SINGAPORE, 21st August, 2017 (WAM) — Ten sailors are missing and five have been injured after a US guided-missile destroyer collided early Monday with an oil tanker while en route to Singapore, according to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Tug boats as well as Singapore Navy patrol ships and helicopters were assisting in search and rescue efforts, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement.
The USS John S McCain collided east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca with the Alnic MC, a 180-metre oil and chemical tanker, the US Navy said.
The destroyer received damage to its port side in the collision, according to initial reports, and was on its way into port under its own power, the Navy said.
The cause of the collision was not immediately clear.
[Image caption: Damage on the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain after a collision. – Credit: REUTERS]
US Navy orders ‘operational pause’ after collision
WASHINGTON, 21st August, 2017 (WAM) — The US Navy has ordered a worldwide “operational pause” of its fleet after a destroyer collided with a tanker near Singapore, leaving 10 sailors missing.
Five other sailors were injured in the crash involving the guided missile destroyer USS John S McCain.
The US Navy has ordered a wide investigation into its Pacific fleet following Monday morning’s incident.
It was the fourth crash involving a US Navy ship this year and the second in the past two months.
Navy Adm John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, was quoted by BBC as saying in a statement: “This trend demands more forceful action.
“As such, I have directed an operational pause be taken in all of our fleets around the world.”
[Image credit: REUTERS]