Seven US Navy crew missing after crash

Seven US Navy crew members are missing after 
their ship collided with a merchant vessel off the coast of Japan.

Among the injured is the USS Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who was taken to hospital by helicopter.

The destroyer collided with the container ship about 
56 nautical miles (104km) south-west of Yokosuka.

Aerial images showed heavy damage to the Navy ship's starboard side after the collision at about 02:30 local 
time on Saturday (17:30 GMT Friday).


What happened?

The collision occurred near Yokosuka, a Japanese port 
city that is home to the US 7th Fleet, which comprises 
up to 80 submarines and ships and including the USS Fitzgerald.

It is unclear where the 154-metre (505ft) guided missile destroyer ship was heading at the time.

The ACX Crystal, a 222-metre (730ft) Filipino-flagged container ship, was travelling between the Japanese cities of Nagoya and Tokyo.

Marine traffic records suggest the ACX Crystal made a sudden U- turn roughly 25 minutes before the collision with the USS Fitzgerald. It is not clear why it changed course.

Marine traffic records suggest it was travelling at 14.6 
knots (27km/h) at the time of the collision.

Marine traffic records for the USS Fitzgerald are not 
publicly available.


How bad are the damage and injuries?

Japan's coastguard is co-ordinating the search with US 
teams for the seven missing crew members. As of late afternoon local time, the 7th Fleet said the crew members were still unaccounted for.

The Navy ship's commanding officer, Cdr Bryce Benson, 
was in a stable condition after being transferred to US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, according to Navy officials.

Two other sailors were flown to hospital by helicopter 
for treatments for "lacerations and bruises", the 7th Fleet said on Twitter .

By mid-afternoon local time, it said that all flooding on 
board the USS Fitzgerald was under control. It is not at 
risk of sinking.

The ship has now returned to Yokosuka - under its own 
power, but with limited propulsion.

The Japanese coastguard said the ACX Crystal weighed 
just under 30,000 tonnes, about three times that of the USS
Fitzgerald.

It sustained lighter damage to its port bow, and 
has now reached Tokyo.

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


What is the fallout?

Relatives of those on board the USS Fitzgerald have been posting on the US 7th Fleet's Facebook page, requesting information on their loved-ones. An information hotline has been set up .

The collision took place in waters that get heavy traffic 
and that have experienced prior collisions, Japanese broadcaster NHK said. Ships travelling to and from Tokyo, 
as well as crossing the Pacific in both directions, pass through the bay where the crash happened.

NHK said that an association of commercial ship 
captains is calling for the creation of east-west lanes in the area to avoid collisions.

In a statement released on social media , US Navy 
operations chief Adm John Richardson said: "As more information is learnt we will be sure to share it with the Fitzgerald families and when appropriate the public. [...]
All our thoughts and concerns are with the Fitzgerald crew and their families."

The area where the collision took place is extremely busy, 
with shipping heading in and out of Tokyo bay.

However, the USS Fitzgerald is one of the most 
advanced warships in the world - with highly sophisticated radars systems.

At the moment the focus is on the search for the 
missing sailors. Later will come the investigation into how 
one of the world's most sophisticated warships failed to 
avoid colliding with a 30,000-tonne cargo ship on a calm, 
clear night.