WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — McCain also said he agrees with the operational pause announced earlier on Monday by the Navy because "more forceful action" is needed to figure out the cause and ways to prevent future collisions.
"I expect full transparency and accountability from the Navy leaders as they conduct the associated investigations and reviews," McCain stated.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that a probe into recent collisions has been ordered. The defense secretary said there is a separate investigation underway that would determine what happened to US destroyer John S. McCain, which is damaged after colliding with an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore.
The collision is the second by a US ship with a civilian vessel in the Seventh Fleet area of operations this summer.
Seven Navy personnel were killed in the Fitzgerald collision, and the ship’s commander was relieved of duty last week.
