Close to my heart, I served on board the USS Dewey DDG45, I can imagine the heartbreak of the fellow sailors over the loss of their mates.
If the story turns out to be that the merchant ship hit the US ship, then this is a gross violation of maritime law. US ships do not alter their course, they continue in their course while demanding the civilian ship to alter theirs, I have personally, and on repeated occasions signaled ships at night to do just that.
Seven sailors missing as US Navy destroyer collides with merchant ship off Japanese coast
Seven crew members of a US destroyer have been reported missing following a collision with a merchant ship off the Japanese coast.
The collision, which involved the USS Fitzgerald, took place 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan at 2.30 am local time.
According to a US Defence department official, three compartments of the Fitzgerald have been flooded.
A spokesman for the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet says two crew members, including the captain, had been airlifted.
According to the Japanese coastguard, seven members of the crew are unaccounted for following the collision.
Footage taken by the Japanese broadcaster NHK showed damage to the right of the hull of the 505-foot destroyer.
According to the station, the Fitzgerald collided with ACX Crystal, a Philippine container ship.
