US Navy sacks commanding officers of crashed submarine
Source: BBC
The US Navy has sacked three top crew members aboard a nuclear submarine that crashed into an underwater mountain. Commander Cameron Aljilani and two others were removed after an investigation into the incident in the disputed South China Sea. The USS Connecticut struck the object last month, forcing the vessel to come to the surface for a week and sail to the US territory of Guam. Navy officials say the crew members "could have prevented" the collision.
Last week, the navy said the submarine had hit an uncharted "seamount" while patrolling below the surface. A seamount is a mountain that rises from the ocean floor. Fifteen sailors suffered minor injuries. The submarine is currently being checked for damage at Guam in the Pacific before it returns to Washington for repairs. The incident happened amid rising tensions in the region.
US Navy officials have yet to explain how the vessel hit the seamount. Ryan Ramsey, a former British Royal Navy submarine captain, said he was shocked by the collision, which is relatively rare. "The USS Connecticut is a very modern submarine - so it's kind of surprising," he told the BBC. "But if you relax at any point, then things can happen."
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59175396
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USS Connecticut (SSN-22)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Connecticut_(SSN-22)
History
United States
Name USS Connecticut
Namesake The U.S. State of Connecticut
Ordered 3 May 1991
Builder General Dynamics Electric Boat
Laid down 14 September 1992
Launched 1 September 1997
Commissioned 11 December 1998
Homeport Kitsap Naval Base, Bremerton, Washington
Motto "Arsenal of the Nation"
Status in active service
Badge USS Connecticut (SSN-22) crest.png
General characteristics
Class and type Seawolf-class submarine
Displacement 7,568 tons light, 9,137 tons full, 1,569 tons dead
Length 107.5 meters (353 feet) overall, 107.5 meters (353 feet) waterline
Beam 12.1 meters (40 feet)
Draft 10.9 meters (36 feet)
Propulsion
1 S6W PWR 57,000 shp (43 MW), HEU 93.5%[1][2]
1 secondary propulsion submerged motor
1 shaft
1 pump-jet propeller
Complement 15 officers, 101 men
Armament Eight 26-inch torpedo tubes, 40 torpedoes and missiles, or 100 mines
USS Connecticut (SSN-22) is a Seawolf-class nuclear powered fast attack submarine operated by the United States Navy. Connecticut is the fifth active United States Ship to be named for the U.S. state of Connecticut, going back to 1776. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corporation in Groton, Connecticut on 3 May 1991 and her keel was laid down on 14 September 1992. She was launched on 1 September 1997 sponsored by Patricia L. Rowland, wife of the Governor of Connecticut, John G. Rowland, and commissioned on 11 December 1998.
History
1999 was spent conducting shakedown operations that evaluated Connecticut's weapons systems, sensors, stealth and engineering proficiency. She participated in Joint Task Force Exercise 2-99 as an opposing force asset, and completed acoustic trials, a shallow water exercise, and an anti-submarine warfare exercise.
In September 1999 Connecticut began a Post-Shakedown Availability (PSA) at the Electric Boat shipyard. Despite 100 percent growth in the amount of PSA work, making this the submarine force's most demanding PSA, Connecticut completed all work ahead of schedule. Additionally, this PSA concluded as the safest in the 100-year history of Electric Boat.
In April 2003, Connecticut surfaced through the Arctic ice at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS). While there, she came under attack by a polar bear, which gnawed on her rudder for a while before disengaging.[3]
Connecticut breaks polar ice and is encountered by a polar bear.
On 31 March 2004 Connecticut put to sea in support of the War on Terrorism as part of the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG), returning to NSB New London on 2 September with a pierside band blasting Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town". For the next three years, Connecticut was largely confined to port as she underwent a prolonged maintenance cycle.
In early 2007, it was announced that Connecticut would be transferred to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, in Washington's Puget Sound, following a six-month deployment commencing on 25 July 2007.[4] She would be the last of the Navy's three Seawolf-class submarines to be transferred from New London to Kitsap as part of a larger U.S. Navy realignment shifting 60 percent of the fleet's submarines to the Pacific.[5][6] Upon arrival at Kitsap on 30 January 2008, Connecticut joined her Seawolf sisters in Submarine Development Squadron Five.[3][7]
Connecticut surfaced for ICEX 2019
In early 2011, Connecticut participated in ICEX 2011 in order to "train today’s submarines in the challenging Arctic environment", as well as "refine and validate procedures and required equipment."[8]
Connecticut received extensive overhauls from 2012 to 2017. She returned to operation in early 2018 and participated in the Arctic ICEX 2018 operational readiness exercise.[9] She later that year deployed to the western Pacific before returning on 30 January 2019.[10]
From 26 March through 19 August 2019, Connecticut underwent maintenance and modernizing in a drydock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.[11] The US$17 million project involved 30,000 worker days and included use of a hull-climbing robot to inspect the ship's hull.[11][12]
The Navy plans to extend a submarine pier to moor Connecticut and USS Seawolf together with USS Jimmy Carter at Naval Submarine Base Bangor.[13]
On 2 October 2021, Connecticut was damaged after she collided with a seamount[14] while maneuvering in the South China Sea.[15] About eleven sailors were injured, though none were reported to be life threatening, and the submarine's propulsion system and nuclear reactor were said to be operating normally.[16] After an investigation, the commanding officer, his executive officer, and the chief of the boat were all relieved of duty.[17]
