Posted on Aug 20, 2017
10 Sailors Missing After U.S. Destroyer Collides With Oil Tanker Off Singapore
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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/20/world/asia/uss-john-mccain-collision-merchant-ship.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
I was saddened to learn that another US Navy ship has collided with a commercial vessel.
In this case the guided-missile destroyer U.S.S. John S. McCain has collided with an oil tanker on Monday morning off Singapore, the Navy said.
This incident reminds me of the USS Fitzgerald in the sense that the incident was in a shipping lane and a larger commercial vessel damaged a US Navy vessel and sailors are injured and some are missing at this point.
Prayers for the 5 injured sailors and I pray that the 10 missing sailors are found as soon as possible.
Some left-leaning people, it seems, are disturbed that President Donald Trump responded to a reporter pool question on the incident with “That’s too bad.” Until the investigation is completed and because there is no indication of terrorist and malevolent activity on the part of the a 600-foot Alnic MC vessel that transports oil and chemicals, the POTUS response seems appropriate IMHO.
Images: 2017-08-21 Damage to the USS John S McCain [The collision of the USS John S McCain with the Alnic MC was reported at 0524 local time in the Strait of Singapore] photo by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Fulton; 2017-08-21 Alnic MC tweeted by Malaysia's navy chief; 2017-08-21 The USS John S McCain is now sailing under its own power to Singapore; Map of where the incident occurred
"The U.S.S. John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, near the Korean Peninsula in 2013. The vessel collided with an oil tanker on Monday morning off Singapore, the Navy said. Credit U.S. Navy, via Reuters
Ten Navy sailors were missing and five were injured on Monday after a United States destroyer collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore, the Navy said, the second accident involving a Navy ship and a cargo vessel in recent months.
The guided-missile destroyer, the John S. McCain, was passing through the Strait of Malacca on its way to a port in Singapore at 6:24 a.m. when it collided with the Alnic MC, a 600-foot vessel that transports oil and chemicals, the Navy said. The destroyer was damaged near the rear on its port, or left-hand, side.
Ten sailors on the ship were unaccounted for, and five others had minor injuries, a Navy official said. Ships with the Singapore Navy and helicopters from the U.S.S. America, an assault ship, were searching the waters for survivors.
The extent of the damage to both ships was unclear. The Navy said the destroyer was moving with assistance from tugboats and was returning to port.
“That’s too bad,” President Trump told reporters, at the White House, after he was asked about the collision.
The Strait of Malacca, between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is notoriously difficult to navigate because of congested traffic and episodes of piracy over the years.
The collision came two months after one of the Navy’s deadliest accidents in years, when another destroyer, the Fitzgerald, collided with a freighter off Japan. Seven people on the Fitzgerald were killed, and the Navy relieved the destroyer’s two top officers of their duties on Friday after an investigation into the collision. That freighter was 728 feet long.
The McCain and the Fitzgerald are both in the Seventh Fleet and are based in Yokosuka, Japan."
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSG William Wall MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne LTC Bill Koski Sgt Trevor Barrett SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes ~390226:SGT David Reynolds] CSM Charles Hayden PO1 John Crafton PO1 John Miller PO3 Steven Kaminski PO3 Steven Sherrill SCPO Morris Ramsey LTC (Join to see) Sgt Kelli Mays
I was saddened to learn that another US Navy ship has collided with a commercial vessel.
In this case the guided-missile destroyer U.S.S. John S. McCain has collided with an oil tanker on Monday morning off Singapore, the Navy said.
This incident reminds me of the USS Fitzgerald in the sense that the incident was in a shipping lane and a larger commercial vessel damaged a US Navy vessel and sailors are injured and some are missing at this point.
Prayers for the 5 injured sailors and I pray that the 10 missing sailors are found as soon as possible.
Some left-leaning people, it seems, are disturbed that President Donald Trump responded to a reporter pool question on the incident with “That’s too bad.” Until the investigation is completed and because there is no indication of terrorist and malevolent activity on the part of the a 600-foot Alnic MC vessel that transports oil and chemicals, the POTUS response seems appropriate IMHO.
Images: 2017-08-21 Damage to the USS John S McCain [The collision of the USS John S McCain with the Alnic MC was reported at 0524 local time in the Strait of Singapore] photo by U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Fulton; 2017-08-21 Alnic MC tweeted by Malaysia's navy chief; 2017-08-21 The USS John S McCain is now sailing under its own power to Singapore; Map of where the incident occurred
"The U.S.S. John S. McCain, a guided-missile destroyer, near the Korean Peninsula in 2013. The vessel collided with an oil tanker on Monday morning off Singapore, the Navy said. Credit U.S. Navy, via Reuters
Ten Navy sailors were missing and five were injured on Monday after a United States destroyer collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore, the Navy said, the second accident involving a Navy ship and a cargo vessel in recent months.
The guided-missile destroyer, the John S. McCain, was passing through the Strait of Malacca on its way to a port in Singapore at 6:24 a.m. when it collided with the Alnic MC, a 600-foot vessel that transports oil and chemicals, the Navy said. The destroyer was damaged near the rear on its port, or left-hand, side.
Ten sailors on the ship were unaccounted for, and five others had minor injuries, a Navy official said. Ships with the Singapore Navy and helicopters from the U.S.S. America, an assault ship, were searching the waters for survivors.
The extent of the damage to both ships was unclear. The Navy said the destroyer was moving with assistance from tugboats and was returning to port.
“That’s too bad,” President Trump told reporters, at the White House, after he was asked about the collision.
The Strait of Malacca, between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, is notoriously difficult to navigate because of congested traffic and episodes of piracy over the years.
The collision came two months after one of the Navy’s deadliest accidents in years, when another destroyer, the Fitzgerald, collided with a freighter off Japan. Seven people on the Fitzgerald were killed, and the Navy relieved the destroyer’s two top officers of their duties on Friday after an investigation into the collision. That freighter was 728 feet long.
The McCain and the Fitzgerald are both in the Seventh Fleet and are based in Yokosuka, Japan."
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSG William Wall MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne LTC Bill Koski Sgt Trevor Barrett SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes ~390226:SGT David Reynolds] CSM Charles Hayden PO1 John Crafton PO1 John Miller PO3 Steven Kaminski PO3 Steven Sherrill SCPO Morris Ramsey LTC (Join to see) Sgt Kelli Mays
Shipping
Western Pacific
Sailors
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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The CO was a friend of mine when I was in.... have no idea how this happened TWICE.... prayers with the families.
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LTC Stephen F. truly in disbelief that this incident occurred, how tragic and heartbroken I am. I pray for the injured Sailors and 10 that are missing. Thanks for the share, I did not know of this my friend.
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LTC Stephen F. Based on the collision of the Fitzgerald all ships at sea should be on high alert. All of them should have reviewed all Watch standing qualifications and all bridge officers qualifications should have been reviewed by the Skipper and Navigator.
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