Posted on 01/08/2005 3:19:47 AM PST by Jet Jaguar
HONOLULU (AP) - A nuclear submarine ran aground about 350 miles south of Guam, injuring several sailors, one of them critically, the Navy said.
There were no reports of damage to the USS San Francisco's reactor plant, which was operating normally, the Navy said.
Jon Yoshishige, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor, said the Friday afternoon incident is under investigation and the 360-foot submarine was headed back to its home port in Guam.
Details on the sailors' injuries were not immediately available. The sub has a crew of 137, officials said.
Military and Coast Guard aircraft from Guam were en route to monitor the submarine and assist if needed, the Navy said.
Guam is a U.S. territory about 3,700 miles southwest of Hawaii.
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On the Net:
U.S. Pacific Fleet: http://www.cpf.navy.mil
AP-ES-01-08-05 0343EST
Tonk, ping to #215. Prayers needed for Zack and his crewmates.
Chinese boats are getting more aggressive out there.
I don't know if I qualify. Although I've been on a submarine several times, it was always in Anaheim, California, and while waiting my turn in line, I'm not sure the sub ever actually submerged.
Wasn't stationed there...but that is close to mare island....right?
My thought was CO, NAV, OOD, QMOW and CDO if one was stationed - toast. But you're right, there's not enough info to speculate. Was the boat within her moving haven? Was the piloting party stationed? Correct charts used and updated? Fixes properly entered? Was the ESGN the master compass, or was there some casualty that forced them to use the Mk 19 or Mk 27? Who knows, but it'll be interesting to find out.
I remember that dance!
Thanks for the memories!
Never been there, never heard of it. Where did you say Vallejo was again?
My Husband knows about the Black Angus in Puerto Rico.....
If you're interested, you're in!
uhhhhhhhh...uhhhhhh....(butthead voice)
Vallejo, yeah.
High tide may have helped float the boat out!
I'm interested, but don't expect any informed or intelligent responses from me. I'll be there to learn.
Please add me to your pinglist. Thanks.
That isn't true at all, and never has been. Depends upon the board of inquiry finding. Now, when groundings are investigated you almost always find that the cause was poor training, inattention to the current situation, and failure to follow standard procedures - all of which land the CO in the soup. But, if on a dark and stormy night in the middle of nowhere, on an operation that precluded operating a depth finder, the CO ran into an uncharted sea-mount, he would likely be exononerated. THAT, however, is never how it turns out.
(1) Our submarines are among our absolute best stealthy war-readiness and threat-making assets. Secrecy of position is vital if at all possible. The assets are worth a billion so, never mind the defense capability cost.
(2) When a boat runs aground, it makes a lot of noise: everybody listening now knows where to find it.
So unless there's a genuiinely exceptional extenuating circumstance, the captain will be supervising a desk back at Pearl soon.
I agree. I thought it was funny that until IMRight's post number #43 no one could figure this out. Just blowing ballast on the sub would raise it unless there was catastrophic damage.
The USS San Francisco ( SSN-711).
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