Posted on 02/13/2005 10:23:15 AM PST by NCSteve
The captain of a submarine that hit a seamount Jan. 8 in the western Pacific Ocean, killing one crewman and seriously injuring 23 others, has been found guilty of operating the submarine unsafely and has been issued a letter of reprimand, effectively ending his career.
Cmdr. Kevin Mooney, the captain of the USS San Francisco, was permanently relieved as skipper after an administrative proceeding known as an admiral's mast. The proceeding was convened by an order of the commander of the Seventh Fleet, Vice Adm. Jonathan Greenert.
Cmdr. Ike N. Skelton, a spokesman for the Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan, said late Friday night that Greenert determined during the investigation that Mooney failed to follow “several critical navigational and voyage planning” standards.
“By not ensuring those standards were followed, Mooney hazarded the vessel,” Skelton said, reading from a statement issued by Greenert.
The mast concluded that Mooney's crew had access to charts that showed there might have been an underwater obstruction in the area, and that a sounding taken just minutes before the accident did not correlate with the charts that were in use at the time, which should have prompted him to be more cautious.
The news stunned several Navy sources who have been following the accident investigation, particularly because Mooney's actions after the accident were characterized as heroic by everyone familiar with the situation. Despite extensive damage to the ship, he and his crew got it to the surface and kept it floating long enough to limp back to its homeport of Apra Harbor, Guam.
The San Francisco was heading to Australia when it came to periscope depth a little more than 400 miles southwest of Guam to fix its position accurately. Minutes after diving, and while traveling at a high rate of speed, the submarine slammed into a seamount in an area where official Navy charts list 6,000 feet of water.
Other charts of the area, however, show muddy water in the area, which normally indicates shallowness, and other government agency charts show evidence of the seamount less than 150 feet below the surface. The grounding destroyed three of the four ballast tanks in the submarine's bow, shattered the sonar dome and smashed the sonar sphere. In addition, a bulkhead at the front end of the ship was buckled.
Machinist Mate 3rd Class Joseph Ashley was killed when he was thrown more than 20 feet and struck his head on a large pump. Almost two-dozen others were injured so badly they could not perform their duties, though they have all since been treated and released from the hospital in Guam. Seventy-five others received less severe injuries.
The crew saved the ship by constantly running a low pressure blower meant for only intermittent use to force water out of the badly damaged forward ballast tanks, as well as using exhaust from the ship's diesel motor to augment the blower.
Despite the force of the blow, the nuclear reactor and the ship's turbine generators continued to operate normally, and even sensitive electronic and navigation gear continued to function.
On Jan. 20, Mooney was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 15 in Guam, pending the results of an investigation to determine the cause of the sub's grounding. Cmdr. Andrew Hale, the squadron's deputy commander, assumed duties as captain of the San Francisco.
The mast means that Mooney will not face a more serious proceeding known as a court martial, but the letter of reprimand and the decision to relieve him of command “for cause” means that his promising career is over, the Navy sources said.
In a related development, Lt. Cmdr. Jeff A. Davis, a spokesman for the Pacific submarine force commander, said late Friday night that assessment of the damage to the San Francisco is proceeding and that shipyard workers in Guam are planning to make temporary repairs to the bow of the ship so it can be moved under its own power to a shipyard where it can be repaired.
Although the location where it will be repaired has not been determined, Navy sources said it would likely be Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, or Bangor, Wash.
“These temporary repairs will be engineered to ensure a successful transit,” Davis said. “As part of having on-hand materials for potential use in these temporary repairs, a large steel dome about 20 feet high and 20 feet in diameter will be arriving at Guam in the next few days. As of now, no decisions have been made about when USS San Francisco will depart Guam, where it will go, or what her final disposition will be.”
Other Navy sources said that if the assessment determines it makes sense to repair rather than scrap the San Francisco, the Navy will likely use the entire bow section from the recently decommissioned USS Atlanta to replace the badly damaged bow of the San Francisco.
The sub may not be soundless, but there are techniques, which I am not at liberty to discuss on a public forum (Loose lips sink ships is literally the case), that can be used to keep the sub from being detected.
Is this the one you refer to?
DECISION TRAPS : THE TEN BARRIERS TO DECISION-MAKING AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM
by Edward Russo
It does sound good. I'll have to see if I can dig up a copy. Thanks.
However, books like this always bring to mind Niven's Laws numbers 17 and 18:
17) No technique works if it isn't used.
18) Not responsible for advice not taken.
Niven's Laws are great - the rest of them can be found here:
http://www.larryniven.org/stories/nivens_laws_2002.htm
I know what you're talking about; that's not being done any longer (that I know of, of course).
The Navy does not produce navigation charts. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA, formerly DMA does).
The new USS Scorpion later sank, but that's a discussion for a different thread.
You dont need to read the book. you get it. One of the examples is the O rings in the space shuttle.
They worked 60+ times, so they would always work....
Variations include - I drive drunk all the time and nothing happens- or I crashed but I didn't do much damage.
Conversely, an accident could happen with all procedures being followed properly....
Looks like in this case- the 'other' official detailed maps were not consulted by this loosey goosey crew. But then the question becomes- did the capt have time to clean this part of the boat up? Turnaround agents should be given time or he should have at least been allowed to break the crew up and bring in proven hands- while the others shaped up.
So now we have lost a turnaround guy. Shame.
Right. But presumably these charts are continually 'qualified' as an 'accurate chart'
Nope! If a chart area is surveyed, it is updated. If there is a known hazard or geographical change it is added. Otherwise it stays exactly the same. Forever.
There is - and it's on one of the other threads about the upcoming Captain's mast. I don't know where the picture came from, but you won't believe that this Sub could possibly have made it back to any port with the damage to the sonar bow.
I'm off to find the pic and post it here for ya. Back in a few but will check to see if someone else has found it first...........
Right, they are requalified which is the same. You know what I mean and seem more interested in arguing semantics.
Don't you just hate the way stuff changes and makes you feel so old?
Mooney "hazarded the vessel..."
Is that the same as when a troll "stunes their beeber?"
Sorry. ;)
It's not like the submarine force hasn't 'been there, done that' already! After Pearl Harbor, a few carriers and the Pacific sub force was all we had to prosecute war against Japan until we could rebuild our fleet.
I haven't got the exact figures handy but many sub skippers (maybe 30% or more?) were so risk-adverse they were canned or voluntarily gave up command for not being willing to risk their boats in attacking the enemy! Additionally torpedoes were so valuable (and scarce) at the time that they hadn't been thoroughly tested under war-like conditions. The guys there on the frontlines knoew the damn things weren't working properly and complained, but were ignored by the REMFs... until a commander on-scene made several test shots and proved they were faulty.
As an ex-sub sailor I'm afraid that we've returned to 'those far gone days of yesteryear' with regards to our present day nuke fleet. No skipper will be willing to think outside the box, because that'll be the end of his career. Pretty sad, because I think Kevin Mooney was one of our best.
YES. Remember CONALOG?
It seems I have struck a chord....
Yep, people were getting too much sleep during the midwatch.
From the other threads it is my understanding that at that speed the sub makes so much noise that active Sonar is useless.
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