4 October 2002
South Korea A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine collided Wednesday with a fishing vessel in the Yellow Sea off South Korea, but there was apparently no major damage or injuries, a public affairs officer of the U.S. military forces stationed in Japan said Thursday. The 6,082-ton Los Angeles class attack submarine Helena was taking part in joint naval exercises with South Korean naval forces at the time of the Wednesday midnight collision with the vessel, whose registry is unknown, the officer said.
Helena, attached to the U.S. 7th Fleet, was operating at periscope depth at the time of the incident, which occurred in international waters, the officer said. The submarine had radioed the vessel, which said a rescue was unnecessary, he said, adding damage to the submarine was limited to its periscope and mast.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
In February last year, a public furor was caused after a U.S. submarine struck and sank off Hawaii the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fisheries training vessel belonging to a high school in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan. Nine people aboard the Ehime Maru were killed.
