Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson announced Monday a global pause in naval operations after the USS John S. McCain collided with a merchant ship near Singapore.
Richardson first provided an update on the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer in an official statement. The CNO said all possible assistance is being provided to the crew, their families, and the ship. He went on to say that because the incident was the second such incident as of late, a larger investigation into operations will take place.
In June, the USS Fitzgerald was part of a deadly collision with a Philippine-flagged container ship southwest of Tokyo.
"This is the second collision in three months, and the last in a series of incidents in the Pacific Theater," Richardson said. "This trend demands more forceful action. As such, I've directed an operational pause be taken in all of our fleets around the world."
"In addition to that operational pause, I've directed a more comprehensive review to ensure that we get at the contributing factors, the root causes of these incidents," he continued. "This review is in addition to the investigations that are looking into the details of the collisions of the USS Fitzgerald and now the USS John S. McCain."
Richardson said he has directed the commander of Fleet Forces Command, Adm. Philip Davidson, to lead the investigation, and the review will be on a "tight timeline."
"We need to get to the bottom of this, so let's get to it," Richardson said.