US sub 'nearly grounded' in rough seas

Number Nine

An American submarine was nearly grounded outside Plymouth following an incident which left two of its crew dead, according to a recently released report.

The USS Minneapolis-St Paul was leaving Plymouth Sound in rough seas when the incident took place on 29 December 2006.

A 2007 report into the incident has been made public under the Freedom of Information act.

Three crew members who were helping a harbour official leave the submarine were swept overboard when the boat left the safety of the Plymouth breakwater.

Senior Chief Thomas Higgins, 45 and Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Holtz, 30, were thrown against the submarine "like rag dolls", the report said. Both men were later pronounced dead, but the third crewman survived.

While the men were being recovered from the sea, the submarine reportedly came dangerously close to hitting Panther Shoal, which was said to be less than one boat length away.

The report said there had been "a very real possibility of the boat grounding in very rough seas".

"In addition the crew's mess hatch remained open in these conditions allowing a considerable amount of water into the submarine," it read.

"Tragic as the loss of lives of Holtz and Higgins was the outcome could have been so much more catastrophic."

The report said that those responsible had failed to identify the hazards involved in having personnel on the submarine's exterior outside the safety of the breakwater and called for a tightening up of safety procedures.

The sub commander and harbour official both lost their jobs after the incident.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: "Naval Base Commander Devonport (NBCD) commissioned a review of the findings from the reports into the investigation to identify lessons learned.

"As a result, there have been improvements in the dissemination of lessons learned more widely, not only those resulting from the Minneapolis St Paul accident."

http://www.defencemanagement.com/news_story.asp?id=16675

Manic Moran

Number Nine wrote: »

An American submarine was nearly grounded...

Looks a lot like a Russian Oscar to me.

NTM

Number Nine

Manic Moran wrote: »

Looks a lot like a Russian Oscar to me.

NTM

Sorry Manic, But as Captain George Mainwaring would say


I wondered how long it would take you to work that one out

:D