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| SSBN USS Nevada damaged after snagging tow-line |
| 2006-08-04 |
| [A] Trident submarine was damaged after snagging a tow line in the Strait of Juan de Fuca [in Washington state], and the Coast Guard is investigating, Navy officials said. The USS Nevada was submerged when it caught and severed a 500-foot line between the tugboat Phyllis Dunlap and one of two barges being towed from Honolulu to Seattle with a load of empty containers late Tuesday or early Wednesday, Navy Lt. H.K. Sweeney said. A second tugboat was sent to retrieve the barge, Coast Guard Petty Officer Paul Roszkowski said. Members of the sub's crew felt the impact, and damage was found in a fiberglass part of the sail after the vessel returned to its base on Hood Canal, Sweeney said. The sail is a structure on top of the sub once known as the conning tower. Tow lines commonly dip below the surface of the water, Roszkowski said. "They use the weight of the tow line to help them tow," he said. "You don't want the tow line taut." |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #5 When this happened more than likely both the tug and the barge weren't moving. No motion, no noise. Subs only use active (i.e. pinging) very rarely (under ice, in minefields) plus being in the Sound (no pun intended) probably was a high background noise day. The line was slack enough to hang down to snag the sail at below periscope depth. This would not be a career ender for certain unless the review board found that there was dereliction of duty or just plain sloppiness allowed by the Captain to creep into ship's operations. |
| Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 2006-08-04 21:01 |
| #4 Tough for the Captain, but when somebody has op control of that many nukes, he gets to live under a microscope. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-08-04 16:33 |
| #3 interesting that i have to read the 'burg to find out what happened right out my back door.... |
| Posted by: USN, ret. 2006-08-04 14:51 |
| #2 when it caught and severed a 500-foot line between the tugboat Phyllis Dunlap and one of two barges ........Tow lines commonly dip below the surface of the water Ok, if the line is 500 feet long, then if the tug and tow were right next to each other, the maximum depth the line could reach would be 250 feet. Figure under way it could be a parabolic curve of maybe 100 - 125 feet max? The sub might expect a fishing trawler to have a net that deep, but would they think a tow line would be? Any sub guys reading today? |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-08-04 14:45 |
| #1 Well, there's one more Captain and command staff who are taking up turkey farming. The rule is that if *anything* bad happens, for *any* reason, it is a career ender. Damned unfair. But them's the breaks. Too many contenders waiting in the wings for their jobs. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-08-04 14:12 |