“The way it looks now, it seems that the crew on the (USS) Fitzgerald is going to be at fault,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “They are certainly going to be held accountable in some way for their actions,” the official added. There are seven sailors that lost their lives.”Senior spokeswoman Rear Admiral Dawn Cutler stressed the investigation was still in its “early stages” and said it was too soon to release any definitive information. The defense official said the probe would likely be released in about a month. The sailors were killed in a June 17 predawn collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal in a busy shipping channel off Japan’s coast.

Source: Manila Times July 22, 2017 16:30 UTC