Oil tanker collides with US ship off Oman

An oil tanker collided with a US Navy ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday but no one was hurt and shipping traffic in the waterway, through which 40 per cent of the world's seaborne oil exports pass, was not affected, officials said.     "Both vessels are okay and the Strait of Hormuz is not closed, and business is as usual there," an Oman coast guard official said, declining to be named under briefing rules.      The Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said the Panamanian-flagged, Japanese-owned bulk oil tanker M/V Otowasan collided with the USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer, in the early hours of Sunday morning.      The collision occurred at approximately 1am local time.  The collision left a gaping hole in the starboard side of USS Porter, the US Navy said in a statement. The cause of the incident is under investigation, the Navy said, adding that there were no reports of spills or leakages from either the USS Porter or the Otowasan. The navy vessel remained able to operate under its own power after the collision, which was not combat-related, the statement added without elaborating on how the accident happened.      Three years ago, The USS Hartford, a nuclear-powered submarine based in Groton, Connecticut, collided in the Strait with the USS New Orleans, a San Diego-based amphibious ship. The New Orleans' fuel tank was ruptured and 15 sailors on the Hartford sustained minor injuries. The collision caused $2.3 million in damage to the New Orleans, and the cost so far of repairs to the Hartford is $102.6 million. The commanding officer was relieved of his duties and the sub's chief of the boat, an adviser to the commanding officer, was reassigned. Several crew members were punished. From : Gulftoday