MSDF ship collides with S. Korean container in Kammon Straits

MSDF ship collides with S. Korean container in Kammon Straits

TOKYO, Japan - Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa speaks at a news conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 27, 2009, after the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces destroyer Kurama collided with a South Korean container ship in the Kammon Straits in Fukuoka Prefecture. The 5,200-ton destroyer caught fire following the collision and three crew members were slightly injured.

(4)3 MSDF vessels leave Sasebo for Indian Ocean

(4)3 MSDF vessels leave Sasebo for Indian Ocean

SASEBO, Japan - Family members of Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) crew from three warships wave in a pool photo at the MSDF's Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture on Nov. 9 as the three vessels leave the base for the Indian Ocean. The three ships -- the 5,200-ton destroyer Kurama, the destroyer 4,550-ton Kirisame and the 8,100-ton supply ship Hamana -- were sent to the area as part of Japan's plan to provide noncombat support to the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan.

(1)3 MSDF vessels leave Sasebo for Indian Ocean

(1)3 MSDF vessels leave Sasebo for Indian Ocean

SASEBO, Japan - The 5,200-ton destroyer Kurama of the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) leaves a wharf of the MSDF's Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture on Nov. 9 on a two-month fact-finding mission in the Indian Ocean as part of Japan's plan to provide noncombat support to the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan. The Kurama, along with the 4,550-ton destroyer Kirisame and the 8,100-ton supply ship Hamana, are expected to arrive in the Indian Ocean in two weeks.