https://mobile.twitter.com/ABC/status/1136984248068562944
Didn’t Trump say these types of incidents wouldn’t happen anymore?
No collusion, just collision!
Could have been a fun opportunity for a race, maybe a potluck afterwards, but nooooo, everyone’s gotta get all square about flag colors.
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In fairness to Russia their ships tend to be so unreliable that it’s possible the rudders or control systems broke.
The United States Navy seems to be pretty capable of running into things without Russia’s help. 
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I’ve heard of playing chicken but chicken ships moves it to another category…
That is true.
Our ships have sailors that don’t follow the rules and their ships just break for no reason.
We could both learn from the PLA Navy.
That was my first thought as well. Sad.
It is possible that the OP title needs to be rewritten to say “US Navy vessel nearly collides with Russian warship.”
(Note: LRC did not author this article, they merely reprinted it.)
Based on the picture and evidence provided by the United States Navy and reference to common “rules of the road” that apply to seafaring traffic, it appears that the United States vessel was at fault and only a last second Russian maneuver prevented a true catastrophe.
Due to the placement of the vessels in the time period prior to the incident, it was the duty of the United States vessel to maneuver to avoid the Russian vessel and the duty of the Russian vessel to hold its course. Accordingly, the Russian vessel did not maneuver until its last second turn to avoid a collision.
The author notes that due to the fact that the Russian vessel was equipped with an ice-breaker bow, it likely would have split the US ship in two had they collided with the certain loss of the US ship and the deaths of most or all of its crew.
Oh, and this vessel is with the US 7th Fleet, which is home to the ships involved in recent collisions.
The United States Navy better gets its act together, this was a fail to observe the most basic laws of the sea by the US crew.
When I was 10 my dad bought a 20 ft fishing boat and we spent weekends trolling on Lake Michigan. As it was my job to steer while he set lines and down triggers…the first thing I learned was rule 15. The vessel with the other vessel on its starboard had to yield. The boat on the starboard had right of passage. This became important when trolling in big groups and when large ore ships came down the lake into the port of Indiana. We often trolled the break walls of the port, and always had to be aware of other fisherman crossing the east west line into and out of the port.
My point is that the rule exists to allow for safe navigation regardless of what flag you are flying.
Are ships in the 7th flexing?
If ONLY it was “flexing.”
More likely, it is simple incompetence.
That’s what I was afraid of.
