Search for missing US sailors goes on

> Navy to review fleet operations worldwide

SINGAPORE: US Navy and Marine Corps divers began searching sealed sections of the damaged hull of an American warship yesterday for 10 sailors missing since the guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant vessel near Singapore.

The USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC collided while the destroyer was nearing Singapore for a routine port call.

The collision tore a hole in the warship’s port side at the waterline, flooding compartments that included a crew sleeping area.

Ships, aircraft and divers from an international search-and-rescue operation are still looking for the missing US sailors yesterday in an area to the east of Singapore and Malaysia, near to where the accident took place.

Five sailors were also injured in the accident, although the US Navy said none of those injuries was life-threatening.

The collision – the fourth major accident in the US Pacific fleet this year – prompted a fleet-wide investigation and plans for temporary halts in operations to focus on safety.

The US Seventh Fleet said in a statement on its website yesterday that divers equipped with surface-supplied air rigs will access sealed compartments located in damaged parts of the ship, which is now docked in Singapore.

“Additionally, they will conduct damage assessments of the hull and flooded areas,” the statement said.

Immediate efforts by the ship’s crew after the collision on Monday were able to halt flooding into other parts of the vessel’s hull, the statement said.

A public affairs officer for the US Seventh Fleet said USS John S. McCain remained pierside at Changi Naval Base and that a repair plan would be put in place after assessments are complete.

On Monday, US chief of naval operations Admiral John Richardson said there were no indications so far the collision was intentional or the result of cyber intrusion or sabotage.

“But review will consider all possibilities,” he said on Twitter.

A CNN report yesterday, citing unidentified US Navy officials, said early indications suggested the collision was caused by a steering malfunction as the warship approached the Strait of Malacca.

Richardson said he was asking his fleet commanders worldwide for a one-to-twoday, staggered “operational pause” to discuss action to ensure safe and effective operations. He envisaged this could begin within a week.

He also said a comprehensive review would examine the training of US forces deployed to Japan “to make sure we are doing everything we can to make them ready for operations and warfighting”.

The US Seventh Fleet is headquartered in Japan.

This would include looking at “operational tempo, trends in personnel, material, maintenance and equipment”, Richardson said. – Reuters