Watch: Russian warship ‘aggressively approached’ US destroyer in Arabian Sea, US Navy says

A Russian naval ship “aggressively approached” a U.S. Navy destroyer Thursday in the north Arabian Sea, nearly causing a collision, according to authorities.

Officials with the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which oversees American naval forces in the Middle East, said Friday in a statement that the Russian warship approached the USS Farragut, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer.

"(The) Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road," the statement said.

Officials said the Russian ship initially refused. Two unidentified defense officials told CNN the Russian ship got within 180 feet of the U.S. vessel.

The Russian ship altered course after it established bridge-to-bridge radio communication with the USS Farragut, officials told CNN.

"While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision," according to the Fifth Fleet.

The incident marked the second near-collision between Russian and U.S. ships in the past few months.

American officials said in June that a Russian destroyer got within 100 feet of the USS Chancellorsville as the ships were traveling in the Philippine Sea. Russian military officials blamed the incident on a sudden change of course by the U.S. ship, NBC News reported.

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