Some remains of missing sailors found aboard US warship

SINGAPORE — Divers have found some remains of missing American sailors inside flooded compartments of the United States Navy destroyer that collided with an oil tanker off Singapore’s coast, the commander of the United States Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday (Aug 22).

Admiral Scott Swift did not say how many bodies had been recovered from USS John S McCain, which is docked at Changi Naval Base for damage assessment following a collision on Monday morning with tanker Alnic MC.

He also said that the Malaysian Navy, which is part of the search effort, had reported recovering a body at sea that might be one of the 10 missing sailors.

“The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search,” said Adm Swift at a news conference, held within sight of the damaged ship. “But it is premature to say how many,  or what the status of the recovery of those bodies is.”

The Malaysian Navy said in a statement that it had found a body 8 nautical miles north-west of the collision site, and it would transfer it to the US Navy on Wednesday.

Adm Swift said the search at sea would continue despite the discovery of remains in the ship. 

“We are always hopeful there are survivors,” he said. 

“While the search and rescue efforts continue, I sincerely thank our Singapore partners, our Malaysian partners and everyone who has responded with urgency, compassion and tireless commitment.”

He added that Monday’s collision — the fourth major accident in the US Pacific fleet this year — could not be viewed in isolation from other incidents, and that investigations were seeking to find a “common cause at the root of these events”.

The John S McCain’s sister ship, the Fitzgerald, almost sank off the coast of Japan after colliding with a Philippine container ship on June 17. The bodies of seven US sailors were found in a flooded berthing area after that collision.

The latest accident has already prompted a fleet-wide investigation and plans for temporary halts in operations.

US Vice-President Mike Pence said that to have sailors killed in two collisions this year was disconcerting.

“It’s just unacceptable and we’ll get to the bottom of it,” Mr Pence told Fox News. “But right now, our hearts are with the families of those that are lost and we honour them.”

Earlier on Tuesday (Aug 22), divers equipped with surface-supplied air rigs got into compartments in damaged parts of the USS John S McCain.

Immediate efforts by the ship’s crew after the collision on Monday were able to halt flooding into other parts of the hull, the Seventh Fleet said in a statement on its website.

CNN, citing unidentified US Navy officials, said early indications suggested the collision was caused by a steering malfunction as the warship approached the Straits of Malacca. 

Adm Swift said it was too early to draw conclusions about the cause, and whether it was the result of human error. 

“The danger in doing that is that we will miss something significant. It’s very early in the investigative process, but all of those questions will be part of that investigation process,” he said. With AGENCIES