US military vessel collides with merchant ship

a reply to: Zaphod58

The amount of submarine collisions over the years really surprised me as well.

I wonder how the loss of two Arleigh-Burke's in the Pacific theatre affects the US Navy's missile defence posture in the region? If there were some nefarious plan at play here, could it possibly be the precursor to a missile attack on US assets in the region? I mean, I know there are other ships, as well as land based systems in place, but this essentially amounts to the near concurrent loss of two mobile missile defence platforms in a key strategic region.

Further, wasn't it the John McCain that performed the "Freedom of Navigation" patrol through China's artificial islands a couple of weeks back? Could this be message from the Chinese?

This sounds like a navy screwup. Someone came in and changed the orders and they got hit.

a reply to: Orwells Ghost

This would make three, but we don't currently know the status of her and what kind of damage they're looking at. As for missile defense, only if they're using cruise missiles. Not all of them have the BMD upgrades yet.

Five injured, ten missing.

Update: according to the latest US Navy 7th Fleet update, ten sailors are missing and five have been injured after the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel, U.S. 7th Fleet Commander says in emailed statement Monday.
...
Search and rescue efforts are underway in coordination with local authorities. In addition to tug boats out of Singapore, the Republic of Singapore Navy ship RSS Gallant (97), RSN helicopters and Police Coast Guard vessel Basking Shark (55) are currently in the area to render assistance.

MV-22s and SH-60s from USS America are also responding.

Link

10 sailors missing, not good news.

a reply to: Woody510

Yeah, that surprised the hell out of me too when I read how many they have had.

According to reports, she lost steering before the collision. She's regained it, and is fighting flooding in several areas, and has limited propulsion and power.

This marks the fourth incident this year for Navy ships in Asia. Three suffered collisions, and one ran aground.

www.cnn.com...

Former Navy
This is a bad omen with 2 navy ships now colliding within 2 months.
I think we should put off any future wars.......

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Woody510

Yeah, that surprised the hell out of me too when I read how many they have had.

The uss san francisco was particularly bad. See pic of her smashed bow? Not pretty.

a reply to: jacobe001

Three in four months. There was a collision with a fishing boat off Korea in May.

I was on an unrep ship. We once had 2 in one day!

There were many many collisions with warsaw pact vessels in the battle group.

If there was a steering casualty, there probably wasn't anything that could have been done. Even simply stopping can cause a collision. Here's hoping everyone is found safe.

I got the impression that the navy said the ship lost but regained steering before the collision.

a reply to: roadgravel

They said they lost it before the collision, but regained it. They didn't say if they regained it before or after the collision though.

Alnic was carrying 11,987 tons of fuel oil from Taiwan. They were heading to their anchorage in Singapore, and said there was no spill.

Malaysia was sending two ships and aircraft to assist with the search for the missing sailors. Four of the injured were airlifted for non-life threatening injuries, the fifth didn't require treatment.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

a reply to: Zaphod58

I suppose the question is what causes a state-of-the-art guided missile destroyer to lose their rudder for a period of time coinciding with an imminent collision with a vessel traveling at 14 knots?

a reply to: Zelun

That's what the investigation will have to figure out. This is another extremely busy shipping lane, so if it wasn't this ship it might have been another. They should have kept at least one set of steering controls, unless it was a mechanical issue in either the rudder or linkage itself.

Not nearly as bad as Fitzgerald, but bad enough.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I agree that the investigation will be important. I also feel, however, that we will not hear the true story until about 2067 when a FOIA request is fulfilled in any meaningful way. It is a busy bit of sea, granted. These ships have pretty good nav though. There would/should have been an alarm well in advance of the collision. I say this as I cinch my tinfoil closer to my skull because it makes me feel better: these ships are anti-missile platforms. Two in one month, the same month in which NK proves it can hit CONUS?

a reply to: Zelun

These can't stop an ICBM, and both are based in Japan. There are four more US owned BMD ships based there, along with the Japanese owned ships that stay close to home.

a reply to: Zaphod58

defeat Aegis and you're halfway there.

This Trump quote sounds like FAKE news...

President Trump, responding to questions Sunday night about the collision following his return to the White House, said, "That's too bad."

Last paragraph at: thehill.com...