A series of errors on board the USS Greeneville led to the sinking of the Japanese fishing boat Ehime Maru, a US navy investigator has testified.
Admiral Charles Griffiths began his investigation on February 10th, a day after the Greeneville sank the fishing boat off the coast of Hawaii. Nine passengers and crew are still missing after the collision, and are presumed dead.
Among the accusations made by Admiral Griffiths were that the vessel was behind schedule; crucial instruments in the control room were broken; civilians in the control room were hindering the crew's performance; unqualified personnel were operating the submarine; an incomplete sonar search of the area was performed, and a periscope sweep of the area was conducted in haste and at too shallow a depth.
The accusations came during the first day of the US navy's investigation into the accident that has strained relations between Japan and the US.
Admiral Griffiths, who has overall command of submarines on the US west coast and carried out the initial investigation into the accident, began his testimony stating maritime law: a submarine must always "accept responsibility for avoiding collision with a surface ship".
According to the investigator, the large number of civilians (16) allowed on board the Greeneville forced a lunch-hour to be extended by 45 minutes because the room could only seat 10.
As the submarine sailed out into the overcast, hazy morning, a package of instruments that would keep the captain apprised of sonar contacts while on the bridge malfunctioned. He also said crewmen who were not fully qualified were working in the control room at the time of the crash.
The tardiness of the Greeneville, he said, came into play when the submarine surfaced to conduct sonar and periscope checks for nearby ships before submerging to a depth of about 122 metres to conduct an abrupt emergency surfacing drill - the drill that brought it up under the Ehime Maru. The Greeneville, he said, cut short by four minutes the required surface sonar surveillance time to scan for vessels.