US Navy sack Seventh Fleet commander

International Desk: The US Navy is to dismiss Vice Adm Joseph Aucoin as commander of the Seventh Fleet following a string of collisions involving warships in Asia, US officials have said.

Ten sailors are still missing after the USS John S McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore on Monday.

Navy officials say human remains have since been found on the ship, which is now in port in Singapore.

The crash was the fourth such incident in a year.

The Seventh Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, is the largest forward-¬deployed fleet in the US Navy, with some 50 to 70 vessels and submarines.

Vice Adm Aucoin, who has been its commander since 2015, was due to retire within weeks.

His removal is the latest in a series of steps taken by navy officials after the USS John S McCain collision. It is not clear when a formal announcement will be made.The incident triggered a rare worldwide "operational pause" of the US Navy's fleets as well as a review of operations.

The USS John S McCain was east of Singapore when it collided with the oil tanker Alnic MC before dawn on Monday.


The collision left a large hole in the destroyer's port side - the left-hand side of the vessel facing forward - and flooded compartments including crew berths. Five sailors were injured.

Source: Agencies



risingbd/Aug 23, 2017/Mukul