The USS John S. McCain set sail from Japan for the first time since a deadly crash that left ten US sailors dead.
The destroyer is having its first sea trials after undergoing repairs lasting two years following a collision with the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC oil tanker off the coast of Singapore.
A hole was torn in the warship beneath the waterline that led to flooding of crew sleeping areas, machinery and communications rooms, killing ten sailors on August 21, 2017.
Around six weeks after the accident, the McCain was taken to its home port of Yokosuka, Japan, on board a the heavy transport ship to undergo repairs, which cost an estimated $230 million.
The USS John S. McCain destroyer moored in a dock at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan in June this year
The damage left to the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain after a collision in Singapore waters in 2017
Yesterday the guided-missile vessel left Yokosuka pier about 10.15am, with families of the sailors who worked on the ship watching on.
Commander Ryan T. Easterday, USS John S. McCain’s commanding officer told the Portland Press Herald: ‘This whole crew is eager to get back to sea, and that’s evident in the efforts they’ve made over the last two years to bring the ship back to fighting shape, and the energy they’ve put into preparing themselves for the rigors of at-sea operations.
‘I’m extremely proud of them as we return the ship to sea, and return to the operational fleet more ready than ever to support security and stability throughout the region.’
At the time of the accident the US destroyer was on its way to a routine port visit in Singapore after conducting a sensitive freedom of navigation operation by sailing near one of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea.
The USS John McCain set sail from Yokosuka pier yesterday morning after two years of repairs were finally completed
Families of sailors and workers who helped get the destroyer up and running watched on as it set sail ahead of its first sea trials
The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain with a hole on its left port side after a collision with oil tanker, outside Changi naval base in Singapore on August 21, 2017
A multinational search and rescue effort involving Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the US was launched to try and find the missing sailors.
After the collision, the McCain sailed under its own power and headed to port at Changi Naval Base in Singapore.
Abraham Lopez, 39, Nathan Findley, 31, Corey George Ingram, 28, Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, and John Henry Hoagland III, 20, all died in the accident.
The commander of the Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was fired not long after the crash, following a series of accidents that same year that raised questions about its operations.
The firing of the three-star admiral was a rare dismissal of a high-ranking officer for operational reasons.
The Alnic MC is an oil and chemical tanker that is 600 feet long and has a gross tonnage of 30,000- more than three times larger than the McCain, which is 505 feet long and only 8,300 tons.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, navy report suggested a fatigued bridge crew, poor communication between crew members and crowded shipping lanes as the most likely cause of the accident.
An unnamed navy official told CNN the ship lost steering control shortly before the accident but that ‘it was unclear why the crew couldn’t use the ship’s backup steering systems’.
Now the multi-million dollar repairs have been completed, the McCain will undergo rigorous sea trials.
Sea trials are a navy term for at-sea testing of systems, typically lasting about a week and required for every ship returning to sea after extended repairs or maintenance.
The trials include, ‘navigation, damage control, mechanical and electrical systems, combat systems, communications, and propulsion application,’ according to a Navy statement issued yesterday.
The bodies of all ten sailors lost on board the USS John S McCain last week have now been recovered. They are (clockwise from top left): Kenneth Smith, 22; Logan Palmer, 23; John Hoagland III, 20; Dustin Doyon, 26; Jacob Drake, 21; Timothy Eckels Jr, 23; Kevin Bushell, 26; Abraham Lopez, 39; Nathan Findley, 31; Corey Ingram, 28