Minesweeper Damaged in Pacific Collision

WASHINGTON —  The Navy said Friday that one of three Navy minesweeping ships headed for the Persian Gulf collided with another warship in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, tearing a 15-foot gash in the side of the ship and forcing it to return to base.

No injuries were caused by the collision, which occurred 1,200 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor just after the minesweeper Conquest had been refueled by the amphibious ship Barbour County, the Navy said.

The Conquest was among three minesweepers that left Pearl Harbor for the gulf on Sept. 4 and were headed for a stop in Subic Bay, in the Philippines. All three were under tow by the Barbour County, although the minesweepers kept their engines running to speed up the transit across the Pacific.

Two of the minesweepers and the Barbour County will continue on to the gulf and the Conquest will return to Pearl Harbor, possibly under tow by a salvage ship that was accompanying the group.

A total of six wooden-hulled minesweeping ships have been ordered to the gulf to help ensure that channels used by Navy-escorted U.S.-registered Kuwaiti tankers will be free of underwater explosives. Eight minesweeping helicopters and smaller mine-hunting boats are now being used for that task.