The U.S. Navy said the collision happened at about 2:30 a.m. local time (1730 GMT), while the Japanese Coast Guard said it took place at 1:30 a.m. local time.
"Now that the ship is in Yokosuka, I ask that you help the families by maintaining their privacy as we continue the search for our shipmates". Japan's Coast Guard and JMSDF surged to the scene, along with the USA destroyer Dewey.
"Once an investigation is complete then any legal issues can be addressed", a spokesman for the US 7th Fleet said.
The Fitzgerald arrived back in Yokosuka Naval Base's harbor sometime around 6 p.m. Saturday, with tugboats assisting the ship's return.
"There are seven sailors unaccounted for; the ship and the Japanese Coast Guard continues to search for them", the Navy said.
"This has been a hard day", Vice Adm. Joseph P. Aucoin, commander of the United States 7th Fleet, said.
The 7th fleet said the collision was with the Philippine-flagged merchant vessel ACX Crystal.
The were no reports of any injuries to the crew of the containerships which was reported to have "relatively light damage to the port bow".
Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, released a statement following the collision.
The identities of the missing sailors are not known.
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The 29,000-ton container ship, which handles general cargo, includes a captain and a crew of 20, NYK said. The ship then travels at about 4 miles per hour shortly afterward before returning to full speed and heading toward Tokyo Bay.
Sailors also may have gotten trapped in compartments below deck, Schuster said, pointing out that container ships have a bulbous bow below the water line that could have plowed into the USA warship.
The Fitzgerald, which is significantly smaller than the container ship involved in the collision, "suffered damage on her starboard side above and below the waterline" that "resulted in some flooding", the Navy says.
NHK said the massive container vessel made a sharp turn around the time of the collision with the smaller USA warship, but its captain suggested otherwise.
According to the official USS Fitzgerald website, the Arleigh Burke-class vessel was laid down by Bath Iron Works in February 1993 and launched in January of the following year. Destroyers like the Fitzgerald are roughly 8,230 tons and 505 feet long.
The ship-tracking website marinetraffic.com shows the ship had left the Japanese port of Nagoya on Friday evening. Water was being pumped from aboard the Navy ship. It was questioning crew members of the ACX Crystal, which is operated by the Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K., and was treating the incident as a case of possible professional negligence, said Masayuki Obara, a regional coast guard official. Six Japanese crew were declared dead.
Conditions were clear at the time of the collision, though Yutaka Saito of the coast guard said the area is particularly busy with sea traffic.
The force of the impact may have thrown overboard sailors who were standing on side of the destroyer opposite where it was struck, he said. The ship also experienced some flooding, but was operating under its own power, albeit with limited propulsion.
The Navy's Pacific Fleet said the extent of damage to the Fitzgerald was being determined and the incident was under investigation.
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