In the U.S. Navy's past three years there have been two accidents involving nuclear submarines. One that killed 14 sailors. Many were also hurt. The incident occurred last October in the South China Sea. The incident occurred amid rising tensions in the region.
USS Connecticut was conducting a South China Sea mission on October 2, 2021. It crashed into an unidentified object while it was at depth and speed. This caused several injuries and resulted in the loss of a part of the boat. The submarine was immediately sent to Guam for evaluation. The U.S. Pacific Fleet issued a statement a few days later.
An investigation was conducted to determine the cause of the crash. According to the report, there were many mistakes made including in navigation planning and risk management. A vessel's captain failed to properly lead a watch crew, which is responsible in maintaining safe navigation.
While the report places blame on the submarine's leader, there are many other areas to be held responsible. The sonar array is a navigation system that aids sailors in navigation, and the crew experienced a variety of issues with it. A number of sailors complained that the system had become severely degraded.
Further, it was found that the Navy safety stand-down was not designed to address the underlying causes of allision. Instead, the Navy focused on repairing the damage.
The US Navy has begun to implement a series of reforms for undersea collision, which will help avoid future accidents. One of these reforms involves the development of new technology to help submarines navigate through the ocean. Further training is being provided.
As part of the command investigation, the United States Navy has determined that the vessel's leadership trio failed to execute a watch team effectively. The quartermasters responsible for the watch also failed in their duties.
The Navy said that, despite the extent of the accident it doesn't know of any life-threatening injuries. There have been no reports of damage to submarine's nuclear plant. However, it has been discovered that the forward ballast tanks on the submarine were damaged.
The command investigation reports does not give any information about the extent or cost of the damage. However, it does note that the submarine is heading back to Washington state for repairs.
Following the incident the US Navy fired Lieutenant Commander Paul Sutherland, the captain of submarine, as well as two other senior US Navy officers. 13 corrective steps are currently in progress. They include more training and improvements to the certification process.
Despite the issues mentioned, the Connecticut submarine is expected to soon return to Bremerton Washington for repairs. The submarine was stranded in international waters October 2, and the leadership of the vessel is working to improve its operation.
The US Navy has launched a comprehensive investigation into this accident. This report reveals a variety of errors in how the submarine was operated. These include a lack in navigation planning and unit-level errors when grounding. These issues were found not to meet Navy standards.