Michael Coen News

The U.S. Navy's official inquiry into the fatal collision of the USS Greeneville and a Japanese fishing trawler will closely scrutinize the actions of a fourth officer on board the submarine, who held senior rank over the vessel's captain. Capt. Bob Brandhuber, chief of staff for the Pacific Submarine Forces, was the host of civilian guests on board the sub when the accident occurred. He has not been named alongside three Greeneville officers as a subject of a court of inquiry, but will almost certainly be called as a witness, the sources told Reuters. The court of inquiry was convened for March 5 to determine whether disciplinary action should be taken against any or all of the officers named as subjects, and could ultimately lead to a court martial.

The U.S. Navy opened a formal inquiry on Monday into the ramming of a Japanese trawler by a nuclear submarine, trying to answer questions about an accident that killed nine people and marred America’s relationship with Japan. The navy’s Court of Inquiry could also lead to a court martial for three or more officers of the USS Greeneville who will be asked to explain how they failed to notice the 190-ft. (58-m) fishing boat before surfacing off Diamond Head near Honolulu. The fast-attack sub is equipped with state-of-the-art sonar, and published reports have said the Greeneville’s crew was aware of a ship in the vicinity before surfacing. The Greeneville was practicing emergency maneuvers on Feb.

The U.S. Navy's top submarine officer in the Pacific laid the blame for the collision between the USS Greeneville and a Japanese trawler squarely on the commander of the submarine. Rear Adm. Albert Konetzni, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's submarine forces, told a court of inquiry into the Feb. 9 accident off Hawaii in which nine Japanese were killed that the Greeneville's captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, had failed to make a proper periscope search before surfacing. "This is the meat of the matter," Konetzni testified, adding that sub commanders "have an unbelievable obligation to make sure there's nobody in the area". "You'd better get as much pole out there as you can - periscope time - to make sure.

A U.S. Navy court of inquiry into the submarine-trawler collision off Hawaii in which nine Japanese were killed has recommended measures that would probably end the submarine commander's career but would spare him a court martial, a Navy official said on Sunday. The official said that the recommendations, if implemented, meant Cmdr. The Navy official said the panel's recommendations would also spare the other two officers charged in the accident, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer and Lt. Michael Coen, from court martial. The 2,000-page report by the court of inquiry, composed of three Navy admirals, was delivered to Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Thomas Fargo on Friday, and it is up to Fargo to decide what action to take, if any, within 30 days.