Admiral fired after fourth warship accident

THE US navy dismissed the commander of the Asia-based 7th Fleet yesterday after four warship accidents since January, two of them involving fatalities, raised questions about its operations in the Pacific.

Admiral Scott Swift removed Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command”. He will be replaced by Rear Admiral Phillip Sawyer.

On Monday, 10 sailors were killed when the USS John S Mccain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore. Divers said they found the bodies in flooded compartments the next day.

Two months ago, seven sailors were killed when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship in Japanese waters near the port city of Yokosuka.

“While each of these four incidents is unique, they cannot be viewed in isolation,” Admiral Swift said earlier. He said the navy would carry out a “re-set” of all its ships in the Pacific, focused on navigation, mechanical systems and bridge resource management.