The USS Newport News collided Monday night with Japanese oil tanker Mogamigawa near the Strait of Hormuz. The vessels suffered minor damage but no injuries, fuel spills or radiation have been reported.
"The incident involving the American submarine and the Japanese vessel in the Arabian Sea was due to intensive traffic of vessels in this region, which demands a high level of caution from captains of navy vessels, in particular from captains of nuclear submarines," the expert said. "Most likely, the captain of the American vessel inadequately assessed the underwater and surface situation while the submarine was surfacing."
The collision is not the first between a U.S. submarine and a Japanese vessel. In February 2001, U.S. nuclear submarine Greenville ran into and sunk a Japanese fishing vessel near Hawaii, killing all nine people on board the Japanese boat.
