Russian Sailors Spotted Sunbathing During Near Collision With US Destroyer
By RT
It appears Russian sailors were not too concerned about a close encounter with a US warship in the East China Sea, at least according to a video where sharp-eyed users spotted them casually sunbathing on the ship’s deck.
The near collision between the two destroyers, USS Chancellorsville and Admiral Vinogradov, occurred on Friday. Moscow and Washington squarely pinned the blame on one another, while the US released videos and an aerial photo of the encounter.
While many disputed who the culprit behind the near collision was, one particular detail about the Russian destroyer caught the eye of the online crowd. Russian sailors sunbathing.
A handful of sailors were casually sunbathing on the destroyer’s helipad, while the rest of the vessel seemed to be lifeless, as the crew was apparently doing its best to avoid the collision that could have led to serious damage at best – and who knows what international fallout.
The Russian vessel managed to take a sharp turn to the right, passing within some 150 feet (less than 50 meters) from the US destroyer.
According to international maritime rules, a vessel approached from the starboard side must give way – and apparently it was the US vessel that was obliged to do so. The US Navy, however, claimed that it was recovering a helicopter – that snapped the picture from above – during the incident and had to travel in a straight line.
