Ten Sailors Missing as Navy Ship Collides with a Tanker in the Pacific

The U.S. Navy had another ship collision in the Pacific on Sunday night and 10 of the sailors were missing. Five other sailors were injured when the guided-missile cruiser USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore.

The McCain’s hull was breached by the tanker causing severe damage and flooded several compartments including the crew’s sleeping quarters. Several sailors are missing and the Navy continues a search and rescue mission.

Following the incident, President Trump tweeted that his “thoughts and prayers are with our U.S. Navy sailors aboard” the U.S. warship.

Video shot during the search and rescue operation shows a large hole in the rear port (left) side of the American ship. It extends below the water line, which caused parts of the guided-missile destroyer to flood. Defense publication Jane’s said the hole appeared to be at least 10-feet in diameter.

The collision happened east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca — one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The warship collided with a 30,000-ton oil and chemical tanker more than three times its size.

Retired Navy Captain Kevin Eyer told CBS News that ships like the tanker do have radar, and “other sophisticated systems which they can use to identify ships around them. But beyond a certain point, you have dozens of ships within, perhaps, a five-square-mile box, all milling about.”

The search and rescue operation involves ships and aircraft from the U.S., Malaysia, and Singapore.

This is the second collision of a US Navy warship in the Pacific in two months. The USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship and the commander and members of the watch during that accident have either been relieved or disciplined.

To read the entire article from The CBS News click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia