Warship fuel and drinking-water systems resist mistakes

Could a warship's aviation-fuel hose simply be connected to its drinking-water system by mistake?

Ordinary shipboard safeguards should make that very difficult because the connections and operating characteristics differ, although the specific incident still required investigation.

The exchange examines a report of jet fuel contaminating drinking water aboard a US carrier and the claim that a fuel hose had simply been attached to the wrong connection. Shipboard systems normally use different fittings and other safeguards that make such a mistake difficult, while the quoted engineering response adds differences in pumping rate, smell, and distribution through showers and galleys. Fuel contamination would also require extensive tank cleaning and recoating, showing why potable-water protection is a serious engineering and habitability concern.