2 officers, including Filipino, accused in US destroyer collision off Japan

March 16, 2018

Shizuoka- The Japan Coast Guard filed papers with public prosecutors on Thursday accusing two officers over a fatal collision between a US Navy destroyer and a Philippine container vessel off the coast of central Japan in June last year.

A first lieutenant aboard the USS Fitzgerald and a Philippine second navigation officer of the container ship were accused of professional negligence resulting in death and injury and in endangering traffic.

The two officers, responsible for steering the vessels at the time of the collision, are suspected of failing to take action to avoid the collision.

The collision occurred off the coast of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture in the early hours of June 17 last year, killing seven sailors aboard the Fitzgerald.

The coast guard failed to identify the Fitzgerald officer because the US side did not provide information about the officer.

Prosecutors are expected not to indict the Fitzgerald officer as the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement that governs the US military presence in Japan gives the U.S. side primary jurisdiction in cases involving on-duty members of its forces. Jiji Press