Gulf | Bahrain
US submarine, Japan tanker collide in Arabian Sea
A US nuclear submarine and a Japanese tanker have collided in the Arabian Sea, but there were no injuries and no oil leaks, a spokesman for the Japanese shipping firm said on Tuesday.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 January 9, 2007
- A file photo of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Newport News.
- Image Credit:
Tokyo & Bahrain: A US nuclear submarine and a Japanese tanker have collided in the Arabian Sea, but there were no injuries and no oil leaks, a spokesman for the Japanese shipping firm said on Tuesday.
Japanese oil company Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. said the ship involved is the tanker Mogamigawa operated by Kawasaki Kisen Ltd., according to Kyodo news agency.
It was travelling from the Gulf to Singapore and was carrying a crew of eight Japanese and 16 Filipinos.
Kyodo said the submarine involved was a nuclear-powered Los Angeles class vessel.
The US Navy said the accident occurred late Monday night local time and that neither vessel reported any injuries or serious damage.
Kyodo said US officials passed the information on the collision to Japan's Foreign Ministry shortly after 4 am Tuesday.
The Japanese government received word of a crash from the US side but was still investigating details, said Naoki Kumagai, deputy director of the U.S. security division at Japan's Foreign Ministry.
A Japanese Defence Ministry spokesman said the ministry was investigating the incident, which involved a Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. vessel carrying oil for Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K.
A Kawasaki Kisen spokesman said there had been no injuries and no oil leaked from the vessel, and a Japanese Transport Ministry spokesman said the ship was still in condition to move.
Commander Kevin Aandahl of the US Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain confirmed that "an incident took place between one of our subs and a Japanese merchant ship", but added it would be a while before he could make other details public.
In February 2001, a US Navy submarine rammed into a Japanese fishing vessel in waters off Hawaii, killing nine people. The American captain's delay in apologisng for the crash triggered protests by the victims' families.
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