Uss Greeneville News

The U.S. Navy has a balanced fleet, but it wants to grow bigger and better. Will the budget allow both? Maritime Reporter's March 2017 cover story on the U.S. Navy was all about the numbers. There exists several plans to grow the fleet beyond the current number of 308 ships, the Mitre recommendation of 414 ships, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment 340-ship proposal, and the Navy’s decision to grow the fleet to 355 ships, and the Trump administration’s 350. With so many numbers being bandied about, there are even more suggestions on how to get there.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, successfully undocked USS Greeneville (SSN 772) one week early on Nov. 14 by returning to "back-to-basics" work practices. "Back to basics", one of the key focus areas of Naval Sea Systems Commander, Vice Adm. Kevin McCoy, is about eliminating bottlenecks and optimizing the workday to improve shipyard processes with the goal of completing quality availabilities on time and on cost. "It is absolutely critical that we meet this commitment," McCoy stated. Greeneville is presently undergoing a scheduled 15-month depot modernization period at the shipyard.

Crowley Marine Services has successfully concluded work as prime contractor for the U.S. Navy’s Ehime Maru recovery and relocation operation this week with placement of the ship at its final resting site approximately 12 miles off the island of Oahu in Hawaii in more that 6,000 ft. of water. The Navy contracted with Crowley to design, engineer and execute the plan to lift the Ehime Maru from the shallow water recovery site, transport it to deepwater and lower it to the ocean floor. The Ehime Maru sank in 2,00 ft. of water on February 9, when it was struck by the USS Greeneville, a Navy submarine practicing an emergency-surfacing maneuver off Diamond Head.

Following objections from the Japanese government, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy announced they will continue searching through Friday for nine people missing from a Japanese fishing vessel sunk by a U.S. submarine last week. The Japanese government objected when the Coast Guard announced on Wednesday it intended to end the search for the missing students, teachers and crew members from the teaching vessel, said Japanese Consul General Minoru Shibuya. Earlier on Thursday, the Coast Guard said it intended to call off the search for survivors from the wreck, which occurred when the USS Greenville surfaced into the Ehime Maru, a high school's training trawler, about nine miles off the coast of Oahu. The vessel carried 35 people; 26 were rescued.

President George W. Bush has ordered a review of all policy on civilian activity during military exercises after the sinking of a Japanese trawler in a collision with a U.S. submarine near Hawaii. Two civilians were at control positions when the USS Greeneville rose rapidly to the surface, hitting the Japanese vessel, but Navy officials have said they were closely supervised. "What's going to be necessary is for (Defense) Secretary (Donald) Rumsfeld and the Defense Department to review all policy regarding civilian activity during military exercises ... particularly in light of the recent tragedy in Hawaii," Bush told reporters at the start of a budget meeting with Republican lawmakers at the White House.

The U.S. Navy on Sunday showed relatives of the nine missing people from a Japanese trawler sunk by a surfacing American submarine a video of the wreck, but there were no signs of remains. The video, taken by a deep-diving robot that located the Ehime Maru on the ocean floor, showed a ghostly pale ship against the black emptiness of the deep, but nothing else. The Ehime Maru, which was struck by the USS Greeneville as the fast-attack submarine made an emergency surfacing maneuver on Feb. 9, was sitting nearly upright on the ocean floor about 9 miles (14 km) off Diamond head on Oahu. The Navy's remotely operated submersible Scorpio II located the Ehime Maru late in about 2,000 ft. (610 m) of water off the coast of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

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.

Two of the civilians aboard a U.S. submarine that collided with a Japanese trawler -- one of whom pulled levers to surface the sub -- denied that they distracted the crew and contributed to the tragedy. Todd Thoman and John Hall praised the U.S. crew for how they conducted themselves before and after the incident last week off Hawaii's coast, and said they believed all the correct procedures had been followed. Nine people are still missing from the Japanese fishing trawler, the Ehime Maru, which sank in about 1,800 ft. (548 m) of water nine miles (14 km) off Diamond Head, Hawaii. Hopes for a rescue are fading. Thoman and Hall were among a group of 16 civilians on board the USS Greeneville, which was on a brief training mission when it surfaced beneath a Japanese fishing trawler.

Two civilians were at control stations on the USS Greeneville as the submarine shot to the surface and struck a Japanese fishing vessel, a U.S. Navy spokesman in Honolulu said on Tuesday. Commander Bruce Cole said the two were allowed to participate at the control positions and were among 16 civilians invited aboard the U.S. submarine for a brief training cruise last week. Earlier a Pentagon official, who asked not to be identified, had said a civilian was under careful supervision at the time of the accident and that the move was not highly unusual and apparently had no influence on the collision. Separately, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley…

The Navy rejected safety experts' recommendations that U.S. submarines be required to use "active" sonar before surfacing to avoid collisions like the one that sank a Japanese trawler off Hawaii. Active sonar sends out ping-like signals that bounce off objects and detects their range. Passive sonar uses a device called a hydrophone to amplify noises in a broader area. Contrary to a 1990 National Transportation Safety Board recommendation, commanding officers have complete discretion to decide which system to use under the circumstances, the Navy said. "We don't have a requirement to use active sonar," said Lt. Cmdr. Cate Mueller, a Navy spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

As hopes of finding survivors faded, anguished relatives of the nine Japanese missing after a surfacing U.S. submarine sank their trawler off Hawaii pleaded to have the wreck raised so they could discover if it was the tomb of their loved ones. The request -- also being pushed strongly by the Japanese government -- was forwarded to top U.S. government officials, but a key investigator said he saw no reason at present to recover the 499-ton Ehime Maru from its watery grave 1,800 ft. (548 m) below the ocean surface. Addressing reporters on Sunday night for the first time since arriving in Hawaii, National Transportation Safety Board investigator John Hammerschmidt said he did not believe it was necessary to bring the ship up to discover accident details…

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’s investigator into the collision of a nuclear submarine and a Japanese fishing vessel testified on Tuesday that the presence of three civilians at the ship’s controls had nothing to do with the accident in which nine people died. Investigator Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths Jr., testifying on the second day of the official Court of Inquiry, said, “In my professional judgment, they had zero impact on the collision. He said that the civilians at the controls of the USS Greeneville on Feb. 9., the day it rammed and sank the Japanese fishing training vessel the Ehime Maru, were a woman at the control of the ship’s Klaxon bell which sounds an alarm during emergency maneuvers, a man at the ballast control and another man directing the rudder.

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.

Relatives of nine Japanese lost at sea when a U.S. submarine sank their fishing boat off Hawaii in February voiced anger on Saturday after hearing the captain of the submarine would not face criminal charges. The families of the nine missing, including four 17-year-old boys aboard the training trawler and two teachers, had followed closely the proceedings of a U.S. Navy court of inquiry in Hawaii to investigate the accident. Twenty-six people survived. "I'll be very angry if I learn officially that the court-martial will not take place," said the father of one of two fishing instructors missing after the USS Greeneville suddenly surfaced under the trawler off Hawaii in early February. Relatives of those who survived the accident felt otherwise.

The Navy has ordered an operational stand-down for all submarines following two recent accidents, charging commanders to “focus energy and intellect back onto the basics of submarine operations,” according to the Submarine Force’s leader. Vice Adm. Chuck Munns, U.S. Submarine Force commander, lamented that the two incidents — one which resulted in the death of two sailors — happened under standard operations. Normal operations will continue while commanders review recently completed operations and future planned evolutions, and evaluate areas of risk and risk mitigation, a statement said. They have a week to do it — reviews are due Jan. 19. The two incidents that sparked Thursday’s order involved four sailors swept from the top of the submarine USS Minneapolis-St.

U.S. Navy divers who hope to recover bodies from a Japanese fishing vessel accidentally sunk by a nuclear submarine toured a similar vessel to learn more about the rooms and passageways where they will work. Two teams of divers and engineers spent seven hours aboard the Kagawa Maru, which has a floor plan similar to the sunken Ehime Maru, during a port visit to Honolulu Harbor. The Ehime Maru sank in 2,000 feet (610 m) of water on Feb. 9 after being struck by a surfacing submarine, the USS Greeneville, nine miles south of Oahu. Nine people, including four teen-age boys, were never found, and their remains are thought still to be aboard the 750-ton Ehime Maru.

ceremonies held last night in Anchorage, Alaska. founder. winners of the award. management team. General Manager, Latin America Services. years," said Crowley. outside his normal scope of responsibility. USS New Jersey and USS Iowa, as well as the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. He also helped secure a role for Crowley as a contractor for the U.S. 2001 Ehime Maru recovery and relocation operation in Hawaii. sank in 2,000 feet of water on Feb. Diamond Head. ocean floor about 12 miles off Oahu. position in the very competitive ship assist business. is a tremendous honor," Busch said. served aboard company tugs as a chief mate. responsibility. U.S. Navy Salvage Contract. director of sales for ship assist and escort services in 2001. Response Alliance LLC. Southwest Alaska Pilots Association.

The U.S. Special Operations Command's (USSOCOM) Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) and the U.S. Navy's USS Greeneville (SSN 772) have accomplished the last significant test of the ASDS system prior to its Operational Evaluation the successful launching and recovery of the system from a host submarine. For this most recent system test, ASDS Boat 1 successfully completed multiple launch and recovery docking scenarios with the USS Greeneville. The successive dockings over a several day period further validates the capability of the system to operate in the undersea environment. number of special operations missions. USSOCOM. "This was the last major hurdle for this unique warfighting system," said Capt.

first Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) to the U.S. Navy by successfully completing its first operational mission as part of the Joint Forces Command's Exercise, Millennium Challenge 2002. On Aug. off the coast of Hawaii. Additionally, lock-out operations were completed, enabling the submerged departure of SEALs and their equipment. completion. The ASDS performed exactly as planned and participants praised the achievement. "This first-of-its-kind system provides a new level of operational capability to our SEAL forces in high-threat areas," said Fran Holian, vice president of Northrop Grumman Oceanic and Naval Systems. The business unit produced the ASDS for the Navy's Special Operations Command. of the ASDS and prepare it for an operational evaluation in mid-2003.

Japanese officials on Friday were disappointed after U.S. naval officers failed to shed light on whether the captain of a submarine that sank a Japanese fishing trawler, leaving nine lost at sea, would be court martialed. A team of U.S. naval officers visited local officials and families of the nine people, including four teenage fisheries students, lost after the USS Greeneville surfaced into and sank the Ehime Maru off Hawaii on February 9. The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet is prepared to order the captain and a key enlisted man to undergo disciplinary hearings but not courts-martial for their roles in the accident, a navy official in Honolulu said on Thursday.