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Agencies

A US Navy attack submarine “struck an object while submerged” in international waters in the South China Sea, officials said on Thursday.
They said there were no life-threatening injuries and the sub was still fully operational.
In a brief statement providing few details of an incident that happened on the afternoon of October 2, US Pacific Fleet said the USS Connecticut remained in a “safe and stable condition”.
The Seawolf-class submarine’s nuclear propulsion plant was not affected, it added.
“The extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine is being assessed,” the statement said, adding that the incident will be investigated.

The statement did not specify the location of the incident, but two US Navy officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details not announced publicly, said it happened in the South China Sea while the Connecticut was conducting routine operations.
The officials said the sub then headed toward port at Guam.
They said the incident was not announced before Thursday to maintain operational security.
China vs US: beneath the surface of the submarine technology gap
The officials said it was not yet clear what object the sub had struck but that it was not another submarine.
One official said it could have been a sunken vessel, a sunken container or other uncharted object.
Two sailors aboard the Connecticut sustained moderate injuries and about nine others had minor injuries like scrapes and bruises, the officials said. All were treated aboard the sub.
A US Naval Institute News report said the last known incidence of a US submarine striking an underwater object took place in 2005, when the USS San Francisco struck an underwater mountain in a collision that killed one sailor aboard.


The incident with the Connecticut comes just weeks after Australia, the UK and the US announced a new security arrangement. The so-called AUKUS pact also created a rift with France, which saw a US$66 billion deal to provide Australia conventional submarines voided in favour of a deal for American-made nuclear-powered ships.
France’s ambassador says Australia ‘childish’ to keep submarine deal secret
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the deal as a “game changer” for Australian security in the face of China’s military assertiveness, saying it would add to Indo-Pacific stability.
● A witness on Thursday told an inquest in London into the mysterious sinking of a French trawler that rescuers saw a submarine in the area of the type used by the Dutch navy.
A High Court judge is examining the death of fishermen from the Bugaled Breizh fishing boat, based in Brittany, which sank swiftly in fair weather conditions off the coast of Cornwall in January 15, 2004.
Family members of the five crew who died hope the three-week investigation that started on Monday will confirm their belief that the trawler was dragged down by a submarine.
Nato and Royal Navy exercises were taking place in the area at the time.
Associated Press and Bloomberg


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South China Sea

US nuclear submarine hits underwater ‘object’ in South China Sea

The USS Connecticut is a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine. File photo: US Navy

A congressional delegation and the Secretary of the Navy walk around the Seawolf class submarine USS Connecticut after the boat surfaced through through Arctic sea ice during an exercise near the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station north of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska March 18, 2011. The new digital "Deep Siren" tactical messaging system built by Raytheon Co could revolutionize how military commanders stay in touch with submarines all over the world, allowing them to alert a submarine about an enemy ship on the surface or a new mission, without it needing to surface to periscope level, or 60 feet, where it could be detected by potential enemies. At present, submarines use an underwater phone to communicate with associates on top of the ice or with other submarines, but those devices are little more than tin cans on a string and work only at shorter distances. Picture taken March 18, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY SCI TECH BUSINESS TRANSPORT POLITICS)

First Japan-UK submarine warfare exercise held with China in its sights

A Japanese Soryu-class diesel-electric submarine of the sort thought to have taken part in the joint naval drills with Britain. Photo: Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force/Handout via Reuters

12 August 2021, South Korea, Busan: The HMS Artful, a nuclear-powered fleet submarine of the British Royal Navy's HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, is docked at the naval base in Busan. The submarine entered the country ahead of a port call by the 64000-ton aircraft carrier, reportedly set for the end of the month. Photo: -/YNA/dpa

Russia test fires hypersonic Tsirkon missile from nuclear submarine for first time

The Severodvinsk nuclear submarine fired the missile in the Barents Sea. Photo: Russia Ministry of Defence

Lawmakers say they were in the dark on US troop deployment to Taiwan

Taiwan special forces personnel walk behind an armoured personnel carrier during an annual military drill in Taichung in January 2017. Photo: AFP

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United States & Canada


Submarine damaged after hitting an unidentified object, but is in a ‘safe and stable’ condition
Vessel now headed to the US base at Guam, its nuclear propulsion plant not affected



The USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant was not affected and the vessel was in a ‘safe and stable condition’, a US Navy statement said.


Defence

United States

US nuclear submarine hits underwater ‘object’ in South China Sea

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Submarine damaged after hitting an unidentified object, but is in a ‘safe and stable’ condition Vessel now headed to the US base at Guam, its nuclear propulsion plant not affected

Submarine damaged after hitting an unidentified object, but is in a ‘safe and stable’ condition

Vessel now headed to the US base at Guam, its nuclear propulsion plant not affected