Japanese Tug Bumps U.S. Destroyer

The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) was participating in a scheduled towing exercise in Japan on Saturday when a Japanese tug lost propulsion and drifted into the ship.

No one was injured on either vessel, and USS Benfold sustained minimal damage, says the U.S. Navy. Pending a full assessment, the damage is said to be some scrapes on the destroyer's side. Benfold remains at sea under her own power. The Japanese commercial tug is being towed to a port in Yokosuka.

The collision occurred in Sagami Bay, southwest of Tokyo.

Last month, the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet' commanding officer and executive officer were dismissed from duty after a series of incidents involving U.S. Navy vessels in the region this year. The USS John S. McCain collided with the merchant vessel Alnic MC on August 21, killing 10 sailors and injuring five more. Sister ship USS Fitzgerald collided with the container ship ACX Crystal off Yokosuka on June 17, killing seven, USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing boat in May, and the USS Antietam ran aground off the coast of Japan in January.