South China Sea: experts still in dark over what smashed into US submarine
- USS Connecticut photographed moored in Guam with part of its nose removed, suggesting head-on collision with object, experts say
- The submarine’s location the day after the incident means it could have suffered the damage near the Paracel Islands, they say
The first publicly available image of the nuclear attack submarine, which is moored at the United States Navy’s base in Guam, was captured by US private Earth imaging company Planet Labs on October 20, and first published by American technology and military site The Drive.
It showed that the sonar dome of the Seawolf-class sub’s nose had been taken out, suggesting its bow sonar system was damaged in the incident on October 2 and needed to be replaced.
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US submarine strikes unknown underwater object in disputed South China Sea
Nothing on the sail or other parts of the hull was cracked, suggesting its nuclear reactors remained normal, as stated in the US Navy’s initial announcement to allay concerns of a nuclear leak.
“It’s almost certain that the USS Connecticut was hit in a head-on collision that cracked its sonar dome, the most important sensor system, meaning the sub became effectively blind and deaf underwater and had to escape immediately,” Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Tong said.