Damaged US Destroyer McCain to Be Heavy Lifted by Sea for Repair in Japan

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The crippled destroyer John S. McCain will be transported by a heavy lift transport vessel from the Changi Naval Base in Singapore to the US Navy's ship repair facility in Yokosuka, Japan, the Navy said in a press release on Wednesday.

"[The McCain is being transported from] Changi Naval Base in Singapore to the US Navy's Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center in Yokosuka, Japan," the release stated. "The ship is being heavy lifted to Yokosuka so that further damage assessments may be conducted."

The Navy said a complete damage assessment must be conducted to determine repair costs and the schedule and location for the work.

Based on the damage assessment, the Navy will seek a contractor for salvage, patching and transport via a heavy lift vessel.

On August 21, the USS McCain collided with the merchant vessel Alnic MC east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The McCain’s port side aft was hit in the collision, flooding compartments, crew quarters, machinery and communications rooms. Ten sailors died as a result of the collision, which prompted the Pentagon to suspend all naval operations worldwide to probe the reasons for the increased number of such incidents.

The McCain was the fourth ship from the Navy's 7th Fleet to be damaged at sea. In May, a guided missile cruiser collided with a South Korean fishing vessel, and then in January a warship ran aground in Tokyo Bay.

The Navy is also contracting with a heavy sea-lift provider to transport another damaged warship, the Fitzgerald, from Yokosuka to the Huntington Ingalls' shipyard in the United States.