Ten US sailors missing af ter ships collide
TEN American sailors were missing yesterday after a US warship and an oil tanker collided in the seas near Singapore.
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S McCain was left with a huge hole in its hull.
The collision with the tanker Alnic MC was the second involving a US destroyer and a merchant vessel in Asian waters in two months.
It is the fourth accident in 12 months involving the Pacific Fleet.
Yesterday the US Navy ordered a worldwide ‘operational pause’ across its fleet – and a broad inquiry into its accident-prone forces in the Pacific, which some experts fear are over-stretched.
The ‘pause’ is a one-day safety review that would be done over the coming weeks at the discretion of individual commands, a Navy source said.
One expert said early indications were that the McCain may have turned across the bow of the tanker.
‘Instances like this should be rare and they are rare,’ added Ben Stewart, of risk firm Maritime Asset Security and Training.
The destroyer had limped on to Singapore’s Changi Naval Base by yesterday afternoon.
Four injured sailors were taken by helicopter to hospital in the city.
A search-and-rescue mission was under way for the missing sailors last night.
Indonesia said it had sent two aircraft and two warships to help.
No one was hurt on the slightly damaged tanker. On the John S McCain significant damage to the hull had resulted in flooding to compartments, including crew berthing, machinery and communications rooms but crew members were able to stop the flooding.
‘Initial reports indicate John S McCain sustained damage to her port side aft,’ the Navy said. ‘There are currently ten sailors missing.’ The waterways around Singapore are some of the busiest and most important in the world, carrying about a third of global shipping trade.
Donald Trump was criticised for his reaction to news of the accident. Returning to the White House on Sunday night, the President simply said: ‘That’s too bad.’ He later tweeted: ‘Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnSMcCain’.
The ship is named after Senator John McCain’s father and grandfather, both US admirals.
The timing of this is embarrassing for the US, as annual drills by US and South Korean armies take place, a politically controversial show of force against North Korean aggression.
The John S McCain’s sister ship, the USS Fitzgerald, almost sank off Japan after it was struck by a container ship on June 17. Seven sailors died.
The US Navy said last week it had removed the two senior officers and the senior enlisted sailor on the USS Fitzgerald following an investigation into that collision.
The USS John S McCain carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea this month, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China.
‘Search and rescue mission’