US destroyer, PH container ship collide off Japan; 7 sailors missing
The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is armed with Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles as well as torpedoes. It also carries two helicopters
The collision between a US Navy destroyer and a container ship off the coast of Japan early Saturday sent Philippine government officials in search for more details after the merchant ship turned out to be carrying a Philippine flag and could be manned by Filipino crewmen.
Seven US sailors were missing and a skipper was injured in the accident, which left the US destroyer USS Fitzgerald partially flooded and part of the warship crumpled.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in a statement said it was coordinating with US and Japanese authorities for more information on possible Filipino casualties although the department said it was unsure if Filipinos were involved.
Ernesto Abella, presidential spokesperson, said the Philippine Embassy in Japan would be ready to provide help to any Filipino crew member on the container ship, which was Philippine-flagged but owned by Japanese shipping giant NYK.
There have been no reports of injuries to crew aboard the civilian ship.
Accident footage
Aerial footage shown on TV showed one sailor lying on a stretcher and a rescuer being pulled up to a helicopter that was hovering above the USS Fitzgerald, its right side partially crumpled.
Three sailors were injured in the predawn collision, including the guided missile destroyer’s commanding officer, Bryce Benson.
“Two sailors, in addition to the commanding officer, have been medically evacuated from the USS Fitzgerald to the US Naval Hospital Yokosuka for lacerations and bruises,” the US Navy said.
“There are seven sailors unaccounted for. The ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continue to search for them,” the Navy said.
The accident between the USS Fitzgerald and Philippineflagged ACX Crystal happened off the coast of Izu peninsula southwest of Tokyo, the US Navy and Japan’s Coast Guard said.
The area is a busy shipping channel near major container ports in Yokohoma and Tokyo.
“The volume of ships is heavy in this area and there have been accidents before,” said coast guard official Yutaka Saito.
Cause unknown
It was not immediately clear what caused the collision, but Japanese broadcast channel NHK said the massive 222-meter container ship made a sharp turn around the time of the accident.
Japan’s coast guard, which is probing the accident, had sent five vessels, two planes and a team of specially trained rescue personnel to help in the search for the missing US sailors, a spokesperson said.
The USS Dewey and two Navy tugboats were helping out in the search and rescue, the US military said, while Japan’s SelfDefense Forces also joined the operation, sending three ships and several aircraft.
Based in the Pacific
The 154-meter Fitzgerald— which was commissioned in 1995 and was deployed to the Iraq war in 2003—is based in Yokosuka and operates in the Pacific and the Sea of Japan (East Sea).
The accident happened 104 kilometers southwest of Yokosuka, the Navy said.
“My daughter is on the Fitzgerald,” a parent wrote on the 7th Fleet’s Facebook page.
“So worried. Just need to hear she is OK. Thinking of all of our sailors and their families!”
US chief of naval operations Adm. John Richardson said in a statement: “As more information is learned we will be sure to share it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public.”
“All of our thoughts and concerns are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families.”
Heavy destroyer damage
Video by NHK showed heavy damage to the right side of the Fitzgerald just ahead of the control tower and the ship taking on water.
An orange hose was visible on the ship’s deck, with many crew members seen checking the damage.
The destroyer, piloted by two tugboats, was sailing to Yokosuka.
“The USS Fitzgerald suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline. The collision resulted in some flooding,” the US Navy said.
The Fitzgerald was still with its own power “although her propulsion was limited,” the Navy said. It is not in danger of sinking and is headed back to port on its own power.
The footage showed relatively light damage to the ACX Crystal.
Twenty crew members were aboard the container ship and none was injured, another Japanese Coast Guard spokesperson said, adding that the vessel was separately sailing back to a Tokyo port.
“We are now investigating the case as further details, including the weather conditions at the time, are not available,” the spokesperson said.
ACX Crystal is a commercial container ship that, according to marine tracking websites, was on its way to Tokyo.
The ship carries a Philippine flag but is listed as owned by Japanese shipping giant NYK Line.