The US Navy has somehow managed to crash another one of its Seventh Fleet destroyers into a commercial vessel, the second time in two months, this time with a Liberian-flagged 183-meter oil and chemical tanker near Singapore.
Ten crew members are missing and five hurt following the 9,000 ton destroyer’s collision with the 30,000 ton shipping vessel. Several months ago, seven sailors were killed when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippines fishing vessel, an incident which was determined “avoidable” by a US Navy investigation.
The John S McCain and the Fitzgerald are both part of the region’s ballistic missile defense shield, sharing the same home port of Yokosuka naval base in Japan.