U.S. Navy temporarily relieves commander of ship struck in Japanese waters.Reuters, Jul 11, 2017, Tim Kelly | TOKYO
The U.S. Navy on Tuesday said on Tuesday it has temporarily relieved, for medical reasons, the commander of a warship involved in a crash with a container vessel in Japanese waters that killed seven American sailors.
The collision between the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the Philippine-registered ACX Crystal on June 17 resulted in the greatest loss of life on a U.S. Navy vessel since the USS Cole was bombed by Islamist militants in Yemen's Aden harbor in 2000.
At least six investigations have been launched, including two U.S. Navy internal hearings and a probe by the United States Coast Guard (USCG).
"Cmdr Bryce Benson, who is recovering from injuries sustained during Fitzgerald's June 17 collision with the merchant vessel ACX Crystal was relieved temporarily," the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet said in a press release.
None of the investigations has apportioned blame for the accident, or explained how an advanced U.S. warship with sophisticated radars and trained lookouts sailing in clear, albeit dark, conditions was struck by a vessel more than three times its size.
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