Near collision between U.S. and Russian warships in Pacific
Pictures and video show the two ships coming dangerously close to hitting each other and the Navy says Chancellorsville had to fully reverse its engines to avoid a serious accident.
"#USSChancellorsville was forced to maneuver to avoid collision when #Russian destroyer Udaloy I [Admiral Vinogradov] made an unsafe and unprofessional approach in the Phillippine Sea," a post from the U.S. Navy's official Twitter account read on June 7, 2019.
"While recovering its helicopter #USSChancellorsville was forced to execute all engines back full to avoid collision with #Russian destroyer Udaloy I, which had come from behind and alongside within 50-100 feet in the Phillippine Sea."
The Navy has since released two videos and two pictures of the encounter, which confirm how close the ships were until Chancellorsville was able to drop back and out of harm's way. The pictures appear to be stills from a camera turret, which may have been on a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft that was flying nearby or from the cruiser's helicopter if the incident had forced it to abort its recovery. ■