Fourth collision this year shows stress on US Pacific fleet
By
Patrick Martin
26 August 2017
The August 21 collision between the Navy destroyer USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker in the Strait of Malacca, near Singapore, is the fourth such collision this year involving a major vessel of the US Seventh Fleet, which conducts operations in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Ten sailors are believed killed in the collision, which had a devastating impact on the destroyer, which is only one-third the size of the tanker that struck it nearly broadside in the predawn hours of Monday. Some of the bodies have been recovered and the others are believed trapped in flooded compartments of the John S. McCain, where divers are conducting recovery operations.
Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin, commander of the Seventh Fleet, was relieved of duty Wednesday and replaced by his deputy, Rear Admiral Phil Sawyer. Aucoin was due to retire September 7 and Sawyer was scheduled to replace him. The overall command structure of the Navy is unaffected, with Admiral Scott Swift remaining as commander of the Pacific Fleet, in charge of the largest regional component of the Navy.
While Aucoin’s dismissal has a cosmetic character, it is believed to be the first time that a fleet commander has been removed since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The highly unusual step, along with the accident itself, points to a deep erosion of morale as the navy has been engaged in a high tempo of operations, particularly as the Trump administration has intensified the confrontation with North Korea.
The McCain disaster follows three other collisions involving Navy ships in the Seventh Fleet this year: a January 31 accident in which the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam ran aground in Tokyo Bay; a May 9…