Collision: U.S. Navy Warship blamed

The U.S. Navy destroyer that slammed into a cargo ship in Japanese waters in mid-June, killing seven crew members, failed to react to warning signals in the moments leading up to the crash, the Philippine-flagged ship’s captain said Monday.

The captain of the ACX Crystal said the container ship flashed lights toward the USS Fitzgerald after it “suddenly” began heading on a collision course near Tokyo Bay on June 17.

This was according to Reuters report that it viewed a copy of Ronald Advincula’s account to Dainichi Investment Corporation, the ship’s owner but was not able to independently verify it.

Advincula said in the account that his ship steered hard right to avoid the Fitzgerald but hit it 10 minutes later, around 1:30 a.m. local time.

The resulting collision created a large gash on the side of the destroyer which led to the death of seven U.S. sailors.