US Navy to investigate whether warships that colliding with much larger merchant vessels in South Pacific sea were the victims of a cyber attack
‘Were they hacked?
US Navy to investigate whether warships involved in mid-sea collisions were the victims of a cyber attack’
Broad investigation into the Pacific-based 7th Fleet ordered after second crash
Ops chief says Navy will ‘consider’ possibility that crashed ships were hacked
There are ‘no indications’ of hacking at this point in investigation
USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore early Monday
10 American sailors are now missing as search and rescue mission continues
It is the second major collision in two months involving the Navy’s 7th Fleet
Seven died in June when USS Fitzgerald and a container ship collided off Japan
The collision east of Singapore between the 505-foot destroyer guided missile destroyer and the 600-foot Alnic MC ripped a gaping hole (above) in the destroyer’s hull
Some remains of the 10 missing sailors aboard the USS John S. McCain have been discovered, the commander of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific said Tuesday.
Divers discovered the bodies in a compartment of the destroyer, which collided with an oil tanker near Singapore on Monday.
The tanker ripped a large hole in the left side of the ship, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan.
“It’s premature to say how many and what the status of those bodies is,” Adm. Scott Swift said at a news conference aboard the ship Tuesday. “We’re always hopeful that there are survivors as our efforts have continued.”
U.S., Malaysian and Singapore diving crews who have been combing the ship in search of remains or survivors found one the bodies, Tuesday, he added.
Five crew members were also wounded during the collision, four of whom were medevacked to a hospital in Singapore, the admiral said.
The news came just as a top admiral said that the US Navy will ‘consider’ whether two fatal collisions this summer could have been the result of a cyber attack.
Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said on Monday that there were ‘no indications right now’ that the two ships were hacked, but added investigators ‘will consider all possibilities’.
The shocking possibility emerged as the Navy ordered a broad investigation into the performance and readiness of the Pacific-based 7th Fleet.
Early Monday, the USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters, leaving 10 American sailors missing and several others injured.
Admiral John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, said on Monday that investigators will consider whether ‘cyber intrusion or sabotage’ compromised two crashed warships
Seven sailors died when the USS Fitzgerald (pictured) and a container ship collided in waters off Japan in June
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that Navy Adm. John Richardson will call for a pause in operations and seek a deeper look at how the Navy trains and certifies its forces that are operating around Japan
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis [Facing camera], at his “Top 4” roundtable with Deputy Defense Sec Bob Work, Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Paul Selva, Vice CJCS – Says the Navy will call temporary halt to ops and seek deeper investigations into causes of the recent rash of mid-sea accidents
South Pacific locations the the USS John McCain and USS Fitzgerald, two months before that, got into collisions with commercial vessels
As part of an ongoing investigation into the USS Fitzgerald incident the Captain, the Executive Officer and Master Chief Petty Officer were removed from duty last week.
‘The collision was avoidable, and both ships demonstrated poor seamanship,’ the Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement, noting that ‘flawed’ teamwork among those assigned to keep watch contributed to the collision.
The Navy said the three had shown ‘inadequate leadership.’ Separately, seven junior officers were relieved of their duties because they had shown ‘poor seamanship’ and bad teamwork, 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Clay Doss said on Friday.
The USS John S. McCain was brought back to Singapore after the collision, Monday
USS Fitzgerald on dry dock at Yokosuka, Japan on July 17 where it will be repaired following it collision with a freighter the month prior
The McCain is now docked at Singapore’s naval base. The 7th Fleet said the McCain’s crew is emptying compartments that flooded when the collision ruptured its hull.
Richardson will call for a pause in operations and seek a deeper look at how the Navy trains and certifies its forces that are operating around Japan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis who is currently travelling in the Middle East told reporters in Amman, Jordan on Monday.
‘He has put together a broader inquiry to look into these incidents,’ Mattis said, referring to the two recent collisions and other accidents at sea.
Early Tuesday, three navies were hunting desperately for the last of the McCain’s 10 missing sailors as the search and rescue mission dragged into a second day.
Secretary Mattis said Navy Adm. John Richardson will call for a pause in operations and seek a deeper look at how the Navy trains and certifies its forces that are operating around Japan.
Vessels and aircraft from the US, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are currently searching for the 10 missing sailors.
Four other sailors were evacuated by a Singaporean navy helicopter to a hospital in the city-state for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. A fifth was taken to the hospital by ambulance after the destroyer arrived in Singapore under its own power.
There was no immediate explanation for the collision.
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