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 latest incident occurred in the South China Sea in October. This accident occurred amid tensions high in the region.
On October 2, 2021, USS Connecticut was conducting a mission in the South China Sea. Unidentified objects were hitting the vessel at speed and depth, causing injuries to several crew members and the destruction of a section. The submarine was immediately sent to Guam for evaluation. A few days later, the U.S. Pacific Fleet released a statement on the incident.
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. Also, the vessel's leadership team failed to properly execute a watch team, a group that is responsible for maintaining safe navigation.
The report does not place blame on the submarine's leadership, but there are other areas that can be blamed. The crew had problems with the sonar array which aids them in navigation. It had suffered severe degradation from several sailors.
The investigation also revealed that the Navy's safety stop-down, established after the April 2021 incident, did not address the root causes of the allision. Instead, the Navy focused on repairing the damage.
The US Navy is currently in the process of implementing a number of undersea collision reforms which will help prevent future incidents. Some of the reforms include the development of new technology for helping submarines navigate the ocean. Training is also provided.
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. Quartermasters on the watch failed to perform their duties as well.
The Navy states that it is unaware of any life-threatening injuries, despite the severity of this accident. There have been no reports of damage to submarine's nuclear plant. However, it has been discovered that the forward ballast tanks on the submarine were damaged.
The cost of repairs and the extent of damage are not detailed in the command investigation report. It does, however, note that the submarine was sent back to Washington for repairs.
After the incident, the US Navy fired Lieutenant-Commander Paul Sutherland (captain of the submarine) and two other senior officers. Currently, 13 corrective measures are in progress. Among them are more training and additional improvements to the certification process.
Despite the aforementioned issues, the Connecticut submarine will soon return to Bremerton, Washington for repairs. The submarine was grounded in international waterways on October 2. Its leadership is taking steps to improve its operations.
The accident was investigated by the US Navy. This report reveals a variety of errors in how the submarine was operated. These include a lack in navigation planning and unit-level errors when grounding. These issues were found unacceptable to Navy standards.