U.S. Navy and Marine Corps divers recovered the remains of ten sailors who were aboard the USS John S. McCain when it collided with the much larger, Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker Alnic MC.
The bodies of all 10 US sailors who were unaccounted for after a US Navy guided missile destroyer collided with an oil/chemical tanker have now been recovered, the US Navy said Aug. 27.
US Navy and Marine Corps divers recovered the remains of the sailors who were aboard the USS John S. McCain when it collided with Liberian-flagged oil/chemical tanker Alnic MC the morning of Aug. 21.
The collision was reported at 6:24 am local time as the vessels were east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca on the morning of Aug. 21.
According to the 7th Fleet, the John S. McCain was transiting to a routine port visit in Singapore when the collision occurred. The vessel, which is 505 feet long and weighs less than 9,000 tons with a full crew, sustained damage to her port side aft upon colliding with the 600 foot long, 30,000 gross ton, double-hulled tanker, which is owned by Marshall Islands-based Energetic Tank Inc. and operated by Greece-based shipping company Stealth Maritime Corp. S.A.
No injuries or spillage were reported on board the nine-year-old tanker, but as of Aug. 28, it is still moored in Singapore while an investigation into the incident continues.
The deceased sailors have been identified as:
* Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Kansas City, Missouri;
* Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from El Paso, Texas;
* Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Gaithersburg, Maryland;
* Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Cable, Ohio;
* Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Manchester, Maryland;
* Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from Poughkeepsie, New York;
* Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Suffield, Connecticut;
* Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Killeen, Texas;
* Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Decatur, Illinois; and
* Electronics Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
This month’s fatal collision was the second since June for the US Navy’s Yokosuka, Japan-based 7th Fleet, following a mid-June incident in which seven U.S. sailors were killed and three others severely injured. In that crash, the ACX Crystal, a containership chartered by Japanese ocean carrier NYK Line, collided with U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald in the Philippine Sea.
An investigation by the 7th Fleet later found that the collision was avoidable and that both ships “demonstrated poor seamanship.” Subsequently, the Fitzgerald’s commanding officer, executive officer and command master chief were relieved of their duties, as were several junior officers.
After the most recent incident, 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was relieved of duty by U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift due to “a loss of faith” in Aucoin’s ability to command, according to the Navy. He was replaced Aug. 23 by Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, who’s most recent assignment was deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii.