idUSKBN19H13C

Don't buy the hype. Merchant ships don't communicate with light unless every other system is disabled. I have never seen this happen, ever, in nearly 30 years. Communicating by light and flags is almost exclusively the domain of Naval services (Not just ours), short of total failure of other systems.

Thanks LTC (Join to see) for reminding us that
The collision with the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal container ship tore a gash below the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald's (DDG 62) waterline, killing seven sailors:
Prayers for solace and comfort for the families and shipmates of:
– Yeoman 3rd Class Shingo Alexander Douglass, 25, from San Diego
– Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Noe Hernandez, 26, from Weslaco, Texas
– Sonar Technician 3rd Class Ngoc T Truong Huynh, 25, from Oakville, Connecticut
– Personnel Specialist 1st Class Xavier Alec Martin, 24, from Halethorpe, Maryland
– Fire Controlman 1st Class Gary Leo Rehm Jr., 37, from Elyria, Ohio
– Gunner’s Mate Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby, 19, from Palmyra, Virginia
– Fire Controlman 2nd Class Carlosvictor Ganzon Sibayan, 23, from Chula Vista, California
"Those who died were in their berthing compartments, while the Fitzgerald's commander was injured in his cabin, suggesting that no alarm warning of an imminent collision was sounded.
A spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, the Fitzgerald's home port, said he was unable to comment on an ongoing investigation.
The incident has spurred six investigations, including two internal hearings by the U.S. Navy and a probe by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) on behalf of the National Transportation Safety Board. The Japan Transport Safety Board, the JCG and the Philippines government are also conducting separate investigations."