Tokyo, 11 January, /AJMEDIA/
A Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer became unable to sail Tuesday and leaked oil after its propeller was damaged in waters off the western Japan prefecture of Yamaguchi, the MSDF said.
The 4,550-ton destroyer with 190 personnel on board may have hit a rock on the seabed, according to the coast guard. But no one was injured, the Defense Ministry said.
An oil slick measuring 30 meters in length was confirmed in nearby waters, the ministry said. The MSDF was preparing to tow the ship while cleaning up the oil.
The crew of the Inazuma felt the vessel make “a big impact” while sailing in the Seto Inland Sea at around 12:10 p.m. and dropped anchor.
“There was a loud bang, and we became unable to sail on our own,” the destroyer said in a call made around 12:30 p.m. to the 6th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.
The 151-meter-long and 17.4-meter-wide vessel, commissioned in March 2000, had finished repairs at a dock in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, Tuesday morning and was on a test run with both crew members and dock personnel on board when the incident occurred in an area where there are warnings of shallow water.
The coast guard will investigate the incident as a possible professional case of negligence endangering traffic, while the MSDF will launch its own probe.
“We will fully cooperate with the Japan Coast Guard to investigate the cause,” Kazumi Aizawa, captain of the destroyer, said in a statement.
