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Submarine to
dry dock as inquiry
is prepared
The Navy hopes to keep
inspecting the wreckage
of the Ehime MaruBy Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-BulletinThe nuclear attack submarine USS Greeneville was expected to move into Pearl Harbor's dry dock this week for inspections as the Navy also begins preparations for the start of a three-admiral panel to look into the sinking of the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime Maru.
Sub captain won't talk
Meanwhile, the Navy hopes to have two unmanned deep sea drones in the waters off Oahu by tonight to continue to inspect the wreckage of the Ehime Maru and to search for other debris.
Nine people -- four Japanese high school students, two teachers and three crew members -- are still missing and presumed dead. They were part of the 35 crew members and passengers from the Uwajima Fisheries High School in southwestern Japan on board the training ship, which was hit by the Greeneville 10 miles south of Diamond Head. The Ehime Maru, a commercial fishing training vessel used by the high school, was headed toward fishing grounds 300 miles southeast of Oahu.
Family members want the Navy to raise the 190-foot fishing vessel, which now rests on the ocean bottom in 2,003 feet of water in an upright position. The mayor of the Uwajima prefecture where the Ehime Maru was berthed, Hirohisa Ishibashi, not only wants the vessel raised, but also wants the search for survivors to continue. He made the request today to Japan Ambassador Thomas Foley, who said it is nearly impossible to raise the ship at an early date.
In Honolulu a Navy spokesman said no decision has been made whether such a salvage attempt will be made. "More surveys and more analysis need to be made" before the Navy can decide if it is feasible to raise the 499-ton Ehime Maru, said Lt. Flex Plexico, a Navy spokesman. Videotape of the wreckage shows the exterior of the Ehime Maru to be in good condition.
Not happy with statements of apology from President George W. Bush and diplomatic and military officials, the families of the Ehime Maru also are pushing for one from the Greeneville's captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle.Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, said "there are legal implications" with Waddle taking such actions now, since he is still being investigated and still could be facing a court-martial and criminal charges.
"It will certainly be his judgment," Fargo said.
With today being a federal holiday -- Presidents Day -- the earliest the Greeneville could be placed in dry dock would be tomorrow. The Greeneville had been moved to Pearl Harbor's West Loch to unload any small arms and torpedoes it carried. It was not carrying any Tomahawk missiles at the time.
Inquiry at highest level
While in dry dock, inspectors will check the Greeneville's rudder, propeller and entire hull to determine what repairs need to be done. But following the Greeneville's Feb. 9 collision, Navy spokesmen have said the 360-foot submarine suffered no major damage, except for scrapes to its rudder and on its left side just aft of the sail, or its main structure.National Transportation Safety Board investigators have already checked and cleared Greeneville's sonar system and the optics on its periscope.
The C-Commando, the civilian vessel carrying the Navy's deep-diving probe Scorpio II, was forced to return to Pearl Harbor Saturday to make minor repairs on the Scorpio. The 255-foot USS Salvor remained at the crash site with another submersible, called Deep Drone, which has similar capabilities as Scorpio such as video and still cameras.
The Deep Drone has been used in the search and recovery efforts of two airline crashes: Swiss Air Flight 111 in 1998 and Egypt Air Flight 190 a year later.It was the Scorpio that located the Ehime Maru Friday night just 1,000 feet from where the accident occurred.
Both the Deep Drone and the Scorpio have limited recovery capability and would not be able to bring the 499-ton Ehime Maru to the surface. Because of their size, they cannot easily enter the ship for a closer look.
On Thursday, Vice Adm. John Nathman will meet at Pearl Harbor's courthouse with two other admirals to begin the Navy's highest-level inquiry into the actions of the Greeneville's top three officers. Depending on the court's findings, they could face administrative action or criminal action in a court-martial.
Top officers' actions at issue
Under scrutiny will be the actions of Waddle, the captain of the Greeneville, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald Pfeifer, the submarine's executive officer and second in command, and Lt. j.g. Michael Coen, who was the officer of the deck. Waddle, who assumed command of the Greeneville in March 1999, was relieved a day after the accident.Besides Nathman, who is commander of the Pacific Fleet's Naval Air Force in San Diego, the other two board members will be Rear Adm. Paul Sullivan, director for plans and policy at the U.S. Strategic Command at Offet Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb., and Rear Adm. David Stone, commander of Cruiser Destroyer Group Five in San Diego. The Navy also invited the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force to send an observer.
The rare military public inquiry into the Greeneville's actions could be used as a substitute for an Article 32 investigation, which would be required before any case is referred to a court-martial.
Fargo said he decided upon a court of inquiry because it offered "a forum for public disclosure."
Many questions remain
Fargo said the Navy was waiting for the National Transportation Safety Board to conclude its own separate investigation before beginning its court hearing. Officials said the phase dealing with questions of civilian shipping will end Wednesday. The Navy's hearing is expected not only to deal with the accident itself, but also with the circumstances leading up to it and the events that followed.Questions still remain as to why periscope and sonar sweeps conducted by the Greeneville's crew failed to detect the Ehime Maru. Crew members of the Ehime Maru have criticized the Navy for not coming to the aid of those who were able to crawl into life rafts. However, high seas washing over its deck prevented the Greeneville from attempting any rescue operation, the Navy has said.
'This was a demonstration'
The court hearing will also deal with the question of whether the 16 civilians -- participants in what the Navy calls its distinguished visitors program -- played a role in the accident.Fargo, who once skippered the nuclear attack submarine USS Salt Lake, a sister ship of the Greeneville, was asked whether Waddle only performed the "emergency main ballast tank blow" because civilians were on board. He declined to specifically discuss the matter, saying that would come out in the formal hearing.
However, Fargo pointed out that there are only three reasons for doing that emergency maneuver, where air is pumped in the submarine's main ballast tanks, forcing water out and propelling the submarine upward in a rapid ascent like a rocket. The three reasons are for training, to verify that those systems are operable and for demonstration. "In this case, this was a demonstration," Fargo said.
Since the Feb. 9 accident, civilians participating in such VIP cruises can only function as observers, and the Navy has restricted demonstrating these emergency procedures until the investigations are over, Fargo said.
Two of the 16 civilians were sitting at the Greeneville's key control positions during the emergency surfacing drill. However, the Navy said they were always under constant and close supervision.
Trying to meet families' needs
A Pacific Fleet spokesman today also declined to confirm reports from the Pentagon that no more than 20 witnesses will be called at Thursday's hearing, with the first being Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths, who conducted the Navy's preliminary investigation last week.Asked about criticisms by families of the missing crewmen that not enough has been done for them, Fargo said the Navy has tried to provide as much information as there is available, taking them to the accident site and providing them with videotapes of the current underwater recovery operations.
The Navy yesterday showed relatives of the nine missing people a 35-minute videotape of the wreck taken by Scorpio.
As a member of a Navy family, Fargo said he grew up in Japan and had multiple assignments there.
"I got great empathy for the Japanese people and their families, and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that we have full accounting for this accident and take care of their needs here in Hawaii."