The commander of the US Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday that 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.</s>WASHINGTON — Two days after ordering a rare suspension of ship operations worldwide, the Navy relieved the commander of the fleet that had sustained four accidents in Asia and the deaths of more than a dozen sailors this year.

Vice Adm. Joseph P. Aucoin, the head of the Seventh Fleet, the Navy’s largest overseas, was removed Wednesday in connection with the four accidents since January, including two fatal collisions in the past two months, according to a statement by the Navy.

Admiral Aucoin had been expected to retire in the coming weeks, but his superiors pushed up his departure date after losing confidence in his leadership. The action was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Adm. Scott H. Swift, the commander of the United States Pacific Fleet, was flying from Singapore to the Seventh Fleet headquarters in Yokosuka, Japan, to carry out the change in command. Admiral Aucoin is being replaced by Rear Adm. Phil Sawyer, “who has already been nominated and confirmed for the position and promotion to vice admiral,” the Navy statement said.</s>The US Navy intends to remove Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as the commander of the US 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, according to a US official. This follows an incident Monday in which the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant ship.

Ten sailors assigned to the ship were missing following the accident, and the Navy has reported that “some” remains have been since recovered, Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said Tuesday.

The McCain and the tanker ship collided Monday east of the Malacca Strait, the fourth time a US warship has been involved in an accident in Asian waters this year.

The collision prompted the Navy to order a rare, one-day operational pause.

“This trend demands more forceful action,” Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, said. Swift said the Pacific Fleet will complete the operational pause, in which units rotate in standing down for a 24-hour period, by next Monday.

US Navy and Marine Corps divers found the remains in the sealed compartments aboard the McCain after it docked at a naval base in Singapore, said Swift. The Royal Malaysian Navy has located one body at sea, and officials are working to determine whether it is one of the missing sailors, he said.

Aucoin’s role has come under scrutiny since a spate of incidents in the Pacific theater, including another at-sea collision between a US Navy destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, and a cargo ship off Japan’s Izu Peninsula.

That accident, on June 17, caused the deaths of seven US sailors.

Speaking shortly after that incident, Aucoin told reporters, alongside the ship at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, that the loss of sailors under his command “is something we all feel.”

“We have found a number of the remains … of our missing shipmates, and our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those shipmates,” he said.</s>WASHINGTON—The U.S. Navy removed the commander of the fleet that has suffered four recent collisions in Asia and the deaths of several sailors, the Pacific Fleet said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Navy was planning to remove Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin—the three-star commander of U.S. Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan—though officials had declined to comment.

In...</s>WASHINGTON — The US Navy intends to remove Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as the commander of the US 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, according to a US official.

This follows an incident Monday in which the USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant vessel.

Ten sailors assigned to the ship were missing following the accident, and the Navy has reported that “some” remains have been since recovered.

Developing story – more to come.</s>The US Navy intends to remove Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin as the commander of the US 7th Fleet, based in Yokosuka, Japan, a US official has told CNN.

This follows an incident Monday in which the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant ship.

Ten sailors assigned to the ship were missing following the accident, and the Navy has reported that “some” remains have been recovered, Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, said Tuesday.

The McCain and the tanker ship collided Monday east of the Malacca Strait, the fourth time a US warship has been involved in an accident in Asian waters this year.

US Navy and Marine Corps divers found the remains in the sealed compartments aboard the McCain after it docked at a naval base in Singapore, said Swift. US military divers continue to search the flooded areas of the McCain.

The Royal Malaysian Navy has located one body at sea, and officials are working to determine whether it is one of the missing sailors, he said. Ships and planes are scouring the seas east of Singapore.

“Until we have exhausted any potential of recovering survivors or bodies, the search and rescue efforts will continue,” Swift said.

The White House expressed its “great sadness” about the incident. “As the Navy begins the process of recovering our fallen sailors, our thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends,” the statement said.

A statement from the 7th Fleet did not address the potential dismissal of Aucoin, but said that the McCain’s sailors were “trying to regain some stability.”

As well as providing material support from the amphibious assault ship the USS America, the 7th Fleet statement said that the Navy was providing mental health support and other counseling and medical resources.

“Although most people will spontaneously emotionally recover, there may be some that experience significant psychological distress and may need attention from mental health professionals,” Lt. Cmdr. Carlos Coleman, Medical Service Corps said. “We want to do everything we can to help them manage the stress of this tragic event.”

The McCain suffered a steering failure as the warship was beginning its approach into the Strait of Malacca, before colliding with the tanker, a Navy official told CNN.

The official said it was unclear why the crew couldn’t use the ship’s backup steering systems to maintain control.

Reporters on Tuesday asked about the possibility that the McCain could have had its computer systems compromised.

Swift said that, while there were “no indications of that as of yet … we are not taking any consideration off the table and every scenario will be reviewed and investigated in detail.”

Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations had previously indicated on Twitter that the possibility of a cyberattack, however slight, would be investigated.

Opinion: It’s time for the Navy to take a knee

The collision prompted the Navy to order a rare, one-day operational pause.

The pause is a one-day, safety stand-down that would be done at the discretion of individual commands, a US defense official told CNN. It will be done rotationally, with units standing down for a 24-hour period, so as to minimize the effect on operational capability.

Swift said the Pacific Fleet will complete the operational pause by next Monday.

Aucoin’s role has come under scrutiny since a spate of incidents in the Pacific theater, including another at-sea collision between a US Navy destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, and a cargo ship off Japan’s Izu Peninsula.

The Fitzgerald incident, on June 17, caused the deaths of seven US sailors.

Speaking shortly after that incident, Aucoin told reporters, alongside the ship at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, that the loss of sailors under his command “is something we all feel.”

“We have found a number of the remains … of our missing shipmates, and our deepest sympathies go out to the families of those shipmates,” he said.

Findings in that investigation suggested the accident was caused by multiple errors by the Fitzgerald’s crew and a failure to take action in the minutes leading to the collision, according to two defense officials.</s>The US navy is to relieve the commander of the 7th Fleet of duty following a series of collisions in Asia according to multiple reports.

Three star admiral Joseph Aucoin will be removed from his role, an official told Reuters.

“An expedited change in leadership was needed,” the official said, explaining the thinking behind the decision. 



The Navy declined comment on any plans to relieve Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and has since been carried by multiple US outlets.

The news comes after a collision involving the USS John McCain last week that left ten sailors missing. In June the USS Fitzgerald crashed into a cargo ship, leaving seven US sailors dead.

US navy divers have found human remains inside the sealed compartments of a warship that was hit by an oil tanker off the coast of Singapore, the commander of the US Pacific fleet has said.

Admiral Scott Swift said the Malaysian navy, which is helping with the search, had also reported finding a body. He said the US navy was in the process of establishing whether any of the remains could be identified as one of 10 sailors reported missing after the incident.

The USS John S McCain and the Alnic MC tanker collided as the warship was nearing Singapore for a routine port call. The collision tore a hole in the ship’s port side at the waterline, flooding compartments that included a crew sleeping area.

On Tuesday, ships and aircraft from an international search-and-rescue operation were still looking for the missing sailors in an area to the east of Singapore and the Malaysia peninsula near to where the accident took place.

With the ship now docked in Singapore, US navy and marine divers joined the search, moving into rooms of the ship that had been damaged and sealed off.</s>Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Adm. Scott Swift announced Tuesday that some of the remains of the missing Navy sailors had been located.

“The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps divers joined a search today assessing sealed compartments and damaged parts of the ship. The divers were able to locate some remains in those sealed compartments during their search today. Additionally, the Malaysian Navy has reported that they have located potential remains. They are working to confirm and identify those remains,” Mr. Swift announced to reporters.

Ten sailors went missing after the USS John S. McCain collided with a oil and chemical tanker near Singapore.

Mr. Swift would not say how many of the sailors remains were recovered, saying they were still in the process of identifying the remains.

The collision marks the second major incident in two months involving the Pacific fleet.

In June, the USS Fitzgerald collided with another ship near Japan resulting in the deaths of seven sailors. The Navy has now called for an investigation to find the broader problem wth these incidents.</s>The US Navy on Wednesday said it had removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after a series of collisions involving its warships in Asia as the search goes on for 10 sailors missing since the latest mishap.

[WASHINGTON] The US Navy on Wednesday said it had removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after a series of collisions involving its warships in Asia as the search goes on for 10 sailors missing since the latest mishap.

Vice Adm Aucoin's removal comes days after a pre-dawn collision between a guided-missile destroyer and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on Monday, the fourth major incident in the US Pacific Fleet this year. "Admiral Scott Swift, commander of US Pacific Fleet, today relieved the commander of Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the US Navy said in a press release.

Adm Swift, who traveled to Japan to relieve Vice Adm Aucoin, ordered his deputy Pacific Fleet commander, Rear Admiral Phil Sawyer, to immediately take command of the powerful US force.

Vice Adm Aucoin was due to step down next month, with RAdm Sawyer, deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet and a submariner by trade, already slated to succeed him. Vice Adm Aucoin came up through the Navy's air wing as an F-14 navigator.

The Seventh Fleet, headquartered in Japan, operates as many as 70 ships, including the US Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, and has around 140 aircraft and 20,000 sailors.

It operates over an area of 124 million square km from bases in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

The accident involving the USS John S McCain and the tanker Alnic MC in the Singapore Strait came at a tense time for the US Navy in Asia.

This month, the John S McCain sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China in the disputed South China Sea, the latest "freedom of navigation" operation to counter what the United States sees as China's efforts to control the contested waters.

An official Chinese newspaper said on Tuesday the US navy's latest collision shows it is becoming an increasing risk to shipping in Asia despite its claims of helping to protect freedom of navigation.

Also this month, North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam in a standoff over its nuclear and missile programmes.

"Losing another ship now is bad timing. It may raise concern over America's defensive capabilities and it could send the wrong signal to North Korea and China," a senior Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force officer said, asking not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media.

An international search-and-rescue operation involving aircraft, divers and vessels from the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia is looking for the 10 US sailors missing since Monday's collision.

On Tuesday, US Navy and Marine Divers found human remains inside sealed sections of the damaged hull of the USS John S McCain, which is moored at Singapore's Changi Naval Base. The Navy has not yet announced the identities of the bodies discovered.

The US Navy is also working to identify a body found by the Malaysian navy about eight nautical miles northwest of the collision site. Photos posted on the Twitter account of a Malaysian navy frigate on Wednesday showed crew carrying what appeared to be a body to a US Navy helicopter.

The latest collision has already prompted a fleet-wide investigation and plans for temporary halts in US Navy operations.

The John S McCain's sister ship, the USS Fitzgerald, almost sank off the coast of Japan after colliding with a Philippine container ship on June 17. The bodies of seven US sailors were found in a flooded berthing area after that collision.</s>The U.S. Navy says it's removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after a series of collisions involving its warships in Asia, as the search continues for 10 sailors missing since the latest accident.
The United States Navy relieves vice admiral Joseph Aucoin as commander of the United States Seventh Fleet following four collisions in Asia this year that claimed the lives of 17 sailors.