Opps ! - Cruiser collides with nuclear submarine during US Navy drills

A US Navy cruiser collided with a nuclear-powered submarine as both took part in exercises off the US East Coast. The cruiser's sonar dome was damaged in the crash, but the incident resulted in no injuries.

The Aegis-class cruiser USS San Jacinto hit the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Montpelier during naval exercises on Saturday, the Navy said in a statement.

Both vessels are part of a strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. The military did not disclose the location or nature of the exercises.

The watch team aboard the cruiser saw a periscope rise from water some 100 to 200 meters ahead of the vessel, an unnamed Navy official told Reuters. The ship attempted to slow and reverse, but still collided with the submarine.

The impact crushed the rubber sonar dome on the cruiser’s bow, an underwater device housing electronic navigation, detection and ranging equipment.

No personnel were injured, and there was no damage to the submarine’s nuclear reactor, the Navy said. The scope of the damage is currently being assessed.

Navy ship captain relieved of duty after collision

Capt. Chuck LitchfieldThe captain of a Navy ship damaged during a collision with another ship off Southern California has been relieved of command, the Navy announced Tuesday in San Diego.

Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber, commander of Expeditionary Strike Group 3, has lost confidence in Capt. Chuck Litchfield's ability to command, the Navy announced. Litchfield has been reassigned to a post with the Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Litchfield was commander of the amphibious assault ship Essex when it collided with the replenishment oiler Yukon off Southern California on May 16. No oil was spilled, and there were no injuries, but both ships were damaged.

The collision, which occurred during a replenishment, was caused by a number of factors, including a temporary loss of rudder control on the Essex and then inadequate "situational awareness" on the Essex bridge, officials said.

The Essex has undergone repairs and will deploy soon for a major international exercise off Hawaii.

Litchfield, a 1988 graduate of the Naval Academy, was a helicoper test pilot, a member of the Chief of Naval Operations staff, and then commander of the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard before taking command of the Essex in April.

The Essex was on its way to San Diego after 12 years of being stationed in Sasebo, Japan, when the collision occurred.

Capt. Jonathan Harnden has been temporarily assigned to command the Essex. He was a previous commander of the Bonhomme Richard.