Anchors Away!

Well the boys in blue did it again. Another destroyer collision. As USNI reports:

The guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG-65) was hit by a Japanese tug during a towing exercise on Saturday, according to a statement from U.S. 7th Fleet. The forward-deployed destroyer was in the midst of a towing exercise in the Sagami Bay when the tug lost power and, “drifted into the ship.” “No one was injured on either vessel and Benfold sustained minimal damage, including scrapes on its side, pending a full damage assessment. Benfold remains at sea under her own power,” read the statement from 7th Fleet. “The Japanese commercial tug is being towed by another vessel to a port in Yokosuka. The incident will be investigated.” The incident comes as the Navy is struggling with the aftermath of two fatal collisions between merchant ships and the destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) that claimed the lives of 17 sailors. The Navy found both incidents were preventable.

One wonders how many ships will be left if we ever need them. Having spent my youth in New York Harbor, my grandfather was the Harbor Master for a while, and knowing the tug owners pretty well, double dated with a daughter of the Moran line, this type would close the harbor. Perhaps the Navy needs a big shakeup!