--- title: "Everything We Know About The Near Collision Between U.S. And Russian Warships In The Pacific" description: "The U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the Russian Navy's Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Vinogradov almost had a near collision in the Philippine Sea earlier today. 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." date: "2019-06-07" modified: "2019-06-07" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/28417/everything-we-know-about-the-near-collision-between-u-s-and-russian-warships-in-the-pacific" categories: - "Americas" - "Around The Globe" - "Europe" - "Indo-Pacific" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Russia" - "Russian Navy" - "Sea" - "U.S. Homeland" - "U.S. Navy" tags: - "7th Fleet" - "Admiral Vinogradov" - "Cruisers" - "destroyers" - "near collision" - "Philippine sea" - "russia" - "Ticonderoga Class" - "Udaloy class" - "US Navy" - "USS Chancellorsville" --- # Everything We Know About The Near Collision Between U.S. And Russian Warships In The Pacific ![]() *www.twz.com* The U.S. Navy's [*Ticonderoga*-class]() cruiser [USS *Chancellorsville*]() and the Russian Navy's *Udaloy*-class destroyer [*Admiral Vinogradov*]() had a near collision in the Philippine Sea earlier today. 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." https://twitter.com/_/status/1136959196384178182 https://twitter.com/_/status/1136959635854974976 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. https://youtube.com/embed/fVXxTS2f8CE https://youtube.com/embed/C5D5H0nlw54 Though 50 to 100 feet may sound like a lot, it is a worrying lack of separation between two ships displacing thousands of tons, which are slow to maneuver if something should suddenly happen. For perspective, *Chancellorsville*, at its greatest width, is 50 feet across and it more than 560 feet long. An actual collision between the two ships, especially if the *Admiral Vinogradov* had plowed into *Chancellorsville*'s side, would have caused serious damage and might have resulted in fatalities. ![message-editor%2F1559915425728-collision.jpg]() *What appears to be a capture from an aircraft's camera turret shows *Admiral Vinogradov*, on the left, approaching USS *Chancellorsville*., *USN** ![message-editor%2F1559915473926-collision-2.jpg]() *A second capture shows USS *Chancellorsville* dropping back after *Admiral Vinogradov* pulled alongside., *USN** An uncropped version of the photograph that *CNN* obtained above points the exact location of the incident, approximately 175 miles southwest of the Japanese Island of Okinawa. This is firmly in international waters and hundreds of miles away from any Russian territorial claims. https://twitter.com/_/status/1136970514876944385 Russia and the United States have already exchanged accusations about who is at fault over the incident. *Chancellorsville* was maintaining a steady course in order to recover its Sea Hawk helicopter at the time, according to the Navy. The *Admiral Vinogradov* then approached from the rear and to the starboard side, or right, of the American cruiser. ![message-editor%2F1559920313499-collision-5.jpg]() *A screen grab of a video the US Navy released of the incident, showing how close the ships were., *USN** The Russians, who initially claimed the incident occurred in the East China Sea, further to the northwest, said it was the Americans who cut off their destroyer and that they were in violation of the maritime "[rules of the road]()." It is true that these internationally-recognized rules do say that when two ships paths appear to cross, the ship to the starboard has the right of way. "The US cruiser *Chancellorsville* suddenly changed its course and crossed the *Admiral Vinogradov* destroyer’s course some 50 meters away from the ship," the Russian Pacific Fleet’s press service [said in a statement]() on June 7, 2019. "In order to prevent a collision, the *Admiral Vinogradov*’s crew was forced to conduct an emergency maneuver." However, the pictures the Navy has released show *Chancellorsville*'s wake as long and steady, directly contradicting the Russian version of events. There also appears to be a change in *Admiral Vinogradov* course and indications that it was moving at a much higher speed, perhaps to try to get in front of the American warship. The crew on the Russian ship did not appear to be taking any particular precautions for a deliberately hazardous encounter, though, with some individuals apparently sunbathing on the destroyer's rear flight deck. Regardless, U.S. Navy Commander Clayton Doss, a spokesman for the Navy's Seventh Fleet, which is forwarded deployed in Japan and includes the *Chancellorsville*, dismissed the Russian statements as "propaganda," [according to the BBC](). ![message-editor%2F1559920742311-bathing.jpg]() *Russian sailors on the *Admiral Vinogradov*'s rear flight deck during the incident., *USN** It is worth noting that *Chancellorsville* is among the most advanced ships in the Navy and is capable of performing both air and ballistic missile defense missions simultaneously, as well as engaging hostile ships and conducting strikes against land targets. The cruiser has, among other things, the latest iteration of the Aegis combat system, also known as Baseline Nine. This includes improvements to a number of important data fusion and information sharing capabilities as part of the Navy's Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) and associated Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter-Air (NIFC-CA) systems, which you can read about in more detail [here](). https://twitter.com/_/status/1136966500240297985 This also isn't the first time a Navy ship has had a dangerous encounter with another country's warship, but the last such incident, which [occurred in September 2018](), involved a Chinese destroyer. The U.S. and China have long been at odds over the latter country's sweeping territorial claims in the Pacific region, especially with regards to [the South China Sea](), and tensions between Washington and Beijing have been growing steadily in recent years over a host of issues, including an [increasingly bitter trade war](). But it certainly isn't the first time there have been altercations between Russian and American forces elsewhere. Notably, in June 2016, the Russian Navy [also claimed]() that the *Arleigh Burke*-class destroyer USS *Gravely* had cut off its *Neustrashimy*-class frigate *Yaroslav Mudry* in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It subsequently emerged that this was a [misrepresentation of the events]() and that the Russian ship had been trying to interfere with the activities of the Truman Carrier Strike Group. In recent years, Russian aircraft [have routinely]() conducted [unsafe maneuvers]() near [American military planes]() and [ships]() in Europe and the Middle, as well. [Just days ago](), the Navy said that a Russian [Su-35 Flanker]() fighter jet had repeatedly moved dangerously close to one of its [P-8A Poseidon]() maritime patrol planes in the Mediterranean. We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available. ***Update: 11:30am EST—*** Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan offered some comments to reporters about the incident on the steps of the Pentagon ahead of the arrival of Greek Defense Minister Evangelos Apostolakis. "We'll have military-to-military conversations with the Russians and of course we'll démarche them." https://twitter.com/_/status/1137012093423632384 *Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com* ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()