Four collisions involving US Navy ships this year have resulted in the deaths of 17 sailors and the injury of several more, along with millions of dollars in equipment damage. Several senior officers have lost their jobs as a result.
The worst of these accidents occurred in high-traffic areas in Asia: the USS Fitzgerald collided with a Philippine-flagged container ship close to Tokyo, and the USS John S McCain collided outside Singapore with a Liberian-registered tanker.
Both accidents involved modern, technologically sophisticated military ships colliding with much larger, heavier commercial vessels, which were