TOKYO (AP) - A U.S. nuclear submarine and Japanese merchant ship collided in the Arabian Sea late Monday, but there were no injuries on either vessel, the U.S. Navy and Japanese officials said.
There was no damage to the fast-attack USS Newport News or the ship that affected either vessel's ability to navigate, said a Navy official, who requested anonymity because the details of the incident had not yet been released. The official said the Navy was going to check for any other damage after daybreak Tuesday. The cause of the collision, which occurred late Monday night local time, is still under investigation, the Navy official said.
The Japanese government received word of a crash from the U.S. side but was still investigating details, said Naoki Kumagai, deputy director of the U.S. security division at Japan's Foreign Ministry.
Commander Kevin Aandahl of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain said he had no immediate details.
"I can confirm that an incident took place between one of our submarines and a merchant ship," he said.
Japanese oil company Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. said the ship involved is the tanker Mogamigawa operated by Kawasaki Kisen Ltd., Kyodo said. It was traveling from the Persian Gulf to Singapore and was carrying a crew of eight Japanese and 16 Filipinos. |