The USS Newport News, the nuclear-powered submarine that collided with a Japanese oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday (local time), was submerged when the accident occurred, according to the U.S. Navy.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, submarines and other underwater vessels submerged in international waters have an obligation to prevent collisions as they are not visible to surface vessels.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., operator of the Mogamigawa, said it had confirmed a 10- by 35-centimeter gash on the port side stern of the oil tanker.
Sea water flowed in through the hole and flooded a ballast tank. The company said a dent near the puncture measured 1 meter by 5 m and was 40 cm deep.
The Mogamigawa is now anchored off Khawr Fakkan Port in the United Arab Emirates to undergo repairs.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said Tuesday that the submarine was submerged as it was moving through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
The U.S. Navy said the submarine's propulsion unit, a nuclear reactor, was not damaged and no radiation leak occurred.
Kawasaki Kisen said that immediately after the collision, the crew of the USS Newport News contacted the crew of the tanker via radio.
The submarine crew members asked the tanker if it needed assistance, according to Kawasaki Kisen.
But the submarine crew refused to identify themselves nor state the vessel's country of origin, according to the company.
The Japan Coast Guard said meantime that it plans to thoroughly investigate the incident and question the tanker captain and crew members after they return to Japan.
As the tanker is registered in Japan, the vessel is protected under Japanese maritime law.(IHT/Asahi: January 11,2007)
ASAHI WEEKLY