Nuclear Submarine Runs Aground South of Guam

The Associated Press ^ | Jan 8, 2005 | The Associated Press

[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

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

AMEN

[fastattacksailor]

Sonar would be useless, but if he was otherwise following the rules and it ends up his carts were screwed up, it could be a differnet matter.

No BOI is fun, that's for sure. But it's important to see what went on out there and learn from it.

I'm hoping that no one screwed up---that it was a sh** happens scenario. We'll have to wait and see.

[WildTurkey]

I wouldn't get into a perfectly good sub.

I wonder. Did you ever get into a perfectly good plane?

[El Gran Salseron]

"I understand they can travel at hundreds of miles per hour underwater"

Which science fiction books have you been reading?

They misinformed you.

Water pressures would prevent any boat from achieving those kinds of speeds.

From a physics standpoint.....total impossibility at this point in the evolution of technolgy.

Ex-boat sailor. :-)

[Chad Fairbanks]

The sub still has sonar, changed seafloor or no.

Well, are you saying they may have heard the changes occur, then? ;0)

[mylife]

Ruh Roh ! Theres a Skipper and a Navaguesser in trouble !

[MarkL]

"I understand they can travel at hundreds of miles per hour underwater" Which science fiction books have you been reading? They misinformed you. Water pressures would prevent any boat from achieving those kinds of speeds. From a physics standpoint.....total impossibility at this point in the evolution of technolgy. Ex-boat sailor. :-)

I think he was talking about the Tsunami, not the boat. The question was, "what damage, if any, would a tsunami cause a submerged submarine, since he had heard that they (the tsunami) can move at hundreds of miles an hour." I had postulated that it might very well act as a shock wave, sort of like what happens when you've got a big underwater explosion, like a depth charge.

IIRC, the idea behind a depth charge is to generate a shock wave, and let the water do the damage.

Mark

[WSGilcrest]

I read it as the wave traveling that speed.

[Robert A Cook PE]

I disagree.

Not that the guy might be (perhaps) a good CO doing a dangerous mission, but that there were SEVERAL crew members injured, and at least one critically injured.

This absolutely indicates that the collision occurred at high speed, and it was obviously in shallow water (else they wouldn't have hit the bottom!) when they lost depth control, or lost their position.

If it was a "tracking" problem (in shallow water!) then the Soviet/Chinese sub they were following was at high speed (?) itself (very, very unlikely!) and, at high speed, would be relatively noisy, hence the US sub wouldn't have been had to be tracking them close.

Or, it the US sub had "lost" contact, and was trying to get back in touch (at high speed in shallow water!) them IT would be at risk of making enough noise so IT would be the one found. Particularly at high speed in shallow water, were US sonar loose much of their long-range performance edge.

Assume something else: Maybe the US boat was running away from a torpedo or chasing Chinese/Soviet sub or aircraft/helicopter. If so, then the CO got himself in trouble already by being detected in the first place, and then compounded it by grounding himself in the presence of the enemy.

Worse, shallow water, in many places, is territorial water off of other countries, and he might not have been "legally" there in the first place. So again, high speed and grounding yourself is stupid. And embarrassing to Pres. Bush.

So, no matter how you look at it, the combination of high speed and shallow water is a critical mistake.

[mylife]

The nuclear submarine has a "limited medical staff on board,"

Theres an understatement

[BIGLOOK]

Do Navy spooks pass muster for your ping list?

What happened to the Chinese Han that was fooling around with the Japanese a couple weeks ago? I know this is just speculation but sub incidents a rare and Guam is the Navy's backyard.

Godspeed to the crew of USS SF.

[El Gran Salseron]

"boomer fags"

The "friendly" rivalry/competition never ends, I see!

[MindBender26]

Running aground is for a ship's captain like an Arty commander running out of ammo or an Inf officer not getting medical treatment for wounded troopies.

It's the BIG no-no.

[Nimitz]

I am not only an ex-nuke officer but an ex-submariner. And, as unbelievable as it may sound, I live on Guam.

Families have been rushed to Guam in the last 12 hours. My friends in the Navy have told me that this one is BAD. People are rumored to be dead. This one is not your typical scrape-the-coral scratch and go. I know guys on the San Fran.
San Fran, Corpus Christi and Houston.....the 3 LA class boats on Guam.

Heads shall roll, as we will soon find out.

[MindBender26]

Boomers.... where 150 men go to sea for 90 days, and 75 couples return to port......

[ken5050]

I remember a Gunny at Quantico in the 60's attempting (successfully) to impress upon us how things ALWAYS seem to go wrong when least expected. Hs favorite story involved when he was aboard the USS Missouri..this was about 46-47..if I recall..during some type of Naval fleet celebration the skipper did an unauthorized high speed run just off Norfolk, and ran the Big MO aground...hard...she was stuck there for 48 hours..till they could get enough tugs to haul her off..seems there were several Admirals, and a few DC bigwigs aboard at the time, to boot..

[El Gran Salseron]

"Okay, who wants on the Steely-eyed killers of the deep ping list?"

Please add meto your ping list. But I feel so OLD. These guys are talking about boats in the 600s and 700s. I was on boats in the 400s and 500s. :-)

[painter]

Yep, a TM's worst nightmare. Nubs are stinky!

I talked to an exsubmariner once I think he served on an attack boat.He called them 300ft sewer pipes.

Put me on your ping list.

[ozaukeemom]

I thought you would want to read this. Hope all is well for the folks on and off the sub.

[mylife]

Highspeed runs are only as safe as the accuracy of the charts.