Navy Media Content Services(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine container ship off the coast of Japan in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, the Navy’s 7th Fleet said.
The Fitzgerald was operating about 56 miles southwest of Yokosuka, Japan, when it hit the container ship at approximately 2:30 a.m. local time.
The U.S. ship sustained damage on its starboard side and is experiencing flooding in some spaces, according to the 7th Fleet.
There are no reports of fatalities aboard the Fitzgerald, Cmdr. William Clinton, a spokesman for the 7th Fleet, told ABC News. There have been injuries reported on the U.S. ship, and the Navy is checking to see if there are any missing sailors, he said.
According to Clinton, the Fitzgerald is now under its own power and headed back to its home port of Yokosuka in Tokyo Bay, traveling at about 3 knots per hour.
Navy tug boats are headed to assist the Fitzgerald as it transits to Yokosuka.
Two Japanese Coast Guard ships, the Izunami and the Kano, were also headed to the scene of the collision.
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