Washington: The Navy relieved the commanding officer of the USS Essex of his position, saying on Tuesday on that officials lost confidence in his abilities after his ship collided with a tanker at sea.
Captain Chuck Litchfield had only been the commanding officer of the amphibious assault ship for a few weeks when the crash occurred about 120 miles off the coast of Southern California on May 16. There were no injuries or fuel spills.
The Essex was approaching the oiler USNS Yukon to be refueled as part of a routine operation when they ran into each other. Both ships were damaged but were able to continue on their way to San Diego.