A Navy destroyer collided with a merchant vessel off the coast of Singapore

Thomson Reuters

A US Navy destroyer was involved in a collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of Singapore on Sunday, the Navy said.

The destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, collided with the vessel Alnic MC at 6:24 a.m. local time, according to a Navy statement.

The Navy is treating the incident as an accident, according to NBC News.

The collision occurred east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca as the destroyer was heading to Singapore for a routine port visit.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, although the Navy said a search-and-rescue operation was underway.

The warship "sustained damage to her port side aft," or the back-left portion of the ship, according to the Navy statement.

The merchant vessel is identified by MarineTraffic.com as a tanker sailing under the Liberian flag.

US Sen. John McCain, whose father and grandfather are the ship's namesake, offered his condolences in a tweet Sunday evening.

"Cindy & I are keeping America's sailors aboard the USS John S McCain in our prayers tonight - appreciate the work of search & rescue crews," McCain said.

Google Maps

The collision is the second such incident for the Navy in two months — the USS Fitzgerald collided with a merchant vessel southwest of Japan in mid-June.

McCain had recently visited the warship in Vietnam, according to Fox News, which added that earlier this month, the ship sailed past contested man-made islands in the South China Sea.

NOW WATCH: Step aboard the USS Kearsarge, the US Navy workhorse that takes Marines to war