Frank Kelso News

USN Procedures Under A Microscope In Wake Of Trawler Sinking

The U.S. Navy, eager to keep its submarines hidden as much as possible, rejected three official recommendations aimed at preventing collisions like the one that sank a Japanese fishing boat off Hawaii on Friday, leaving nine people missing, feared drowned. The National Transportation Safety Board had faulted the Navy's submarine surfacing procedures, its way of reporting accidents and what the board deemed inadequate rest time for key watch officers while submarines are under way. When the Navy spurned all of its advice, the independent five-member board shut its books on the case, terming the Navy's response "Closed -- Unacceptable Action," documents made available on Monday showed.