Navy Destroyer USS John McCain collides with merchant vessel off Malaysian coast

U.S. Navy Destroyer the U.S.S. John McCain collided with a merchant vessel on Sunday in the Strait of Malacca, a shipping lane off the Malaysian coast.

The 7th Fleet's official Twitter account announced the collision on Sunday evening.

The Commander of the 7th Fleet's website said, "The guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) was involved in a collision with the merchant vessel Alnic MC while underway east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca on Aug. 21."

Malaysia lies across the International Date Line, where it is already Monday.

The collision reportedly took place at 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time, while the ship was in transit to Singapore. The McCain took damage to the port side aft, i.e., the left rear hull.

Search and rescue operations are being conducted in concert with local authorities.

Seven U.S. sailors were killed in June when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a civilian freight vessel.