USS John S. McCain Collides with Liberian Oil Tanker

Ten U.S. Navy sailors are missing after the USS John S.McCain collided with a Liberian oil tanker near Singapore. This is the second incident involving a Navy warship and a merchant vessel in about two months. On June 17, 2017, the USS Fitzgerald, a U.S. Navy destroyer of the U.S. 7th Fleet operating out of the Yokosuka Japanese and U.S. Naval base collided with the ACX Crystal, killing seven soldiers.

Why are these kinds of collisions occurring?

A top U.S. Navy official announced that some remains of sailors had been found in a compartment on the ship, but not much else is known. Admiral John Richardson called for a pause in U.S. Naval activity worldwide to assess possible systemic issues and prevent another collision from occurring.

The USS John S. McCain was en route to Singapore for a routine port visit when the collision occurred. The Liberian merchant ship named Alnic MC was more than three times the weight of the John S. McCain.

When the collision occurred, the USS John S. McCain’s hull was damaged enough to cause flooding in compartments that contained crew members, machinery and communications rooms. The crew members who were not impacted were able to contain the flooding and prevent further damage from occurring. (Image courtesy of Royal Malaysian Navy via AP.)

The USS America along with local authorities from Singapore and Malaysia have been leading search efforts for the last 48 hours, though the amphibious assault ship accompanied the battered USS John S. McCain and its crew into port at Changi Naval Base in Singapore.

As ship repair facility divers continue to assess the damage as part of the official investigation, we’ll know more about the suspected causes of the accident.

Search efforts for the missing sailors are still underway in a joint operation between the United States, Malaysia and Singapore along both the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Singapore at the scene of the collision.