The US Navy is the strongest navy in the world with a presence in the seven seas, and its warships patrol all the strategic waterways. One of the vital waterways is the Strait of Malacca, a narrow channel that passes between Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. It is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world, and more than a trillion tons of cargo passes through this strait. The US Navy destroyer Uss John Mccain was patrolling the strait when it collided with a Liberian registered oil tanker of 30000 tons, almost three times the tonnage of the destroyer.
Thankfully the tanker was empty at the time of collision otherwise the damage would have been much more.
The US warship did not go unscathed and as per reports received ten sailors are missing, and five are injured. Malaysia launches a search and rescue operation, Singapore and the US Navy and helicopters are surveying the sea. It is feared the soldiers may have met a watery grave. There are few details available about the status of the oil tanker, the Alnic MC, and its crew. This accident coming close on the heels of the death of 7 sailors in a collision with a cargo ship in the Sea of Japan is cause for worry, as any navy can not sustain peacetime deaths for any reason. BBC news reported this news.
The destroyer USS McCain
The USS John McCain is a destroyer, and as per the navy, the warship was able to proceed to the port of Singapore on its power, but it will be small consolation to the NOK of the soldiers, who are missing. The destroyer named after John McCain, the present senator's father and grandfather had served in the US Navy, suffered the collision while navigating through the strait.
This is the second big collision between a US warship and cargo ship or tanker and points to a lacuna in training and following procedures.
Earlier incident
In the earlier incident off the coast of Japan, seven sailors were killed when their bunker cabin was flooded because of the collision. The Navy acted with alacrity on the findings of the Inquiry and had disciplined the captain and other crew who were involved.
It was a mistake of the US crew and the captain who failed to display leadership qualities while leading the ship.
It is well-known that the waterways around Singapore are among the busiest in the world and convey a significant percentage of the world's trade. The Strait of Malacca is one of the most strategic commercial waterways in the world.
Senator McCain prays
US Senator John McCain whose ancestor’s names are associated with the warship has tweeted that he and his wife Cindy were praying for the safety of the sailors