Probe launched as divers search warship
SINGAPORE — The focus of the search for 10 US sailors missing after a collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters shifted on Tuesday to the destroyer’s flooded compartments.
The sea search by aircraft and ships from the US, Singaporean and Malaysian navies will continue east of Singapore where the McCain and the tanker collided at daybreak on Monday, the 7 th Fleet said, but the deployment of divers to search inside the warship, now docked at Singapore’s naval base, was a blow to families still hoping for a miracle.
“Equipped with surface supplied air rigs, divers will access sealed compartments located in damaged parts of the ship,” the fleet said in a statement. “Additionally, they will conduct damage assessments of the hull and flooded areas.”
The collision tore a gaping hole in the McCain’s left rear hull and flooded adjacent compartments including crew berths and machinery and communication rooms. Five sailors were injured.
It was the second major collision in two months involving the Pacific-based 7th Fleet and the Navy has ordered a broad investigation into its performance and readiness. Seven sailors died in June when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship collided in waters off Japan.
Megan Partlow of Ohio, who said her fiance was on board the McCain, said in a Facebook message that they last communicated on Sunday and she was losing hope of seeing him again.
“My last text to him was ‘be safe’, which is the same way we end every conversation. I’m just ready for answers,” she said. The identities of the missing have not been disclosed but Partlow said her fiance’s parents were in touch with the Navy’s family assistance center.
Navy Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, on Monday ordered a pause in 7th Fleet operations for the next few days to allow commanders to get together with leaders, sailors and command officials and identify any immediate steps that need to be taken to ensure safety.
A broader review
A broader US Navy review will look at the 7th Fleet’s performance, including personnel, navigation capabilities, maintenance, equipment, surface warfare training, munitions, certifications and how sailors move through their careers. Richardson said the review will be conducted with the help of the Navy’s office of the inspector general, the safety center and private companies that make equipment used by sailors.
The McCain had been heading to Singapore on a routine port visit after conducting a sensitive operation last week by sailing on the South China Sea.
The McCain and the Alnic MC oil tanker collided about 8 kilometers from Malaysia’s coast at the start of a designated sea lane for ships sailing into the busy Singapore Strait.
There was no immediate explanation for the collision. Singapore, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, is one of the world’s busiest ports and a US ally, with its naval base regularly visited by US warships.
The Singapore government said no crew were injured on the Liberian-flagged Alnic, which sustained damage to a compartment at the starboard, or right, side at the front of the ship some 7 meters above its waterline. The ship had a partial load of fuel oil, according to the Greek owner of the tanker, but no apparent spill.