The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter suffered significant damage after colliding with an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

 The USS Porter is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that is part of the 5th fleet. That particular class of destroyer runs about $1.1 billion ($321.9 million for the ship; an extra $778 million for the weapons systems). They carry about ninety missiles of different types, and carry torpedo, helicopter, and gun weapons systems as well. You’d think a bit more of that money would have gone into adequate navigational systems.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Porter suffered significant damage after colliding with an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

The USS Porter was passing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf.

The Japanese-owned, Panamanian flagged tanker M/V Otowasan was coming the other way, just entering the Strait of Hormuz, and the two crashed into one another.

The shipping lanes are very narrow, about two miles wide in each lane.  The crash left a hole in the side of the destroyer but no injuries were reported.

The damage is all above the water-line, so there is no danger that the ship will sink, but likely sustained water damage because the fire control system would have activated.

After the collision USS Porter headed to a port called Jebel Ali in the UAE.

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Iran protests U.S. presence in gulf

Published By United Press International

TEHRAN, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Countries surrounding the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are primarily responsible for security in the region, an Iranian military leader said.

The U.S. military deployed assets to the Persian Gulf region to protect key shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri, deputy director of the Iranian chiefs of staff, said littoral states were responsible for regional security, however.

"The Islamic republic has repeatedly announced that the regional countries are capable of maintaining total security in the region and this depends on the withdrawal of U.S. forces," he was quoted by Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV as saying.

The U.S. Navy confirmed that guided-missile destroyer USS Porter collided with Japanese oil tanker M/V Otowasan early Sunday in the region. The Porter moved under its own power to Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, for assessment and repair. There were no injuries reported.

The destroyer is on deployment to the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet area for maritime security operations, the Navy said.

U.S. officials last week said Washington was examining its missile defense in the region given recent tensions with Iran. A missile defense system planned for Eastern Europe was touted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as vital to Iranian deterrence.