The USS Jacksonville, a large nuclear submarine, has broken its periscope after colliding with a vessel which escaped unscathed. This is the latest collision to involve a US vessel in the busy and tense oil chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.
The American sub was performing a routine pre-dawn patrol when seamen heard a “thump”, according to a Navy source who spoke to several news agencies. The crew tried to ascertain the damage by looking into its periscope, only to realize it was no longer working. The other periscope on the submarine revealed that the first one had been“sheared off”.
It appears the ‘fishing trawler’ that collided with the 7,000-tonne submarine was not only undamaged, but barely noticed the accident.
“The vessel continued on a consistent course and speed, offering no indication of distress or acknowledgement of a collision,” says an official statement published on the US Navy website.
Authorities insist that USS Jacksonville is in no immediate danger.
“The reactor remains in a safe condition, there was no damage to the propulsion plant systems and there is no concern regarding watertight integrity,” they said.
The cost of repairing the damaged periscope are as yet unclear, but the discontinued Los Angeles-class submarines, to which USS Jacksonville belongs, would cost over $1 billion to build in today’s money (the sub was launched in 1978).
USS Jacksonville has now returned to Bahrain, where its damage will be assessed.
The Strait of Hormuz, by far the world’s busiest oil choke point and less than 40km across at its narrowest, has been a scene of several collisions since tension has risen between Iran and the US over the past two years.
The latest spiral of tension in the waterway, which is controlled by Iran on the north side, and US allies Oman and the United Arab Emirates on south, started with the gradual imposition of sanctions on the export of Iranian oil to most Western countries over the last two years.
In response, Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, which transits a third of the world’s sea-borne oil, through ‘asymmetrical’ measures such as laying extensive minefields.
To counter the threat, the US and its allies have deployed what UK media has reported is the biggest concentrated naval force since World War II.
In the crowded passageway, with distrustful captains from dozens of nations operating at cross-purposes, collisions are inevitable.
Most notably, in August last year a Japanese oil tanker left a 3-meter-wide hole in the side of Navy destroyer USS Porter.
http://rt.com/news/uss-jacksonville-hormuz-periscope-fishing-boat-809/
Clumsy bums, serves them right, and what is a U S nuclear submarine doing in or around the Strait of Hormuz ? all during the republican platform debates most of the Republican candidates spoke of a preempted nuclear strike on Iran. that is why this U S nuclear sub was patrolling the area . Americans have such a short memory span . The U S Navy men were Probably focused on their Xbox 360 or play station III .. better yet, maybe the U S Servicemen operating this nuclear submarine were engaged in a little Nintendo ii . Stay focused boys ….. Why didn’t you just shoot up some fireworks and say (here we are) .
We dont build real WARSHIPS anymore……the slightest incident sends them to dry dock. During WW2 a simple TIN CAN could take a torpedo and Kamikaze attack and still stay on station doing its duty…albeit with massive damage!.
Our modern Navy is very “thin skinned”…….Many ships including the newer Littoral craft are built of aluminum and wooden components…..the slightest incident renders most Weapon systems off line…….and we think we will battle the Chinese Navy in the Pacific?
@ Oldvet . Look at what the Russians are doing ….
http://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/russia-to-start-building-2-nuclear-borei-super-subs-in-2013/31122/
Oh im very aware of that…….the design and prototype was built nearly 10 years back.
Our Lifelong sworn Enemies are lying in wait and building like a MoFo for when America comes back down that ladder that it shit on going up. They aint just marking time !
The USI is due a lot of payback for its shit that we blindly went along with since 45…. they gonna have to nuke us cause they cant come and whip us..!!
I thought you would be . Yes the Russian bear and others are lying in wait, The Russians are sizing us up, Just this past year Russia had one of its subs in the Gulf of Mexico close to the U S coastline . Least we not forget THEY have THEIR boy in the White House .
http://www.businessinsider.com/report-russian-nuclear-submarine-within-200-miles-of-the-east-coast-when-sandy-hit-2012-11
In addition Chinese Hackers were among other covert activity endeavoring to obtain access to the White house Nuclear football, the Presidential codes for launching the U S nuclear arsenal .
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/01/washington-confirms-chinese-hack-attack-on-white-house-computer/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/white-house-hacked-cyber-_n_1928646.html
And as anyone knows which follows international intelligence spook or not fully realizes the full implications of a Russian and Chinese military alliance . and guess who is the target ?
http://www.creators.com/opinion/paul-craig-roberts/u-s-hegemony-spawns-russian-chinese-military-alliance.html
This was the best laugh I’d had all day –
“It appears the ‘fishing trawler’ that collided with the 7,000-tonne submarine was not only undamaged, but barely noticed the accident.”
Good job, guys!