The bodies of seven U.S. sailors missing after a Navy destroyer collided with a container ship off Japan were found in flooded berthing compartments, a defense official said.
The U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement Sunday morning local time that "a number of sailors that were missing" were found in flooded compartments. The fleet commander would not give an exact number of the bodies found because family notifications were still being made. He said a search and rescue effort was ended.
"I ask that you [keep] your thoughts and prayers for the family members and the crew," U.S. 7th Fleet commander Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin said at a press conference Sunday afternoon local time.
The USS Fitzgerald collided with the Philippine-flagged merchant ship the ACX Crystal at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday local time (1:30 p.m. Friday ET) about 56 nautical miles southwest of Yokosuka, officials said. A defense official told NBC News that the bodies of all seven sailors have been found.
The damaged USS Fitzgerald is seen near the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, after the destroyer collided with a container ship off the Izu Peninsula June 17, 2017. Eugene Hoshiko / AP
The collision with the container ship tore "a big gash underneath the water line" and the crew had to fight to keep the vessel from foundering or sinking, Aucoin said.
"They had to fight the ship to keep it above the surface. So it was traumatic," Aucoin said, calling the crew’s efforts heroic. "I can't tell you how proud I am of the crew for what they did to save the ship," he said.
A significant portion of the crew was asleep at the time of the collision, Aucoin said. The bodies were found in flooded berthing compartments after divers were able to reach the areas, the Fleet said. The two damaged berthing compartments house a combined 116 crew members, Aucoin said.
"It's a large gash near the keel of the ship, so the water flow was tremendous," Aucoin said. The identities of the sailors that had been reported missing have not been released.
Aucoin said he did not know the exact circumstances before the collision but said he would launch an investigation, and that there will also be a safety investigation and other probes into what occurred.
Asked about the mechanics of the collision and any maneuvers that preceded it, Aucoin said he did not know full details yet, but said "they were hit on the side by the tanker, a 29,000-ton merchant freighter."
Three U.S. sailors, including the Fitzgerald's commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, were injured in the collision and were transported by helicopter to a naval hospital in Yokosuka. All three are awake and under observation, the Fleet said Saturday.
Staffs stand near the U.S flag of damaged USS Fitzgerald seen at the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo Sunday, June 18, 2017. Eugene Hoshiko / AP
The ACX Crystal had 20 crew Filipino crew members aboard and there were no injuries on that vessel, a Japanese Coast Guard official said.
U.S. and Japanese aircraft and surface ships launched a search looking for the unaccounted-for sailors after the collision. The Fitzgerald returned to Yokosuka Saturday evening local time, the Navy said.
Rear Admiral Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, in a statement earlier praised the "extraordinary courage" of the Fitzgerald's sailors in stabilizing the ship and sailing the vessel back to Yokosuka under "exceptionally trying circumstances."
Aucoin said repairs to the ship could take months, and hopefully would be done in less than a year.
"You will see the USS Fitzgerald back as one of our warships," Aucoin said.
tomhastherage on June 18th, 2017 at 05:33 UTC »
As a former sailor who did quite a bit of work in the Damage Control Division, I just want to speculate a little about what might have happened onboard the Fitzgerald after being struck.
It is VERY unlikely that some sort of scene from a submarine movie played out, with screaming men being locked in a quickly flooding space. All the watertight doors and hatches on my ship (also a destroyer) opened from both sides, because obviously it would be extremely unsafe to make them not. Most watertight doors, especially those leading to commonly accessed spaces like berthings (sleeping areas), use a lever type handle that controls all the individual latches at once. Vertical hatches at the top of each ladder (stairs but steep and narrow) have round wheel handles that spin just like you see in the movies. Most doors and hatches can be opened and closed in a matter of seconds.
My guess is that the collision caused a large-ish hull breach into a crew berthing (and other spaces) and simultaneously killed or disabled (by crushing, remember its a MASSIVE ship that hit them) several of the sleeping crew. Those who could be evacuated were, and the doors were closed to prevent the spread of flooding. The ship will have immediately conducted a count of the crew and identified who was missing. Unfortunately they would not be able to confirm deaths until the damage was contained and it was safe to open the door again.
I just hope nobody was crushed but still alive enough to be subsequently drowned.
Edit: Added some links to help non seafaring folks get a sense of how it looks etc.
Edit 2: If you're wondering how they stopped a leak in a flooded compartment when the hole, or part of it, is underwater and the door has to stay closed, they might adjust fuel (or other ballast), to the tanks on the opposite side of the impact. This would cause the ship to list (lean) in that direction, exposing more of the damaged side of the hull to the air and making it easier to pump the water out of the flooded spaces. If enough of the breach is exposed you can start applying patches and such to make a temporary fix until you get back to port.
Edit 3: By "locked in a quickly flooding space", I meant that I don't believe it's likely that they were purposely locked in. If someone was to close the door on me and I wanted out (because I was worried about the sudden influx of water) I would simply open it using the handle (it even works underwater because they are designed to open "out", towards an evacuation route, like public buildings. Hatches open upward because the flooding is usually not above you.) They would have to be actively holding the handle down against my attempts to open it in order to keep it closed. In addition, as stated below, berthings (places where lots of people gather and sleep) have at least two exits in case a fire or damage blocks one.
gjbbb on June 18th, 2017 at 03:28 UTC »
As an ex Navy guy this really depresses me. I imagine they got stuck in a sealed off compartment. That ship got smacked hard. I feel so bad for the families.
Oysterpoint on June 18th, 2017 at 02:57 UTC »
Insane that this happened. Navy Ships have multiple people in the pilot house, lookouts all over the ship, people in CIC monitoring surface contacts, and it's a giant ship with lights that they hit.
HOW did this happen? This has to be the worst officer of the deck of all time.
Edit: I agree that it looks like the navy ship got hit. But that doesn't equal an excuse for the more maneuverable military vessel getting hit by ANYTHING. It's literally every persons job standing watch to ensure nothing gets too close to the ship. From the looks of it, the OOD made a terrible decision, and got people killed and ruined his commanding officers career. I can't imagine he's loving life right now. OODs get shit when they just happen to get a few hundred ft from another ship. Like straight up fired and never stand that watch again. You can tell when it happens too. The ship will take a hard unexpected turn. Next thing you know ensign fuck up is in engineering department.
I've seen an OOD get his ass chewed out just because he was pointed at the carrier. The carrier was a few miles away. But this is how insanely strict ocean navigation is.
OOD = officer of the deck. Guy driving the ship.