Ten sailors missing after U.S. warship, tanker collide near Singapore

The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain is seen after a collision, in Singapore waters August 21, 2017.

SINGAPORE, Reuters, August 21, 2017  - Ten sailors are missing after a U.S. warship collided with an oil tanker east of Singapore before dawn on Monday, tearing a hole beneath the waterline and flooding compartments that include a crew sleeping area, the U.S. Navy said.

The collision between the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC was the second involving U.S. Navy destroyers and merchant vessels in Asian waters in little more than two months.

The ships collided while the U.S. warship was heading to Singapore for a routine port call, the Navy said in a statement.

'Initial reports indicate John S. McCain sustained damage to her port side aft,' the Navy said. 'There are currently 10 sailors missing and five injured.'

The destroyer had made its way to Changi Naval Base by Monday afternoon under its own power.

Significant damage to the hull had resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms, the Navy said, but crew members were able to halt further flooding.

Four of the injured were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in Singapore with non-life threatening injuries, while the fifth needed no further treatment.

The USS John S. McCain's sister ship, the USS Fitzgerald, almost sank off the coast of Japan after it was struck by a Philippine container ship on June 17. The bodies of seven USS Fitzgerald sailors were found in a flooded berthing area.

Collisions between warships and other large vessels are extremely rare, with naval historians going back more than 50 years to find a similar previous incident.

A search-and-rescue mission was under way for the sailors missing from the USS John S. McCain involving Singaporean ships, helicopters and tug boats, as well as U.S. Navy aircraft.

Reuters video footage from the Singapore Strait showed an area of impact about 6 meters (20 ft) wide in the John S. McCain's port side, with crew members lining her decks.

 

TERRITORIAL SPAT

A crew member on the Alnic MC told Reuters by telephone there was no oil spill from the Liberian-flagged, 183 meter-long (600 ft) tanker, which was carrying almost 12,000 tonnes of fuel oil from Taiwan to discharge in Singapore.

'We have not discharged the tanker yet,' said the crew member, who asked not to be identified.

'We are proceeding to Raffles Reserved Anchorage, where the owners will investigate the matter. There was some damage to the valve but no oil spill.'

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement no injuries were reported on the Alnic, which suffered some damage to its forepeak tank well above the waterline.

'There is no report of oil pollution and traffic in the Singapore Strait is unaffected,' the MPA said, stating that the collision happened in Singaporean territorial waters.

A map shows the location where the Alnic MC merchant vessel came to a halt after a collision with the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain east of Singapore August 21, 2017.

However, Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin told Reuters the collision happened in Malaysian waters and that Kuala Lumpur had sent vessels to assist.

The Pedra Branca area near where the collision happened has long been contested by both countries, with an international court ruling in Singapore's favor in 2008. Malaysia filed an application to review that ruling earlier this year.

'The Malaysian agencies are not involved in the search and rescue operations that is led by Singapore,' the MPA said.

Indonesia said it had also sent two aircraft and two warships to assist from its nearby Riau Islands.

The waterways around Singapore are some of the busiest and most important in the world, carrying around a third of global shipping trade.