Ten sailors are missing and five have been injured after a US guided-missile destroyer collided early Monday with an oil tanker while en route to Singapore, according to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Tug boats as well as Singapore Navy patrol ships and helicopters were assisting in search and rescue efforts, the US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement.

The USS John S McCain collided east of Singapore and the Strait of Malacca with the Alnic MC, a 180-metre oil and chemical tanker, the US Navy said.

The destroyer received damage to its port side in the collision, according to initial reports, and was on its way into port under its own power, the Navy said.

The cause of the collision was not immediately clear.

[Image caption: Damage on the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain after a collision