Oddly POTUS has not tweeted about this yet, or the fact that 7 USN crew are missing.
TOKYO — Seven U.S. Navy sailors are missing off the coast of Japan after an Aegis guided missile destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a container ship early Saturday morning, causing significant damage and flooding.
The destroyer’s commanding officer was evacuated from the ship by a Japanese Coast Guard helicopter and is now being treated at the U.S. naval hospital at Yokosuka, the home of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said Commander Ronald Flanders of the U.S Naval Forces Japan.
Other U.S. Navy vessels and Japanese Coast Guard cutters are at the scene, about 12 miles from the Izu peninsula and 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, searching for the missing sailors.*
The*Fitzgerald, which is more than 500 feet in length, collided with a fully loaded, Philippine-flagged container ship,*the ACX Crystal, at about 2:30 a.m. local time.
The Crystal*is about 700 feet long and was bound for Tokyo before colliding with the Fitzgerald, according to a*maritime traffic tracking website.
Local broadcaster NHK showed helicopter footage of the container ship with minor damage to its bow, while the Fitzgerald appeared to have significant damage both above and below the waterline. Pumps could be seen trying to bail water out from the Fitzgerald.
It was not yet clear what caused the collision.
“Right now, our efforts are on damage control,” Flanders said.
It is unclear how the two massive vessels collided. There are extensive international guidelines for mitigating accidents on the ocean known as the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea or Colregs. The rules stipulate that ships have a watch posted at all times and follow a number of steps when crossing the path or overtaking another vessel to ensure they don’t hit
The Fitzgerald is part of the same Yokosuka-based group that includes the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, but it was operating independently of the carrier when the collision happened, Flanders said.
The USS Dewey, another destroyer, and two naval tugboats were at the scene
The Fitzgerald is operating under its own power, but only at between one to three miles per hour.
At full strength, the Fitzgerald usually has more than 250 crew members aboard and can reach speeds well over 30 miles per hour. It is unclear how fast the destroyer was going when it collided with the merchant ship.
Gibbons-Neff reported from Washington.
The destroyer’s commanding officer was evacuated from the ship by a Japanese Coast Guard helicopter and is now being treated at the U.S. naval hospital at Yokosuka, the home of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said Commander Ronald Flanders of the U.S Naval Forces Japan.
Other U.S. Navy vessels and Japanese Coast Guard cutters are at the scene, about 12 miles from the Izu peninsula and 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, searching for the missing sailors.*
The*Fitzgerald, which is more than 500 feet in length, collided with a fully loaded, Philippine-flagged container ship,*the ACX Crystal, at about 2:30 a.m. local time.
The Crystal*is about 700 feet long and was bound for Tokyo before colliding with the Fitzgerald, according to a*maritime traffic tracking website.
Local broadcaster NHK showed helicopter footage of the container ship with minor damage to its bow, while the Fitzgerald appeared to have significant damage both above and below the waterline. Pumps could be seen trying to bail water out from the Fitzgerald.
It was not yet clear what caused the collision.
“Right now, our efforts are on damage control,” Flanders said.
It is unclear how the two massive vessels collided. There are extensive international guidelines for mitigating accidents on the ocean known as the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea or Colregs. The rules stipulate that ships have a watch posted at all times and follow a number of steps when crossing the path or overtaking another vessel to ensure they don’t hit
The Fitzgerald is part of the same Yokosuka-based group that includes the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, but it was operating independently of the carrier when the collision happened, Flanders said.
The USS Dewey, another destroyer, and two naval tugboats were at the scene
The Fitzgerald is operating under its own power, but only at between one to three miles per hour.
At full strength, the Fitzgerald usually has more than 250 crew members aboard and can reach speeds well over 30 miles per hour. It is unclear how fast the destroyer was going when it collided with the merchant ship.
Gibbons-Neff reported from Washington.
Comment