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| Europe |
| Row, row, row your bo...er, belay that order, Mahmoud |
| 2007-09-04 |
| Four Moroccans hoping to make an illicit crossing to Spain to join thousands of illegal migrants there suddenly found themselves alongside a US nuclear submarine, reports said Sunday. Crew of the 110-metre-long USS San Juan discovered the Moroccans' flimsy boat bobbing at their side as the huge sub was easing out of Gibraltar, El Pais newspaper said. The US crew informed Spanish coastguards via the submarine's base in distant Norfolk, Virginia, and a Spanish rescue boat was sent. However, a Moroccan patrol boat arrived first - and repatriated the would-be migrants. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #14 Still, it seem like subs are hitting a lot of stuff these days. Didn't a sub just rear end a freighter near the Straights of Hormuz also? |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-09-04 18:23 |
| #13 According to Wikipedia, Cdr Scott Waddle, the CO of the USS Greeneville when it struck and sank the Ehime Maru, was not court martialed. After a board of inquiry, he took full responsibility for the accident, even though there were errors committed by other crew members. Cdr Waddle was allowed to retire honorably. A truly standup Naval Officer. But, as mojo mentioned, there are no second chances when you are in command of a nuclear powered or armed submarine. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2007-09-04 17:11 |
| #12 Nope. There are NO second chances when you command a nuclear-armed sub. |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-09-04 16:30 |
| #11 I remember that the crew claims to have checked, but they didn't have a video log because the captain had ordered it turned off to improve resolution. (???) I also understand that the Japanese trawler was full of kids learning the trade, and that the captain didn't see it because the boat was hidden behind a wave when the scope swept the area. They blew the tanks and came up and hit the boat so hard that the people on the lower decks didn't have time to get out of the ship before it sank. The sub stayed and helped the survivors as best they could. The captain was very repentant, even going to visit each of the families after his trial was over. He couldn't comment or apologize immediately because of our screwed up legal system here, leading to a lot of hard feelings at first, but they said they felt better after he visited them. I understand the need to court martial the guy, but at the same time it was an accident and he did care deeply. Seems to me if he was allowed to stay on somehow, maybe in a different role, he would be about the most concientious captain in the Navy after that. Too bad. That's what I remember. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-09-04 15:55 |
| #10 Part of the drill in surfacing a submarine in normal conditions is to use the periscope to look for shapes and shadows on the surface. The Greenville was practicing an emergency surface drill (partially to show off for some visiting dignitaries) and apparently didn't check. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2007-09-04 12:18 |
| #9 Sub sonar operators listen for propeller sounds and attempt to locate all surface ships. Therefore a surfacing sub should avoid popping up under or over a boat, however not all boats are under way. Apparently the Japanese trauler was stationary and 'invisable' to the sub. Any sailboat could meet such a fate on the high seas because they make no sound unless their engine is running. Chalk it up to fate. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-09-04 11:40 |
| #8 Here it is: USS Greenville http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1163284.stm What happened with the San Juan? |
| Posted by: mom 2007-09-04 10:31 |
| #7 We're talking about two different things. The sub in question in the case I cited was named after a city in the Carolinas, I think. Time to do some research. |
| Posted by: mom 2007-09-04 10:29 |
| #6 I don't think the San Juan was submerged yet. If I read the story correctly, it had just left the dock and was headed for open water... Tonnage has the right of way. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-09-04 10:23 |
| #5 It wasn't tourists; it was a Japanese trawler used for training. A kind of fishing school? Not trying to make a pun here; trying to be accurate. The sub surfaced under it near Pearl Harbor, sank the boat killing a dozen or so people. Sub commander was court martialed. |
| Posted by: mom 2007-09-04 10:21 |
| #4 Didn't a sub come up under a boat full of Japanese tourists a few years ago? Didn't end well for the Japs if I remember right. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-09-04 07:07 |
| #3 A nuclear submarine quietly surfacing up along side of an unsuspecting submariner out for a summers vacation in a Boston Whaler would scare the Holy B'Jesus out of him. So Imagine what the expierence would do to four Moroccans. I bet they were very compliant afterward, and went back to Morocco without even a whimper. |
| Posted by: Red Dawg 2007-09-04 06:22 |
| #2 Next time do it this way. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-09-04 01:51 |
| #1 Row well and live! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2007-09-04 01:18 |