Strait of Hormuz Unaffected as U.S. Navy Ship and Oil Tanker Collide

On Sunday, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer and an oil tanker collided near the Strait of Hormuz. As of right now, no injuries have been reported and traffic in the highly-transited shipping lane has been unaffected.

No one was hurt Sunday morning when a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer and a large Japanese owned merchant vessel collided near the Strait of Hormuz on August 12th, says an official release from the U.S. Navy.

The collision between USS Porter (DDG 78) and the Panamanian-flagged bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan occurred at approximately 1:00 a.m. local time and was not combat or attack related.

Porter transited under its own power to Jebel Ali, UAE and is now pier side for assessment and repair.

Pictures released by the U.S. Navy showed a large dent in the starboard side of the USS Porter just in front of the ship's superstructure and above the waterline. Personnel hung over the side inspecting the damage, according to Reuters. The incident is under investigation.

USS Porter is on a scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. The M/V Otowasan is owned by Mitsui OSK and was heading to the Port of Fujairah, UAE.