“This trend demands more forceful action,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said. 
 
 Declaring that ”this trend needs more forceful action,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson called Monday morning for a global fleet-wide operational pause in order to understand the causes of the service’s spate of fatal at-sea collisions this year. 
 
 “I want our fleet commanders to get together with their leaders and their commands to ensure we’re taking all appropriate and immediate actions to ensure safe and effective operations around the world,” Richardson said in a video released Monday morning. 
 
 
 
 US Navy destroyer USS John McCain collides with Liberian-flagged tanker Alnic MC in the Strait of Malacca Aug, 21. Two months prior, destroyer Fitzgerald (DDG-62) collided with Philippine-flagged container ship ACX Crystal off the coast of Japan. 
 
 The review will assess ”the contributing factors, the root causes of these incidents,” he said. 
 
 
 
 His announcement came after the destroyer John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker near Singapore at 5:24 a.m. local time Monday in a high-traffic area of the South China Sea. 
 
 Ten sailors remained missing as of 11 a.m. East Coast time and five sailors sustained non-life threatening injuries, according to 7th Fleet. 
 
 It was the second such at-sea disaster for the Navy’s 7th Fleet this summer. A merchant vessel struck the destroyer Fitzgerald on June 17, opening a massive gash in its side that flooded living quarters and led to the drowning deaths of seven sailors. 
 
 CNO statement on recent incidents in the Pacific "Our primary concern at this point is the safety of the crew and ship - that is the focus of our efforts at the scene. We will continue to provide updates as events unfold and we learn more. I am also directing a comprehensive review into all potential factors contributing to these incidents." 
 
 The McCain collision was the fourth significant safety incident of 2017 involving a U.S. 7th Fleet ship. 
 
 In January, the cruiser Antietam ran aground in Tokyo Bay. 
 
 In May, the cruiser Lake Champlain collided with a Korean fishing boat in the Sea of Japan. 
 
 The review will look at operational tempo, performance, maintenance, equipment and personnel assessments, he said. 
 
 The review will also focus on tactical and navigational proficiency in surface warfare training and career development. 
 
 A diverse investigative team will spearhead the effort. Its ranks will include commissioned and enlisted sailors, the Navy’s Inspector General and outside experts, according to the CNO’s office. 
 
 “I want this team to be as diverse as they can be so that we don‘t miss anything in our review,” Richardson said. 
 
 
 
 The review will be ”on a very tight timeline,” he said. ”We need to get to it and take corrective action.” 
 
 ‘Water on deck!‘ ‘Get out!‘ — The Navy's official report of the Fitzgerald's catastrophe at sea Sailors had less than a minute to escape as seawater blasted through a massive hole in the destroyer Fitzgerald after a container ship struck its starboard side on June 19. 
 
 The Alnic MC, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker, struck the rear port side of the McCain at about 5:24 a.m. local time Monday. 
 
 Search and rescue efforts continued as of Monday evening in Singapore, and involved U.S. and Singaporean assets, according to the 7th Fleet’s latest statement on the disaster. 
 
 “Significant damage to the hull resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew berthing, machinery, and communications rooms,” 7th Fleet said. ”Damage control efforts by the crew halted further flooding.” 
 
 
 
 USS John S. McCain collides with merchant ship What is known following the collision between the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) and the merchant vessel Alnic MC. 
 
 The ship made its way under its own power to Singapore, as did the amphibious assault ship America, which is providing a place for McCain sailors to eat and sleep. 
 
 Like with the Fitzgerald, questions of how a commercial ship could get so close to some of the most advanced destroyers in the world remain at the forefront. 
 
 “I don’t want to speculate how the incident happened, but this area — it’s a busy area, considering the two vessels are about to enter the traffic separation scheme,” said Adm. Datuk Zulkifili Abu Bakarthe, head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, in a Monday press conference. 
 
 Rumor control with OS2 Larter Defense News' David Larter takes on some of the rumors surrounding the collision involving the USS John S. McCain. 
 
 The Navy last week released a report detailing the valor and chaos that took place after the Fitz was struck, but has yet to explain how the commercial ACX Crystal got that close in the first place. 
 
 About 80,000 vessels transit the strait annually through the strait, he said. 
 
 The ship suffered heavy flooding in two crew berthings and in a space known as ”shaft alley,” through which runs the shafts that connect to the engines to turn the ship’s propellers, according to an early internal report reviewed by Navy Times. 
 
 Unlike the collision between the destroyer Fitzgerald and the ACX Crystal off Japan in June, much of the crew would be up and preparing to eat breakfast and turn over watch stations at that time. 
 
 The Alnic MC is a 600-foot oil and chemical tanker with a gross tonnage of 30,000, according to a Navy release. The tanker is about three times the size of the McCain. 
 
 Images circulating on social media show a large hole in McCain that extends below the waterline below the ship’s aft missile deck. The ship’s propulsion was limited as it made its way to Singapore. 
 
 Incidents such as those with the McCain and Fitzgerald incidents are troubling, said Jan van Tol, a retired commander of three war ships who now serves as an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. ||||| In this image provided by the Ministry of Defence Singapore, Republic of Singapore Air Force personnel conduct a search and rescue operation for missing U.S. sailors over waters east of Singapore, on... (Associated Press) 
 
 SINGAPORE (AP) — The Latest on the collision between the USS John S. McCain guided missile destroyer and an oil tanker east of Singapore (all times local): 
 
 7:20 p.m. 
 
 The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet says a number of remains of Navy sailors were found in a compartment of the USS John McCain, a day after the warship's collision with an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters left 10 sailors missing. 
 
 Adm. Scott Swift also said at a news conference in Singapore on Tuesday that Malaysian officials have found one body that has not yet been identified. 
 
 The focus of the search for 10 U.S. sailors missing after a collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker in Southeast Asian waters shifted Tuesday to the damaged destroyer's flooded compartments. 
 
 The collision on Monday tore a gaping hole in the McCain's left rear hull and flooded adjacent compartments including crew berths and machinery and communication rooms. Five sailors were injured. 
 
 ___ 
 
 6:30 p.m. 
 
 The Maritime and Port Authority in Singapore says it has expanded the area of its search for 10 U.S. sailors who went missing in the collision of an American destroyer and an oil tanker. 
 
 U.S. and Singaporean vessels, as well as aircraft, are focusing their search on the center of an area spanning some 2,620 square kilometers (1,010 square miles), while Malaysia is searching the northern reaches and Australia is looking in the south. 
 
 The U.S. Navy has also deployed divers within the damaged ship to access and search flooded compartments. 
 
 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is issuing hourly broadcasts asking passing boats and ships to keep watch for any people in the water after Monday's collision. 
 
 ___ 
 
 4:50 p.m. 
 
 China, Washington's main rival for influence in the Asia-Pacific, has seized on the collision of a U.S. destroyer to accuse the Navy of endangering maritime navigation in the region. 
 
 A string of accidents this year shows the U.S. Navy "is becoming a dangerous obstacle in Asian waters," the official China Daily newspaper said in its online edition. 
 
 "The U.S. Navy, which likes to claim its presence can help safeguard 'freedom of navigation' in the South China Sea, is proving to be an increasing hindrance to ships sailing in Asian waters," the newspaper said in an unsigned editorial. 
 
 The USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker on Monday as it was heading to Singapore on a routine port visit after conducting a sensitive freedom-of-navigation operation last week by sailing near one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea. 
 
 China's claims to most of the South China Sea have resulted in territorial disputes with several Southeast Asian nations and prompted international concern about its militarization of waters that are a vital route for global trade. 
 
 "Anyone should be able to tell who is to blame for militarizing the waters and posing a threat to navigation," the newspaper said. 
 
 ___ 
 
 3:30 p.m. 
 
 Hopes of miracles are ebbing for the family and friends of the 10 missing U.S. sailors. 
 
 Megan Partlow of Ohio tells AP in a Facebook message that her fiancee, a sailor on the USS John S. McCain, was last in contact with her on Sunday. 
 
 "My last text to him was 'be safe', which is the same way we end every conversation. I'm just ready for answers." 
 
 The identities of the missing have not been disclosed but Partlow said her fiancee's parents were in touch with the Navy's family assistance center. 
 
 On the 7th Fleet's Facebook page, Partlow earlier posted "Prayers to all the other families as we patiently wait for answers." 
 
 "I am slowly losing hope and it hurts to know I might never get to walk down the aisle to see the love of my life." 
 
 ___ 
 
 2:17 p.m. 
 
 The U.S. 7th Fleet says Navy and Marine Corps. divers have joined the search for 10 missing sailors and will access flooded compartments on the USS John S. McCain, which is docked at Singapore's Changi Naval Base. 
 
 It says the sea-based search by aircraft and ships from the U.S., Singapore and Malaysian navies will continue east of Singapore where the McCain and an oil tanker collided at daybreak Monday. 
 
 "Equipped with surface supplied air rigs, divers will access sealed compartments located in damaged parts of the ship," the 7th Fleet's statement says. "Additionally, they will conduct damage assessments of the hull and flooded areas."
– At least 10 US sailors are missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker early Monday east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca in the second collision involving a ship from the Navy's 7th Fleet in the Pacific in two months. The Navy says five other sailors were hurt in the collision involving the guided-missile destroyer, the AP reports. The McCain—named after Sen. John McCain's grandfather—was heading to Singapore for a routine port visit, the Navy says. It spent last week conducting a sensitive freedom of navigation operation by sailing near one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea. It wasn't immediately clear if the oil and chemical tanker Alnic MC sustained damage or casualties. The McCain was damaged on its port side aft, or left rear, from the accident that happened at 5:24am, the Navy's 7th Fleet said, but it was heading to port under its own power. Malaysia's navy chief says two ships as well as aircraft from its navy and air force have been deployed to help look for the missing US sailors. Sen. McCain tweeted: "Cindy & I are keeping America's sailors aboard the USS John S McCain in our prayers tonight - appreciate the work of search & rescue crews." In June, seven sailors were killed when the USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel off the coast of Japan.