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On June 17th, 2017, A Philippine cargo ship struck USS Fitzgerald, a United States Navy Destroyer, in the middle of the night. After the chaos subsided, 7 U.S. sailors were found dead in their sleeping quarters and the ship’s captain was airlifted with due to serious injuries.
It’s been nearly 10 days and the only official report was released by Reuters claiming they received a full statement from the captain of the cargo ship. In it, he stated that the crew of his ship signaled the destroyer by flashing its lights when it realized they were on a collision course and were ignored. Also, he mentioned that the Fitzgerald “suddenly steamed on to a course to cross its path.”
There are still many questions to be answered. Although the report states the crew signaled the U.S. destroyer, no justification was given why the freighter made a 180-degree turn and deviated from its course in the first place.
The U.S. Navy is still conducting their investigation and declined to give a comment on the recent findings until they cover all angles.