Navy commander reassigned after accident

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- The officer in charge of the U.S. Navy destroyer The Sullivans was relieved of his command after his ship mistakenly fired on a fishing boat, officials said.

Cmdr. Mark Olson was in command Aug. 17, when the ship mistook a fishing boat for a towed gunnery target during an exercise off the coast of North Carolina, the Navy Times reported Wednesday. The fishing boat was not hit and no one was harmed, the Navy's 2nd Fleet said.

Olson was fired due to "a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the 2nd Fleet said in a release. Vice Adm. Daniel Holloway, 2nd Fleet commander, said he determined the incident occurred because Olson failed to follow established procedures.

Cmdr. Sylvester Steele assumed command of the ship Thursday, the Navy said.

Olson, who is being temporarily reassigned to administrative duties, is the fifth commander to be relieved of his post since July and the 18th this year, Stars and Stripes said.

The USS The Sullivans, an Aegis-class guided missile destroyer, is the second Navy ship named after the five Sullivan brothers killed when the USS Juneau was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in 1942.