The commander of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet will be relieved of command following the deadly collision of two warships in separate incidents in a little more than two months, two officials said Tuesday.
Navy Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin will be relieved of command by Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift, the officials said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the planned move Tuesday.
Swift announced he is traveling to Yokosuka Japan at a press conference in Singapore Tuesday and he is expected to meet with Aucoin there.
The planned change comes after the USS John S. McCain collided with a chemical and oil tanker off Singapore on Monday local time (Sunday evening ET).
Ten U.S. sailors are missing, and some remains have been found in sealed compartments inside the McCain, a guided-missile destroyer. The Navy did not say how many bodies were found.
In June another destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a container ship off the coast of Japan. Seven U.S. sailors died.
The Fitzgerald’s commanding officer, executive officer and senior enlisted officer were all relieved of their responsibilities aboard the ship after the Navy concluded “serious mistakes were made by the crew.”
The Navy’s top admiral, Admiral John Richardson, on Monday announced a one-day “operational pause” for the entire fleet to make sure the Navy is running its ships safely after the collision involving the McCain.
Named after the father and grandfather of Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 8,300 ton destroyer had finished patrolling the South China Sea and was heading to Singapore when it collided with the much larger 30,000-ton Alnic MC.
Aucoin was appointed to command the 7th Fleet in 2015. In May, the Pentagon announced that Rear Admiral Phillip Sawyer was nominated to be promoted to vice admiral and to be the next commander of the 7th Fleet.
