The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald, damaged by colliding with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, is seen at the US naval base in Yokosuka, Japan June 18, 2017.[Photo/Agencies] TOKYO -- All seven bodies of US sailors missing after a collision between the US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and a Philippine container vessel have been found aboard the stricken destroyer, local media reported Sunday. According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, all seven bodies of the missing sailors were found aboard the destroyer in areas that had become flooded after the collision, such as a living space and a machine room. The Navy said in a statement that rescuers had gained access to spaces that were damaged during the collision. As search and rescue crews gained access to the spaces that were damaged during the collision this morning, the missing sailors were located, the US 7th Fleet said, although itself, in contrast to Japanese media, did not specify the number of bodies recovered. The US military will now proceed to confirm the identity of the bodies and inform the families of the deceased, it said. The bodies are being transferred to Naval Hospital Yokosuka. Three others were injured in the collision, local media said, including Cmdr. Bryce Benson, the Fitzgerald's commanding officer, who is in a stable condition in hospital. Two other crew members were airlifted to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the Navy said. According to the Japan Coast Guard, the collision occurred about 100 kilometers southwest of Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, and was first reported by the Philippine container vessel at around 2:25 a.m. local time on Saturday. Along with the US Navy, the Japan Coast Guard is investigating the collision and has questioned crew members of the 29,060-ton Philippine ACX Crystal container vessel on suspicion of possible endangerment of traffic caused by professional negligence, according to local media reports. NHK said that a record aboard the Philippine ship shows that it took a sharp right turn southeast of the Izu Peninsula at around 1:30 a.m., about an hour before the collision was reported. The vessel, which was carrying 1,080 containers, was recorded as traveling east for 30 minutes before making a U-turn and doubling back into the waters where the collision with the 8,315-ton Aegis-equipped Fitzgerald took place. Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen, operator of the Philippine vessel, said in a statement that it is collaborating with the ship owner and fully cooperating with the investigation by the relevant authorities. The shipping firm, headquartered in Tokyo and one of the largest shipping companies in the world, said that all crew members aboard the ACX Crystal have been confirmed to be safe and that it has set up its own independent task force to further probe the details of the collision and how to proceed. A myriad of information is currently being analyzed by all sides on the cause of the collision, sources close to the matter have said, such as the exact locations of the two vessels, the speed they were traveling at, their routes, their radar and other surveillance capabilities, as well as the weather conditions at the time. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JAM) said that at the time of the collision, the weather and therefore visibility should have been clear and the waves were at a height of around 2 meters. The weather agency had not issued any advisories or warnings for the area at the time. The 154 meter-long US guided-missile destroyer, which suffered considerable damage to its right side in the collision, is part of the US 7th Fleet and has returned to the Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 50 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The 222.6-meter-long Philippine ship, which was sailing towards Tokyo from Nagoya in central Japan, has since docked at a port in Tokyo with visible scrape marks from the collision on the left side of its bow. US President Donald Trump thanked Japan for its help, which involved multiple vessels and planes being deployed to search for the missing sailors following the pre-dawn collision. Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families. Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance, Trump tweeted Saturday morning Washington time. printed wristbandstyvek wristbands londonslap wristbandscustom rubber band bracelets
Workers test samples at an oil field in Aktobe, Kazakhstan. Ren Qi / China Daily A Chinese company is not only pumping 'black gold' and providing jobs, but also establishing community projects for locals, reports Ren Qi in Aktobe, Kazakhstan Editor's note: This is the ninth in a series of reports focusing on the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, China's proposed trading route linking Asia, Europe and Africa. Kazakhstan holds a special place in the history of Belt and Road Initiative, because President Xi Jinping proposed the ambitious initiative during a speech at Nazarbayev University in Astana, the Kazakh capital, in 2013. China has been working closely with Kazakhstan for about 20 years, mainly in the energy sector. That cooperation has expanded since the launch of the landmark project, which comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Aktobe, in the west, is Kazakhstan's second-largest region but it has the lowest population density in the country, with just 2.6 people per square kilometer. It's also the location of a prime example of the strong links between the two nations: China National Petroleum Corp AktobeMunaiGas, known as CNPC AMG, Kazakhstan's fifth-largest oil and gas producer. In June 1997, China National Petroleum Corp, the nation's largest oil and gas producer and supplier, bought a 60.34 percent stake in the Kazakh company and obtained production licenses for three oil fields and a contract for an oil exploration block. The acquisition was the company's first investment in Central Asia, and the development of the Aktobe project is a prime example of China's oil and gas cooperation in Kazakhstan, said Bian Dezhi, general manager of CNPC Kazakhstan Corp, a subsidiary established to oversee operations. Later, CNPC was awarded four more oil and gas projects in the country, along with two exploration projects and the Kazakhstan-China crude oil pipeline, the Northwest oil pipeline, and phase two of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline. Construction of the 1,454-kilometer-long western section of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline was completed on April 14. According to the company, the pipeline can now carry more than 5 billion cubic meters a year from Kazakhstan to Chna. China is busy building the Silk Road Economic Belt throughout Central Asia, and we see these oil and natural gas pipelines as an 'energy Silk Road', said Bian Dezhi, general manager of CNPC Kazakhstan. CNPC now holds 89.17 percent of CNPC AMG, which produced more than 134 million metric tons of crude oil and 72.3 billion cu m of natural gas between 1997 and the end of last year, according to company data. Wang Junren, general manager of CNPC AMG, said the project has faced several challenges since it was established, including the 2008 global financial crisis and the drop in the price of oil between 2010 and 2015. However, thanks to a better energy cooperation environment, such as a higher oil price and positive policies introduced as part of the initiative, the development of CNPC AMG has jumped in the past two years, he said. The initiative is an updated version of China's international cooperation model, and the Silk Road Economic Belt is helping to raise the level of sustainable cooperation between China and Kazakhstan, he added. Wang Yanfeng, deputy chief engineer and head of field operations in Aktobe, said the company's employees have made many sacrifices to ensure the project's success. After working at the company's oil field in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, for seven years, Wang studied in Moscow from 2001 to 2003 to further his professional skills. After that, he moved to Kazakhstan. When I arrived in Aktobe, the company was in a critical situation because the price of oil had almost reached its lowest point and the business was really not smooth. Living and working conditions were also quite poor, he recalled. The hardest thing was traveling the 270 km between the oil field and the regional capital, also called Aktobe: The roads were bad, and there were deep potholes all the way to the field, so we had to ride in an open pickup truck for more than eight hours in winter. Acts of charity CNPC AMG has signed memorandums of understanding with the Aktobe regional government every year since 1997, and has donated more than $47 million to local charities. The company has spent more than $694 million to boost local amenities, including subsidizing medical services and building infrastructure, such as hospitals and cultural or religious venues, according to Yury Shikarev, deputy director of the general manager's office. In 2003, the company bought 80 apartments in downtown Aktobe city. It offered them to World War II veterans free of charge as part of celebrations to mark the 58th anniversary of the end of the war. We also spend $63,700 a year on newspaper subscriptions for the old soldiers, he said. Furthermore, we sponsored a Veterans' Day to commemorate them, which received positive feedback from local people. Xu Anping, deputy general manager of CNPC AMG, visits the apartments to meet with the veterans every year. For a company exploring natural resources in a foreign country, relations with local governments, and especially local communities, are very important, he said. Xu was one of the first Chinese workers to arrive in Aktobe in 1997. He said the CNPC management team understood the need for positive relations and immediately set about cultivating them. In the first year, CNPC AMG bought and renovated an old sanatorium. When the work had been completed, the company organized a three-month summer camp for the children of its Chinese and Kazakh employees. Now, our summer camp is one of the most famous in Aktobe, or even western Kazakhstan. It has become a fairytale land for the children of the region, Xu said, with pride. Contact the writer at [email protected]
