I wasn't referring to the tow. Naval ships can and do see and track the movement of dozens objects that are many miles away simultaneously. There is no possibility that a any ship or aircraft can come within miles of it without the ship knowing about it and preemptively taking corrective actions to change its heading. I can't speak for the commercial tanker but I would think the large monetary investment and hefty profit of its cargo would afford it the same degree of tracking.

The tech and seamanship of everyone involved, particularly those in the military make the possibility a collision quite remote. Long before the tow cable came to play someone was malicious or grossly incompetent.