Two nuclear submarine accidents have occurred in the U.S. Navy over the past three-years, one of which resulted in 14 deaths. Many were also hurt. This incident happened in the South China Sea last Oct. This incident occurs amid increased tensions within the region.
The USS Connecticut was on a mission in South China Sea on October 2, 2021. It struck an unidentified object at depth and speed, causing several injuries and the destruction or a section of its boat. The submarine was immediately sent to Guam for evaluation. The U.S. Pacific Fleet issued a statement a few days later.
An investigation was conducted to determine the cause of the crash. According to the report, there were many mistakes made including in navigation planning and risk management. A watch team is responsible for maintaining safe navigation and was not properly executed by the vessel's leader team.
While the report places blame on the submarine's leader, there are many other areas to be held responsible. For example, the crew had a number of problems with the sonar array, which is a system that helps them navigate. It had suffered severe degradation from several sailors.
A Navy safety standdown that was established following the April 2021 accident did not aim to address the causes of the allision. Instead, the Navy focused on repairing the damage.
The US Navy has begun to implement a series of reforms for undersea collision, which will help avoid future accidents. One of these reforms involves the development of new technology to help submarines navigate through the ocean. Additional training is also being offered.
As part of the command investigation, the United States Navy has determined that the vessel's leadership trio failed to execute a watch team effectively. The watch's quartermasters also failed to fulfill their duties.
The Navy said that, despite the extent of the accident it doesn't know of any life-threatening injuries. The submarine's nuclear reactor has not been damaged. However, the forward ballast tank on the submarine was damaged.
The command investigation report does not provide meaningful details on the extent of the damage and the costs of the repairs. It does, however, note that the submarine was sent back to Washington for repairs.
Following the incident the US Navy fired Lieutenant Commander Paul Sutherland, the captain of submarine, as well as two other senior US Navy officers. Currently, there are 13 corrective actions in progress. Among them are more training and additional improvements to the certification process.
Despite these issues, the Connecticut submarine will soon be returning to Bremerton in Washington for repairs. It was grounded in international waters on Oct 2, and its leaders are now working to improve their operations.
The US Navy has conducted a wide-ranging investigation into the accident. The report has uncovered a number of errors in the way the submarine was operated, including a lack of proper navigation planning and unit-level errors in grounding. These issues were found to be unacceptable.