U.S. Carrier, Ecuadorean Tanker Collide

A nighttime collision between the newly overhauled U.S. aircraft carrier Coral Sea and an Ecuadorean oil tanker off the coast of Cuba damaged both ships but caused no injuries, the Navy said Friday.

The Coral Sea and the tanker Napo collided while the carrier was conducting flight operations 45 miles southeast of Guantanamo Bay, said Lt. Cmdr. Dale Smith, a Navy spokesman in Norfolk. The ships collided at their bows and “swung into each other,” he said.

The Coral Sea threw its engines into reverse shortly before the crash. “They knew they were heading into the other ship,” Smith said, adding that “part of the bow is crushed” on the Coral Sea, with further damage to its starboard and to communications and radar.

The Napo took a 30-foot gash in its port side and some superstructure damage and was listing slightly, Smith said, adding that no oil leaked from either ship. Damage estimates were not available.

The two vessels sailed to Guantanamo Bay unassisted Friday. There was no indication of the cause of the collision. Eleven planes from the Coral Sea landed safely at Guantanamo, Smith said.