The USNS Patuxent, a Fleet Replentishment Oiler of the Henry J. Kaiser class, was lost at sea this morning, CNN has learned. The Patuxent carried a crew of 104, but there has been no report on the number of casulaties.
Although the Pentagon has still made no official acknowledgement of the collision at sea between the Patuxent and the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, reported to have occurred overnight and first reported by CNN, a briefing has been scheduled for one o'clock at the Washington Navy Yard, where the Navy Sealift Command is headquartered.
This is the first US Navy ship lost in an accident since the USS Scorpion, a nuclear submarine which sunk in 1968 with the loss of all 99 aboard. In 1969, the USS Frank D. Evans struck an Australian carrier and was cut in half. The bow section sank, with the loss of 74 crew.
