U.S. Navy to relieve 7th Fleet commander, reports say

The U.S. Navy has recovered some of the remains from the USS McCain crash, but the search is still ongoing. Time

(Photo: US NAVY / BRENTON POYSER HANDOUT, U.S. Navy, Brenton Poyser handou)

The U.S. Navy plans to relieve Joseph Aucoin as commander of the US 7th Fleet, based in Japan, following the USS John S. McCain's collision with an oil tanker off Malaysia, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times report.

According to The Times, Aucoin had expected to retire this year, but his superiors decided to push his departure date due to concerns over his leadership skills. Aucoin has commanded the fleet since September 2015, The Times reported.   

Navy and Marine Corps divers on Tuesday located the remains of some of the 10 sailors missing from the USS John S. McCain, the Navy said Tuesday.

Divers investigating damage to the ship were probing sealed compartments and "were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search," Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said from Changi Naval Base in Singapore.

Swift said the Malaysian navy had reported locating other body and was working to confirm whether it was one of the missing U.S. sailors. Naval ships from Singapore and Malaysia were aiding the U.S. Navy in a massive search that was continuing Tuesday, Swift said.

“We will continue the SAR (search and rescue) operations until the probability of discovering sailors is exhausted,” he said.

The McCain, a guided missile destroyer, was about five miles off the coast of Malaysia and headed for routine port visit to Singapore when it collided Monday with the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC, a 600-foot oil and chemical tanker. The Navy said the ship suffered “significant damage” to its hull, flooding crew berths, machinery and communications rooms.

Five U.S. sailors were injured in the crash. Swift said four had been immediately flown by Singapore navy helicopters to a Singapore hospital, and the fifth was hospitalized when the ship reached Singapore. The McCain remains docked in Singapore for repairs.

"I visited with those sailors, and they are doing well," Swift said.

The search for the missing sailors was continuing east of Singapore where the collision occurred, Swift said. Meanwhile, divers were preparing to access compartments sealed in the aftermath of the collision as the ship's sailors struggled to sail the battered ship into port.

"I also visited with the crew today, and they are tough and they are resilient," Swift said. "It is clear their damage control efforts saved the ship and saved lives."

More: Navy orders pause in operations, safety review after USS John S. McCain collision

More: USS John S. McCain arrives at Singapore naval base after collision leaves 10 missing

Swift said the investigation into the cause of the collision was continuing. The Alnic sustained some damage, but no injuries to crew were reported, the Singapore government said. The ship was carrying fuel oil, but no spill was reported.

Swift said the investigation was in its earliest stages. When asked about a possible cyberattack, he said investigators have seen no evidence of such an attack but added that nothing was off the table yet.

"We owe it to sailors that man 7th Fleet and their families to answer the questions that flow from the uncertainty of what happened, how could it happen, and what could be done to prevent such occurrences in the future," he said.

The collision came two months after USS Fitzgerald was badly damaged in a collision on June 17 that killed seven sailors off the coast of Japan. Swift also referenced to lesser incidents involving Navy vessels in recent months.

“While each of these four incidents is unique, they cannot be viewed in isolation,” Swift said.

The Navy’s top officer on Monday ordered a pause in operations around the world.

Adm. John Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations, said the pause was ordered to allow commanders to take immediate action to keep sailors and ships safe

Richardson said the latest collision involving the USS John S. McCain had left him “devastated and heartbroken.” Richardson also ordered a Navy-wide review to get at the “root causes” of the problems.

Megan Partlow of Ohio, who says her fiancee was on board the McCain, told the Associated Press in a Facebook message that they last communicated on Sunday and she was losing hope of seeing him again.

“My last text to him was ‘be safe’, which is the same way we end every conversation. I’m just ready for answers,” she said. The identities of the missing have not been disclosed, but Partlow said her fiancee’s parents were in touch with the Navy’s family assistance center.

The ship is named after John S. McCain Sr. and John S. McCain Jr., Navy admirals who were the grandfather and father, respectively, of Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona.

See the damage of the USS John S. McCain after collision

The damaged port aft hull of USS John S. McCain, is seen while docked at Singapore's Changi naval base on Aug. 22, 2017 in Singapore. The focus of the search for 10 U.S. sailors missing after a collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters shifted Tuesday to the damaged destroyer's flooded compartments.  Wong Maye-E, AP

Contributing: Charles Ventura from Los Angeles

Originally published on ...https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/08/22/uss-john-s-mccain-divers-search/588809001/