In this Saturday, June 17, 2017, photo, the container ship ACX Crystal with its left bow dented and scraped after colliding with the USS Fitzgerald in the waters off the Izu Peninsula earlier in the day, is berthed at the Oi Container Terminal in Tokyo. The search for seven U.S. Navy sailors missing after their destroyer collided with the container ship called off Sunday after several bodies were found in the ship's flooded compartments, including sleeping quarters.

Start the conversation, or Read more at KXAN-TV Austin. </s> Sailors missing after the USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan have been found dead, the US Navy and Japanese media says.

Seven sailors were left missing and three injured after Saturday's collision, which the US Navy said almost sank the destroyer.

The US Navy said rescue workers found the bodies on Sunday after gaining access to damaged parts of the ship.

It said they will be taken to a Japanese hospital to be identified.

The incident reportedly took place some 56 nautical miles (104km) south-west of the Japanese port city of Yokosuka, at about 02:30 local time on Saturday (17:30 GMT Friday).

Japanese broadcaster NHK said the collision led to the flooding of the crew's sleeping quarters while they were asleep.

"The damage was significant," 7th Fleet commander Vice-Admiral Joseph P Aucoin said. "There was a big gash under the water." Repairs would take some time to complete, he said.

At a press conference in Japan on Sunday, Vice Adm Aucoin would not confirm how many remains had been found so far. Families of the sailors are being notified, he said.

"This loss is something we all feel," he said.

Marine traffic records suggest the ACX Crystal, a 222-metre (730ft) Filipino-flagged container ship, made a sudden U-turn roughly 25 minutes before the crash. It is not known why it changed course.

Similar records for the USS Fitzgerald are not publicly available.

The Navy ship's starboard side was heavily damaged in the collision, but the vessel later managed to slowly return to its base in Yokosuka, with the assistance of US navy tug boats.

Japan's coastguard said the ACX Crystal had a gross tonnage of just under 30,000, about three times that of the USS Fitzgerald.

It sustained lighter damage to its port bow.

The Associated Press agency said there were no injuries reported among the 20 Filipino crew members on board the ACX Crystal.

It remains at port in Tokyo. </s> YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) - The U.S. Navy says the bodies of sailors who went missing in the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship have been found aboard the stricken destroyer.

 

The Navy says in a statement that searchers had gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision. A total of seven sailors had been missing since Saturday's crash off Japan's coast.

 

The Navy says the remains are being transferred to Naval Hospital Yokosuka where they will be identified.

 

It says the families are being notified and being provided the support they need during "this difficult time." The names of the sailors will be released after all notifications are made. </s> YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — The U.S. Navy says the bodies of sailors who went missing in the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship have been found aboard the stricken destroyer.

The Navy says in a statement that searchers had gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision. A total of seven sailors had been missing since Saturday’s crash off Japan’s coast.

The Navy says the remains are being transferred to Naval Hospital Yokosuka where they will be identified.

It says the families are being notified and being provided the support they need during “this difficult time.” The names of the sailors will be released after all notifications are made. </s> The US Navy has announced that about a dozen sailors are to be disciplined after seven crew on the USS Fitzgerald were killed in a collision.

The destroyer collided with a Philippines container ship in Japanese waters in June.

The deputy chief of naval operations, Admiral Bill Moran, said the commanding officer and two other senior crew would no longer serve aboard the ship.

He said the Navy had lost trust and confidence in their ability to lead.

The Filipino-flagged ACX Crystal collided with the USS Fitzgerald in the early hours of 17 June in Tokyo Bay, causing a large gash below the water line of the destroyer and flooding lower decks.

The dead sailors, aged 19 to 37, were later found in their bunks, after divers gained access to damaged areas of the ship.

The commanding officer was trapped in his cabin by the force of the collision and five sailors had to use a sledgehammer to break down the door.

"Even after the door was open, there was a large amount of debris and furniture against the door, preventing anyone from entering or exiting easily," a report into the incident said.

The ACX Crystal sustained lighter damage to its port bow.

There were no injuries among the 20 Filipino crew members on board the container ship.

Marine traffic records suggest that the ACX Crystal made a sudden U-turn roughly 25 minutes before the crash. It is not known why it changed course.

According to maritime rules, vessels are supposed to give way to ships on their starboard side which is where the destroyer sustained damage, sparking questions over whether the US ship could have been at fault. </s> YOKOSUKA, Japan — U.S. and Japanese vessels and aircraft searched Saturday for seven American sailors who were missing after their Navy destroyer collided before dawn with a container ship four times its size off the coast of Japan.

The USS Fitzgerald was back at its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo by sunset Saturday, its crew lined up on deck. The Philippine-flagged container ship was berthed at Tokyo’s Oi wharf, where officials began questioning crew members about the cause of the nighttime crash.

After helping stabilize the USS Fitzgerald, the destroyer USS Dewey joined other American and Japanese vessels and aircraft in the search for the missing sailors.

At least three other Navy sailors were injured in the crash.

Family members were frantically seeking news, appealing via social media for calls from sailors aboard from the ship.

The U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement that the crash damaged two berthing spaces, a machinery room and the radio room. Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths at the time of the pre-dawn crash.

Water was being pumped out of flooded areas and it was unclear how long it would take to get into the crushed mid-right side of the ship once it was at the pier in Yokosuka, the statement said.

“This has been a difficult day,” said Vice Adm. Joseph P. Aucoin, the commander of the 7th Fleet. “I am humbled by the bravery and tenacity of the Fitzgerald crew. Now that the ship is in Yokosuka, I ask that you help the families by maintaining their privacy as we continue the search for our shipmates.”

The USS Fitzgerald’s captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was airlifted early Saturday to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in stable condition with a head injury, the Navy said. Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated. It was unclear how many others may have been hurt.

The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles (103 kilometres) southwest of Yokosuka, home to the 7th Fleet.

“Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors,” said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The Japanese coast guard said it received an emergency call from the container ship, the ACX Crystal, reporting the collision at around 2:20 a.m. (1720 GMT Friday). It was questioning crew members of the ACX Crystal, which is operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K., and was treating the incident as a case of possible professional negligence, said Masayuki Obara, a regional coast guard official.

“Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families,” President Donald Trump said on Twitter. “Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance.”

The ACX Crystal weighs 29,060 tons and is 222 metres (730 feet) long, the coast guard said, much larger than the 8,315-ton Navy destroyer. The container ship’s left bow was dented and scraped, but it did not appear to have sustained any major structural damage.

Nippon Yusen said all of the ACX Crystal’s 20-member Filipino crew members were safe.

Conditions were clear at the time of the collision, though Yutaka Saito of the coast guard said the area is particularly busy with sea traffic.

The names of the missing sailors were being withheld pending notification of their families. U.S. Navy personnel set up support and counselling services to help families as they sought updates on crew members.

“Just heard the sweetest voice and saw a wonderful face. He’s okay. Thank you all for the prayers,” Rita Schrimsher of Athens, Alabama, tweeted after speaking with her 23-year-old grandson, Jackson Schrimsher, via Facetime.

“It could have been worse, so we’re grateful,” she said by phone.

Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo and Cathy Bussewitz and Jennifer Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report. </s> The USS Fitzgerald, an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer, has sustained heavy damaged today when it collided with a Philippines container ship, the ACX Crystal, just south of the Japanese port of Yokosuka. One US sailor was injured and evacuated from the ship, dna seven more crew members are unaccounted for.

Details of what happened are still not totally clear, but the Fitzgerald is said to have sustained heavy damage to its starboard side, having sustained some flooding from damage below the water line, and is slowly en route back to Yokosuka under limited propulsion.

The Philippine ship appears to have fared better, as while there hasn’t been any official statement, there’ve been no reports of injuries aboard the ship, nor indeed serious damage, with Japan’s NHK network reporting only some scratches along the ship’s bow.

The ACX Crystal was actually a fair bit larger than the Fitzgerald, 70 meters longer, and with over triple the displacement weight. The Navy has promised an investigation into the incident, and has dispatched a medical ship, along with tugboats, to the scene.
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• Russian Military: Airstrike Last Month Might Have Killed ISIS Leader - June 16th, 2017 </s> The search for seven missing U.S. Navy sailors was called off Sunday after several bodies were recovered from the flooded compartments of the destroyer.

Commander of the Navy’s 7th Fleet told the grim news to reporters at a Navy base in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo. Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin wouldn’t say how many bodies were found but said the identities of the sailors would be released following notification of the families.

The bodies were found in previously flooded compartments, including sleeping quarters.

Searchers gained access to these spaces that were damaged during the collision and brought the remains to Naval Hospital Yokosuka where they are to be identified, the Navy said in a statement.

The USS Fitzgerald was back at its home port in Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo by sunset Saturday. The Philippine-flagged container ship was berthed at Tokyo’s Oi wharf, where officials were questioning crew members about the cause of the nighttime crash.

After stabilizing the USS Fitzgerald, the destroyer USS Dewey had joined other American and Japanese vessels and aircraft in the search for the missing sailors.

The U.S. 7th Fleet said in a statement that the crash damaged two berthing spaces, a machinery room and the radio room. Most of the more than 200 sailors aboard would have been asleep in their berths at the time of the pre-dawn crash.

Water was being pumped out of flooded areas and it was unclear how long it would take to get into the crushed mid-right side of the ship once it was at the pier in Yokosuka, the statement said.

Nippon Yusen, the Japanese shipping company that operates the container ship, said in a statement it is collaborating with the ship owner and fully cooperating with the investigation by the coast guard. The 29,060-ton ship is Philippine-flagged and all the crew are Filipinos.

The USS Fitzgerald’s captain, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, was airlifted early Saturday to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka and was in stable condition with a head injury, the Navy said. Two other crew members suffered cuts and bruises and were evacuated. It was unclear how many others may have been hurt.

The Navy said that the collision occurred 56 nautical miles (103 kilometers) southwest of Yokosuka, home to the 7th Fleet.

“Right now we are focused on two things: the safety of the ship and the well-being of the sailors,” said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Conditions were clear at the time of the collision, though Yutaka Saito of the coast guard said the area is particularly busy with sea traffic.

The names of the sailors were being withheld pending notification of their families. U.S. Navy personnel set up support and counseling services to help families as they sought updates on crew members.

“Just heard the sweetest voice and saw a wonderful face. He’s okay. Thank you all for the prayers,” Rita Schrimsher of Athens, Alabama, tweeted after speaking with her 23-year-old grandson, Jackson Schrimsher, via Facetime.

“It could have been worse, so we’re grateful,” she said by phone.

The Associated Press contributed to this report </s> Image copyright Reuters Image caption The USS Fitzgerald sustained considerable damage

The US Navy has announced that about a dozen sailors are to be disciplined after seven crew on the USS Fitzgerald were killed in a collision.

The destroyer collided with a Philippines container ship in Japanese waters in June.

The deputy chief of naval operations, Admiral Bill Moran, said the commanding officer and two other senior crew would no longer serve aboard the ship.

He said the Navy had lost trust and confidence in their ability to lead.

The Filipino-flagged ACX Crystal collided with the USS Fitzgerald in the early hours of 17 June in Tokyo Bay, causing a large gash below the water line of the destroyer and flooding lower decks.

"The collision was avoidable," the US 7th Fleet said in a statement, adding that "both ships demonstrated poor seamanship".

The dead sailors, aged 19 to 37, were later found in their bunks, after divers gained access to damaged areas of the ship.

The commanding officer was trapped in his cabin by the force of the collision and five sailors had to use a sledgehammer to break down the door.

"Even after the door was open, there was a large amount of debris and furniture against the door, preventing anyone from entering or exiting easily," a report into the incident said.

The ACX Crystal sustained lighter damage to its port bow.

There were no injuries among the 20 Filipino crew members on board the container ship.

USS Fitzgerald crash: In pictures

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption USS Fitzgerald damaged by the crash

Investigations into the cause of the crash continue.

According to maritime rules, vessels are supposed to give way to ships on their starboard side which is where the destroyer sustained damage, sparking questions over whether the US ship could have been at fault.
Rescuers find the bodies of seven United States Navy sailors who were missing after the prior day's collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the MV ACX Crystal off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan.