Japanese anti-submarine frigate collides with minesweeper off Yokosuka

by Ridzwan Rahmat

The MCMV JS Uraga . The ship sustained damages amidships after a collision with frigate JS Jintsū on 22 May 2022 in waters off Yokosuka. (NAVYPIX/Richard Scott)

A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Abukuma-class anti-submarine guided-missile frigate has collided with the service's lead Uraga-class mine-countermeasures vessel (MCMV) in waters off Yokosuka.

Janes has been informed by a source close to the matter that the collision took place at about 1545 h local time on 22 May while the frigate, JS Jintsū (230), was departing the Yokosuka naval base for a training mission in the Philippine Sea. At the point of collision, Uraga was berthed, and there were no inclement weather conditions, said the source.

Jintsū sustained damages to its bow, while Uraga sustained damages amidship on the starboard side. There have been no reports on casualties on neither Jintsū nor Uraga , but the damage to the former was serious enough to warrant a turnaround with its training mission aborted, the source added.

Jintsū is the JMSDF's second Abukuma-class frigate and the 109 m warship that was commissioned in 1990. Its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities include a bow-mounted sonar. It is unclear if this equipment was damaged in the accident.

The frigate is armed with eight McDonnell Douglas RGM-84C Harpoon Block IB anti-surface missiles, an octuple anti-submarine rocket launcher, and six 324 mm torpedo tubes. It is also equipped with an Oto Melara 76 mm/62 compact gun system in the forward section near the point of collision.

Meanwhile, Uraga

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/japanese-anti-submarine-frigate-collides-with-minesweeper-off-yokosuka

A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Abukuma-class anti-submarine guided-missile frigate has ...

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