday.
Concurring with the report’s finding that the deaths were preventable, U.S. Naval Forces Central Commander G.M. Wikoff wrote “This incident, marked by systemic issues, was preventable. The near or at threshold environmental conditions were not causable to this terrible mishap, but were a contributing factor.”
Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram and Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers drowned while attempting to board the suspected smuggling vessel.
The 8-month Navy investigation noted a number of shortcomings in the mission, but found the deaths happened because the SEALS were too heavily laden with equipment to remain afloat long enough to be rescued.
In the summary of findings, the heavily redacted report said the entire tragic event elapsed in just 47 seconds as the two Seals attempted to board a dhow suspected of carrying Iranian weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.
“During the early moments of the boarding, the dhow’s mariners left their wheelhouse in order 10 join their fellow crew members who were being gathered in one location for the SEAL Team’s security and safety. This act changed the ship handling dynamics as the vessel stopped transiting forward,” the summary of findings overview said.
One of the Seals fell into the water and the second one went in to try to help him.
“Encumbered by the weight of each individual’s gear, neither their physical capability nor emergency supplemental flotation devices, if activated, were sufficient to keep them at the surface,” the Navy report said. “The entire tragic event elapsed in just 47 seconds, and two NSW warriors were lost to the sea.”
Chambers and Ingram were part of SEAL Team Three/Task Force Three.
They were wearing Tactical Flotation Support Systems but Chambers carried 50 pounds of gear and Ingram carried 80 pounds.
It was unclear whether the flotation devices could have handled that much extra weight.
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