YOKOSUKA, JAPAN — When the John S. McCain
collided with the Alnic MC near the Singapore Strait in August last year, it was the third 7th Fleet ship to be put out of action by mishaps within a span of eight months.
The year 2017 started with the
grounding of the cruiser Antietam at an anchorage just outside of Fleet Activities Yokosuka, causing an oil spill and forcing the ship to spend the rest of the year in dry-dock overhaul. The destroyer
Fitzgerald collided with the MV ACX Crystal in June, two months before McCain’s accident.
The accidents took a devastating toll on operational availability among 7th Fleet ships. The accidents reduced by a quarter the number of usable cruisers and destroyers in Yokosuka and left two of the seven Yokosuka ships the Navy considers BMD capable —Fitzgerald and McCain —out of the rotation.
Eight months later, 7th Fleet’s recovery is slowly coming into focus.