Navy ship arrives at Calif port after collision

This undated image provided by the U.S. Navy shows the amphibious assault ship USS Essex underway in the Pacific Ocean. The Essex and a refueling tanker, the USNS Yukon, collided in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday May 16,2012, but there were no injuries and no fuel spills, the 3rd Fleet said. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joe Kane)

This undated image provided by the U.S. Navy shows the amphibious assault ship USS Essex underway in the Pacific Ocean. The Essex and a refueling tanker, the USNS Yukon, collided in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday May 16,2012, but there were no injuries and no fuel spills, the 3rd Fleet said. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joe Kane)

This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Yukon underway in the Pacific Ocean. The USNS Yukon and an amphibious assault ship USS Essex collided in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday May 16, 2012, but there were no injuries and no fuel spills, the 3rd Fleet said. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Mass Communication Specialist Seaman John Grandin)

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? The U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Essex arrived to cheers in San Diego Bay on Thursday, 24 hours after it collided with a refueling tanker in the Pacific when the warship's steering apparently failed.

Families of the ship's crew celebrated as the big ship pulled in after the crash that resulted in no injuries or fuel spills.

Andi Farquhr, wife of a 36-year-old sailor, said her husband called her from the ship and said something bad had happened. She said he told her there was a collision but gave no details.

"I'm pretty sure it was scary," Farquhr said.

Lt. Beth Teach said the Essex sustained damage to its starboard aircraft elevator, catwalks and lifeboats on aft portions of the ship. Damage shown to reporters included broken railings, crumpled lifeboats and scrapes along the elevator in a span of several dozen feet.

The USNS Yukon tanker had structural damage to its flight deck, lifeboats and davits, the arm-like structures that hold the lifeboats, Teach said.

The ships likely just bounced off each other, said maritime safety consultant James W. Allen.

Navy officials said it was the Essex's first collision. The ship, however, has had mechanical problems.

The military publication Stars and Stripes reported in February that twice over a seven-month period, missions were scrapped because of mechanical or maintenance issues involving the 21-year-old flagship commissioned in San Diego

Navy spokesman Lt. Richard Drake at the time blamed it on wear and tear. 3rd Fleet officials said they could not comment on that since at the time the Essex was in the 7th Fleet in Japan. 7th Fleet officials could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.

The Yukon, which was launched in 1993, has been involved in at least two previous collisions, including on Feb. 27, 2000, when it collided with a 135-foot civilian cargo ship while trying to enter Dubai's Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates. The Yukon sustained minor damage.

Less than five months later, it was hit by the USS Denver during refueling off the coast of Hawaii. Both ships sustained heavy damage.

The Wednesday accident occurred about 120 miles off the coast of Southern California as the Essex was approaching the Yukon to be refueled, said Cmdr. Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the 3rd Fleet.

Brown said the steering apparently stopped working on the 844-foot-long Essex, which was carrying 982 crew members on its way to San Diego for scheduled maintenance. It had spent the past 12 years based in Sasebo, Japan, as command ship for the Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group 7.

The Essex was traveling with a new crew that came aboard for the trip to California. The ship recently underwent a crew swap with another amphibious assault ship, the Bonhomme Richard, as part of a standard procedure in the Navy to keep its ships operating.

The 677-foot Yukon arrived later Wednesday at the Navy base in San Diego with its crew of 82, including 78 civilian mariners and four military crew members.

Brown said he couldn't say how fast the ships were moving at the time of the crash because the Navy is still investigating the cause.

The standard speed for ships lining up to refuel at sea is about 13 knots, or 15 mph, Brown said. No lines or hoses had been connected because the two vessels were just approaching each other.

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Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton and John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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