美海軍官員：海軍將解除第七艦隊司令的職務

The U.S. Navy is expected to relieve the commander of the 7th Fleet on Wednesday after several collisions involving warships, including one Monday that killed 10 U.S. sailors.

Officials told multiple news agencies that Navy Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Scott Swift would remove Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after meeting with him in Japan.

Aucoin was due to retire in January, but his departure was moved up after the USS John S. McCain became the second U.S. guided-missile destroyer to collide with a commercial vessel in as many months.

Scott said at a news conference Tuesday that divers have recovered human remains from the ship, which suffered "significant damage."

U.S. investigators are trying to determine what led to the collision with a Liberian tanker ship near the Strait of Malacca. Navy photos show a gaping hole below the waterline on the destroyer's port side. Some sleeping areas and communications rooms flooded as a result.

In response to the incident, the Navy ordered an immediate operational pause across the U.S. fleet.

The White House Press Office released a statement Tuesday mourning the deaths of the 10 U.S. sailors..

"As the Navy begins the process of recovering our fallen sailors, our thoughts and prayers go out to their families and friends," the statement said.在發生多起涉及海軍戰艦相撞事故之後，美國海軍預計將於星期三解除第七艦隊司令的職務。在星期一的事故中，有10名水兵喪生。

官員告訴多個新聞機構，美國太平洋艦隊司令、海軍上將斯科特·斯威夫特在日本同海軍中將約瑟夫·奧克林會面後將解除其職務

奧克林原定於明年1月退役，但是在“約翰·S·麥凱恩號”成爲兩個月內第二艘與一艘商船相撞的美國導彈驅逐艦之後，他的退役提前了。

斯威夫特星期二在一個新聞發佈會上說，潛水人員從驅逐艦上找到了人的屍骸，這艘驅逐艦遭受了“巨大損壞”。

美國調查人員正在試圖確定是什麼原因導致這艘驅逐艦與一艘利比里亞油輪在馬六甲海鮮附近相撞。海軍的圖片顯示，吃水線以下的左舷處裂開一個大洞。一些睡艙和通訊室因此被水淹沒。

作爲對該事件的迴應，美國海軍下令美國艦隊即刻 “暫停行動”。

白宮新聞辦公廳星期二發佈一份聲明，對死難的10名美國水兵表示哀悼。

聲明說：“在海軍開始尋找我們喪生的水兵的同時，我們對他們的家人和朋友寄予哀思，併爲他們祈禱。”