The USS John S. McCain, which is named after the father and grandfather of Arizona GOP Senator John McCain who is fighting brain cancer, collided with a merchant marine vessel near Singapore in the early morning Singapore time, at 6:24 AM Japan Standard Time. The McCain's destination was a port in Singapore on a routine trip. The ship's port side aft, which is near the stern, or back of the ship, was damaged in the collision. The search party includes a group of tug boats, a Singapore Navy ship, (the RSS Gallant), Singapore Navy helicopters, and a Coast Guard vehicle belonging to the Singapore Navy.
American Navy also searching
The US Navy also is aiding in the search effort with MV-22 Ospreys and SH-60 Seahawks. Admiral John Richardson, who is the Chief of Naval Operations, affirmed in a tweet that his number one priority "is determining the safety of the ship and crew," according to ABC News on Sunday.
Additional collisions
Several other Naval ships have sustained crashes in recent months. About two months ago, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine container ship late at night off the coast of Japan. In that accident, seven sailors were killed. Several members of the executive staff, including the commanding officer, the executive officer and a high-ranking enlisted sailor.
In May of this year, the USS Lake Champlain, that carries guided missiles, had an encounter with a fishing boat in the Sea of Japan.
There were no injuries in that collision. The accident occurred despite repeated attempts to alert the crew of the fishing vessel.
In February 2017, another vessel carrying guided missiles, the USS Antietam, ran aground near the coast of Japan. No injuries were sustained in that collision; although the vessel's propeller was damaged and the ship was leaking oil.
A North Korean mission
Meanwhile, in late May 2017, the United States dispatched the third aircraft carrier to North Korea. At that time, Kim Jong Un was making multiple threats against Donald Trump and the United States and its territories, including Guam. Tensions between the two nations were rising steadily. In the last week and a half, tensions have subsided somewhat because Jong Un scaled back on his threats to attack Guam with nuclear weapons. After asserting that he was going to attack the small island U.S. territory, the Korean dictator stated that he was going to "wait and see" what the United States was going to do.
