US Navy destroyer collides with a Philippine container ship off Japan

Japan's coast guard says seven crew members aboard a U-S navy destroyer are missing after a collision with a merchant vessel bearing a Philippine flag. Image: The USS Fitzgerald off Izu Peninsula in Japan, after the Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship. (AP)

The USS Fitzgerald off Izu Peninsula in Japan, after the Navy destroyer collided with a merchant ship Source: AP

The U-S-S Fitzgerald had been traveling in open waters about 100 kilometres south west of its Japanese base in Yokosuka -- when it collided with a 220 metre long container ship.