Seven sailors went missing on Saturday, June 17 after a collision between a merchant ship from the Philippines and a United States Destroyer, off the coast of Japan. The U.S. Destroyer vessel USS Fitzgerald was damaged on the starboard side below and above the waterline during the collision. The accident took place at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time, 56 nautical miles southwest of the coast of Yokosuka, Japan.
Two patients required immediate medical care, one of which was Commander Bryce Benson, who was the commanding officer of USS Fitzgerald.
Bryce was flown to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and is in a stable condition. The Japanese Coast Guard is continuously searching for the seven missing U.S. sailors.
Navy ship collides with Filipino merchant ship near Japan
The U.S. Navy stated that the collision resulted in some flooding of the Fitzgerald. However, the ship was under its own power but had inadequate propulsion. In an interview with the CNN, the U.S. Navy said that after the collision took place, the ship was flooding but the crew worked their best to minimize the damage and stabilize the condition of the vessel by pumping out water.
The U.S. Navy also stated that the Japanese coast guard helicopter was assisting them to move injured sailors to the hospital.
According to the Japanese coast guard, four Japanese ships, along with one helicopter were deployed to the U.S. Navy Destroyer to help them with evacuation, damage assessment, and search for the missing sailors.
Big container ship from Philippines damages navy vessel
An official stated that emergency procedures were in place and the U.S.
Navy Destroyer is not at risk of sinking. The officer also revealed that the USS Fitzgerald vessel was in collision with a Philippine-based container ship named ACX Crystal. According to marinetraffic.com, a ship tracking website, the ACX Crystal weighs 29,060 tons and is 741 feet long.
Before the collision on June 17, the ACX Crystal left the Nagoya port for Japan.
Images captured have revealed that the container ship from Philippines was damaged at its bow. The images of the two ships after collision revealed that the Fitzgerald’s hull had partially caved in on the right side of the deck, or the vessel’s starboard side. ACX Crystal, on the other hand, suffered minimum damage owing to its large size. It was clear from the pattern of damage that ACX Crystal collided with the U.S. Navy Destroyer vessel, nose first.
