US destroyer collides with merchant ship near Singapore

By: ABC57 Staff

Posted: Aug 20, 2017 9:10 PM EDT

By Brad Lendon, CNN

(CNN) -- A US Navy guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant ship east of Singapore early Monday, the second US warship to be involved in a collision in just over two months.

The Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement that the USS John S. McCain collided with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while the destroyer was making its way to a port visit in Singapore, the Navy said. The collision was reported at 5:24 am local time, according to the Navy statement.

A Navy official told CNN initial reports indicated only minor injuries among the McCain's crew of about 330 but that a full accounting of the crew was ongoing.

Search and rescue efforts are under way, the Navy statement said, with helicopters and Marine Corps Osprey aircraft from the amphibious assault ship USS America responding.

Singaporean ships and helicopters were also responding, the Navy said.

Initial reports indicate the US ship sustained damage to its aft port (rear left) side, the Navy said. It said the McCain was steaming under its own power to port.

It did not give information on the status of the merchant vessel.

Merchant marine websites describe the Alnic MC as a 30,000-ton, 600-foot-long oil tanker flying a Liberian flag.

The McCain is 505 feet long and displaces about 9,000 tons.

On June 17, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan. That collision resulted in the deaths of seven US sailors.

The USS John S. McCain is named for the father and grandfather of US Sen. John McCain. Both of McCain's relatives were US Navy admirals. The senator was a captain in the US Navy.

Earlier this month, the McCain carried out a freedom-of-navigation operation in the South China Sea, sailing within six nautical miles of Mischief Reef, one of the artificial islands built by China in the Spratlys.

The-CNN-Wire