The number of possible injuries was unclear.
At the time of the incident, reported at 6:24 a.m. Saturday local time, the USS John S McCain was underway in the Strait of Malacca. The body of water separates the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
"Initial reports indicate John S. McCain sustained damage to her port side aft," the Navy's Seventh Fleet said in a statement. "Search and rescue efforts are underway in coordination with local authorities."
Vessel ALNIC MC (IMO: 9396725, MMSI: 636017930) is a chemical/oil products tanker built in 2008 and currently sailing under the flag of Liberia. ALNIC MC has 183m length overall and beam of 32m. Her gross tonnage is 30040 tons.
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Search-and-rescue efforts are underway in the Pacific after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship in the second such incident in two months, the service said.
The USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) collided with the Alnic MC, an oil and chemical tanker from Liberia, around 6:24 a.m. Monday in the South China Sea east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca, according to a statement from 7th Fleet.
The incident, which occurred while the ship was headed for a port visit in Singapore, caused damage to the port side aft, or left back part, of the destroyer, the Navy said.
The extent of the search-and-rescue efforts wasn't immediately clear. The press release didn't indicate any casualties.
The accident comes just days after the Navy fired the top three officials from the USS Fitzgerald for their role in a deadly collision with a cargo ship on June 17 off the coast of Japan.
Cmdr. Bryce Benson, commander of the Fitzgerald, and Cmdr. Sean Babbitt, the executive officer, were "detached for cause," meaning the Navy "has lost trust and confidence in their ability to lead," the service announced Thursday.
In addition, the top enlisted sailor aboard the Fitzgerald, Chief Petty Officer Brice Baldwin, and several other sailors on the watch crew will face nonjudicial punishment for their role in the accident in which seven sailors drowned and others were injured.
The latest incident marks the fourth mishap involving U.S. ships in the Pacific this year, Fox News reported.
The USS Antietam, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser, ran aground and dumped oil in Tokyo Bay in January and the USS Lake Champlain hit a fishing boat in May, according to the network.
Overall, all these incidents show some very dismal competence level of the U.S. Navy.
Source: military.com
