But why did the cargo ship turn around?
Whatever the situation, one of our naval vessels should have dealt with it. They did not and we look diminished.
I do not trust the news to properly report, so we might have to wait for a response from the Navy. I am sure they are digging for answers too.
The tidbits of data that are coming out suggest the event happened an hour earlier (time zone issue) then first reported.
The cargo ship might have been operating on auto pilot and when the crew realized they had been involved in a collision they turned around to go back. Data revealed the speed and track of the cargo vessel suddenly changed (Collision?) then slowly resumed speed and course (autopilot?) Then the U-turn occurred.
The cargo ships was operating without external lights and transponder off, thus visually and electronically invisible.
Questions remain as to why the naval vessel was not aware of the cargo ship via other methods. Another report was that the naval vessel just tried to "out run the train" and lost when they came together on a collision course. I doubt that as the naval vessel if far more maneuverable to allow that to happen.