Free Republic

An oil tanker collided with a U.S. Navy destroyer near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday but no one was hurt and shipping traffic in the waterway, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports pass, was not affected, officials said. "Both vessels are okay and the Strait of Hormuz is not closed, and business is as usual there," an Oman coast guard official told Reuters, declining to be named under briefing rules. The collision nevertheless left a gaping hole in the starboard side of USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer suffered, but no one was injured on either...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship in the Persian Gulf off Iraq, slightly injuring four people, the Navy said Sunday.

The submarine USS Philadelphia collided with a Turkish freighter on Monday in the central Persian Gulf. Neither ship was damaged seriously and no one was injured, officials said.The accident occurred about 2 a.m. local time while the Groton-based submarine was on the surface headed for Bahrain for a routine port call. The Turkish ship, the Yaso Aysen, was reportedly headed for the United Arab Emirates to take on cargo.Navy sources said the collision is likely to be a career-killer for Cmdr. Steven M. Oxholm, the captain of the Philadelphia, because the large freighter should have been spotted by both radar...