According to a U.S. Navy study, a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine that ran aground in a sea in South China last month crashed into an undiscovered seamount.
US Submarine Crashed into an Extinct Underwater Volcano
The USS Connecticut - a Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine - crashed into an unexplored object resulting to injuries, NPR reported. Without assistance, the submarine came back to the surface and arrived at a port near Guam.
Damage estimates is yet to be released, and the Navy's only comment on the collision was that, according to The Associated Press, it was not another submarine that crashed with the vessel. Nevertheless, a subsequent investigation issued by the US 7th Fleet on Nov. 1 found that Connecticut crashed on a previously undiscovered seamount.
They're called seamounts because they are remnants underwater volcanoes that have gone extinct for long. Most seamounts have cone-shaped tops, but others have enormous, flat summits known as guyots.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists say that seamounts, with their steep slopes encouraging the upwelling of deep-sea nutrients and providing a habitat for sessile creatures like corals and sponges, are biological hot zones for marine life.
Seamounts rising at least 3,281 feet (1,000 meters) could possibly dot the floor of the ocean, but scientists have only documented around 0.1% of them, according to NOAA
Nuclear-powered assault submarine USS San Francisco struck an unknown seamount near Guam in 2005 at a peak speed of 34.5 miles per hour. The event killed all but one member of its 137-member crew, according to Popular Mechanics.
Also Read: Galapagos Expedition Unravels Mystery Of Seamounts and Finds New Shark
Investigation into the Incident
United State's 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Karl Thomas has been given the results of the command investigation into the Oct. 2 incident, which was completed last week, to review and determine if any additional accountability actions will be taken in relation to the incident, a legislative source and two defense officials familiar with the findings told USNI News on Monday.
7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Hayley Sims informed USNI News in a statement that the inquiry concluded USS Connecticut grounded on an undiscovered seamount while operating in international seas in the Indo-Pacific Region.
A decision will be made by the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet on the appropriateness of any further steps, including accountability.
Connecticut was forced to conduct a week-long surface cruise from the South China Sea to Guam because its front portion was damaged, USNI News reports. The nuclear reactor and motor system of the submarine have not been damaged, according to Navy officials. The boat is now in Guam receiving initial repairs.
Re-evaluation of Navy's Submarine Maintenance Backlog
First, the Navy will figure out how to get the submarine out of Guam so that it can be repaired somewhere.
The service's maintenance competence will be put to the test by determining where and when the final repairs will be made.
The Navy's attack submarine maintenance backlog has been re-evaluated after the damage and subsequent repairs to an attack submarine.
Rep. Joe Courtney, the head of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee, noted that there are no dry dock facilities west of Hawaii for submarine maintenance.
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