U.S. Naval Accident Off Singapore Leaves 5 Sailors Injured, 10 Missing

August 21, 2017

An American Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship on Monday, resulting to several injuries and 10 missing Navy sailors off the coast of Singapore.

According to CNN, five U.S. Navy sailors were injured in the recent collision of the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, USS John S. McCain, with the merchant ship, Alnic MC, east of Singapore on Monday at 5:24 a.m.

Reports indicate that the McCain suffered problems with its steering but it was regained before it collided with Alnic MC, which is a 30,000-ton, 600-foot-long oil tanker from Liberia.

The 505-feet long, about 9,000-ton U.S. destroyer ship suffered damages to its rear left side, which is referred to as its aft port. No official word yet regarding the damage or status of the merchant vessel.

The search for the 10 missing Navy sailors has begun. Both American and Singaporean rescue ships and helicopters have responded to the incident, the U.S. Navy said in its statement, including the Marine Corps Osprey aircraft docked in the amphibious USS America assault ship.

Coincidentally, this is the fourth incident this year that involves a U.S. Navy ship carrying an Aegis missile defense system that could be a possible defense against missiles launched by North Korea. The first was in early January with the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam. It was then followed by the USS Lake Champlain incident on May 9 and USS Fitzgerald on June 17.

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