At least ten US sailors were missing and five injured after the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel in Alnic MC in waters east of Singapore and the Straits of Malacca, the US Navy was quoted as saying.
The US Navy in a statement said the USS John S. McCain collided with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while the destroyer was making its way to a routine port visit in Singapore. The collision was reported at 5:24am local time.
The warship suffered damage the port side aft (rear left) side.
Search and rescue efforts are under way, with helicopters and Marine Corps Ospreys aircraft from the amphibious assault ship USS America in addition with the Singaporean ships and helicopters responding, the US Navy was quoted as saying.
There were no initial reports of injuries.
The McCain is 505 feet long and displaces about 9,000 tonnes while the Alnic MC is a 30,000-tonne, 600-foot-long oil tanker flying a Liberian flag.
USS John S. McCain is the second US warship to be involved in a collision in the Pacific in just over two months post USS Fitzgerald.
On June 17, the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan which resulted in the deaths of seven US sailors.
