10 sailors missing after Navy destroyer, tanker collide
SEOUL, South Korea — Ten U.S. Navy sailors were missing and five have been injured after the USS John S. McCain destroyer collided with an oil tanker near Singapore early Monday.
This is the second time in recent weeks that a Navy destroyer based at the 7th Fleet’s home port of Yokosuka, Japan, has been involved in a collision. Seven sailors were killed in June when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a tanker south of Japan.
The guided missile destroyer and the Liberianflagged merchant vessel Alnic MC collided near the Strait of Malacca at 5:24 a.m. local time, the Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement.
Initial reports indicated that the destroyer sustained damage to its port side at the rear but was sailing under its own power and heading to port in Singapore. “The extent of damage and personnel injuries is being determined,” the 7th Fleet said.
Search and rescue efforts were underway. U.S. Navy Seahawk helicopters and Ospreys were mobilized, joining tugboats from Singapore, a Singapore navy ship and helicopters and a Singapore police coast guard vessel.
“Our first priority is determining the safety of the ship and crew,” Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, wrote via Twitter. “As more information is learned, we will share it.”
President Donald Trump, returning to the White House on Sunday night, responded to reporters’ questions about the collision by saying: “That’s too bad.”
The McCain, a 505-footlong destroyer, had been on its way to a routine port visit in Singapore. Shipping data showed that the Alnic, a 600-foot-long oil tanker, also was on its way to Singapore.