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US Navy destroyer collides with merchant ship near Singapore

Other News Materials 21 August 2017 05:27 (UTC +04:00)
The US guided-missile destroyer crashed into the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of Singapore
US Navy destroyer collides with merchant ship near Singapore

The US guided-missile destroyer crashed into the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of Singapore, Sputnik reported citing the US Navy 7th Fleet.

The incident occurred at 6:24 a.m. local time as the ship was on its way to make a routine visit in Singapore. The McCain has been damaged on its port side aft, the Navy says. The latest US Navy update has the ship sailing under her own power toward port. Any injuries as a result of the crash are as yet unknown.

A search and rescue operation has been launched, combining the efforts of the Singapore Navy and US ships in the area. The Singapore Navy ship RSS Gallant, RSN helicopters and Police Coast Guard vessel Basking Shark are currently in the area to render assistance, the 7th fleet reports, and Osprey aircraft and Seahawk SH-60 helicopters from the amphibious assault ship USS America are also responding.

The incident will be investigated, the Navy has said.

The USS John McCain is an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer belonging to the US Navy's 7th Fleet, and is home ported at the US Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan. The Alnic MC is described as a Liberian-flagged, 30,000 ton, 183-meter oil and chemical tanker by the Marine Traffic website. It appears to have been on its way to Singapore from Pyeongtaek port in South Korea.

"Our first priority is determining the safety of the ship and crew," Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a Twitter statement.

This accident comes only weeks after the June 17 collision of the USS Fitzgerald with the ACX Crystal container ship, in which seven of the Fitzgerald crew were killed and several others injured. A high level staff shakeup followed the crash.

The Straits of Malacca and Singapore are the world's busiest shipping lane and reached a new high of 83,740 transits in 2016, according to Seatrade Maritime News.

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