There were no reports of a chemical or oil spill. The Singapore government said no crew were injured on the Liberian-flagged Alnic, which sustained damage to a compartment at the front of the ship some 23 feet above its waterline. He told The Associated Press in a message that he couldn't say what happened. One of the injured sailors, Operations Specialist 2nd Class Navin Ramdhun, posted a Facebook message telling family and friends he was okay and awaiting surgery for an arm injury. It also will feed and house sailors from the stricken ship. It was helping with damage control on the McCain and with the search for the missing sailors. Janes, a defense industry publication, estimated the hull breach was 10 feet wide.Īnother US naval vessel, the amphibious assault ship USS America, arrived in Singapore and deployed Osprey aircraft and Seahawk helicopters. Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency said the area is at the start of a designated sea lane for ships sailing into the Singapore Strait, one of the world's busiest.Ī photo tweeted by Malaysian navy chief Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin showed a large rupture in the McCain's side near the waterline. The destroyer was damaged on its port side aft, or left rear, in the 5.24am collision about 4.5 nautical miles from Malaysia's coast but was able to sail on to Singapore's naval base. A damage control response prevented further flooding. The Navy's 7th Fleet said 'significant damage' to the McCain's hull resulted in the flooding of adjacent compartments including crew berths, machinery and communications rooms.
The collision east of Singapore between the 505-foot destroyer guided missile destroyer and the 600-foot Alnic MC ripped a gaping hole in the destroyer's hull. The McCain had been heading to Singapore on a routine port visit after conducting a sensitive freedom-of-navigation operation last week by sailing near one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea. Singapore, at the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula, is one of the world's busiest ports and a US ally, with its naval base regularly visited by American warships. It was the second major collision in the last two months involving the Navy's 7th Fleet, after seven sailors died when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship collided in waters off Japan on June 17.Įarly Tuesday, three navies were hunting desperately for the McCain's 10 missing sailors as the search and rescue mission dragged into a second day. McCain collided with an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters, leaving 10 American sailors missing and several others injured. The shocking possibility emerged as the Navy ordered a broad investigation into the performance and readiness of the Pacific-based 7th Fleet.Įarly Monday, the USS John S.
A top admiral has said that the US Navy will 'consider' whether two fatal collisions this summer could have been the result of a cyber attack.Īdmiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said on Monday that there were 'no indications right now' that the two ships were hacked, but added investigators 'will consider all possibilities'.