Tech News, Magazine & Review WordPress Theme 2017
  • Home
  • Supply Chain Updates
  • Global News
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Supply Chain Updates
  • Global News
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Supply Chain Updates

Check Out The Damage To This Japanese Submarine After It Collided With A Cargo Ship

usscmc by usscmc
February 8, 2021
Check Out The Damage To This Japanese Submarine After It Collided With A Cargo Ship
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A collision between a Japanese submarine and a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean has resulted in injuries to at least three submariners, according to initial reports. The incident occurred today at 10:58 AM local time, around 25 miles southeast of Cape Ashizuri, in the waters off the island of Shikoku, which lies southwest of Japan’s main island of Honshu.

The submarine involved was the first-in-class Soryu, one of 11 of these diesel-electric attack submarines active with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). The submarine entered service in 2009 and was taking part in a routine training exercise at the time of the collision.

Japanese Ministry of Defense

The first-in-class diesel-electric attack submarine Soryu.




The Soryu, which has a surfaced displacement of approximately 2,900 tons and a length of just over 275 feet, scraped the hull of the commercial vessel as it was surfacing, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the cargo ship was the bulk carrier Ocean Artemis, which departed the Chinese city of Qingdao on Friday and was headed for Okayama Prefecture in western Japan. With a gross weight of around 51,000 tons and a length of 750 feet, the Ocean Artemis is registered in Hong Kong and was transporting iron ore. 

Japanese government officials stated that three crew members on the submarine suffered minor injuries that did not require hospital treatment. Supposedly, damage to the Soryu was limited to a mast housing a periscope and a communication antenna and the submarine was able to continue. However, it is not known if it headed back to its homeport at Kure in Hiroshima Prefecture.

The damage to the antenna mast seems to have resulted in a total loss of communications and the submarine was required to navigate to a location where the crew could contact their base headquarters using mobile phones. This resulted in a delay of three and a half hours before the crew of the Soryu could report the accident. 

A series of images provided by the Japan Coast Guard — including the photo at the top of this feature — that show the Soryu after the incident reveal additional and more serious damage to the submarine, especially to its sail and dive planes. The photos were taken from one of the Coast Guard’s Saab 340B maritime patrol aircraft.

5th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters




5th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters




5th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters




Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told members of the press that the commercial vessel had reported to the Japan Coast Guard that no impact was felt, and it does not appear to have sustained any damage. So far, there have been no reports of injuries to any of the crew of the commercial vessel.

Immediately after the accident, the Japanese government set up a response unit to investigate how the collision happened, as well as to assess the safety of the commercial vessel and provide rescue services if required. In a statement, Japan’s Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi said the collision was “regrettable.”

The incident demonstrates the risk of collision between submarines and surface vessels, especially when the former are surfacing. Collisions with surface vessels, as well as underwater obstructions, or even the seabed, are an ever-present hazard. 

For a submarine’s crew to be provided with collision-warning, its active sonar has to be operating. While this can be activated to see if there any obstacles in the submarine’s path, in many operational scenarios the active sonar is not an option since it emits signals that other submarines and ships can detect.

“There are conditions when you can have a quick transmit to see if there’s anything in the way, but operational scenarios more often than not will not support that,” former British Royal Navy submarine commander Jeff Tall explained to the Guardian in 2003. “If you transmit on your own signal — if you go ping — some other bastard is going to hear it.”

On the other hand, the submarine’s passive sonar avoids the risk of detection and could have been used in this scenario. While a passive sonar may provide less information than its active counterpart, a vessel the size of this cargo ship that is underway should have been detected. If the commercial vessel was not running, it may have been harder to detect and/or find a range for. 

U.S. NAVY/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS RANDALL W. RAMASWAMY

JMSDF submarine Soryu is pulled away from a submarine tender off Guam.




While running submerged, a submarine can also call upon its inertial navigation system, which should provide an accurate position, based on 3D gyroscopes, but which is only useful for non-moving obstacles. Furthermore, the inertial navigation system needs frequent calibration to ensure its accuracy. Navigating underwater is also heavily dependent on having very accurate maps of the seabed, which in turn requires various types of underwater survey equipment. 

The process of surfacing is recognized as one of the riskiest that a submarine has to do. Before completing such a maneuver, the crew will first plot any objects that can be detected on the surface — such as commercial vessels, or indeed warships. However, some surface obstacles are notoriously tricky to identify using sonar, in particular icebergs. The periscope can also be used just prior to surfacing, scanning the surface of the water for shadows of potential hazards. 

Japanese Ministry of Defense

The Soryu maneuvers at speed while surfaced.




Professor Ito Toshiyuki, a retired JMSDF vice admiral, told the Japan Broadcasting Corporation that the accident should not have occurred. He noted that the dangers of the surfacing procedure would have been known to the crew and that they should have confirmed that the maneuver was safe using the sonar systems. It suggested that the sonar system may not have been properly functioning, or otherwise, there could have been “problems with the crew’s skills or their teamwork.”

While we don’t yet know the cause of this accident, it is possible that only luck prevented a much worse outcome. In February 2001, for example, a Japanese fishery training ship, the Ehime Maru, was struck by the Los Angeles class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Greeneville, when it surfaced south of Oahu, Hawaii. On that occasion, the commercial vessel was sunk with the loss of nine of the 35 people on board.

We will continue to update this story as and when more details become available. 

Contact the author: [email protected]

Don’t forget to sign up

Your Email Address

usscmc

usscmc

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • How Hapag Lloyd captured a major market share in the Container Shipping Industry in USA
  • Why USA’s East Coast is the Favorite Destination for Manufacturing Companies
  • How Trade Relations Between the USA and UK Improved After Keir Starmer Became Prime Minister
  • Tips and Tricks for Procurement Managers to Handle Their Supplier Woes
  • The Crazy Supply Chain of Walmart Spanning Across the Globe

Recent Comments

  • Top 5 Supply Chain Certifications that are in high demand | Top 5 Certifications on Top 5 Globally Recognized Supply Chain Certifications
  • 3 Best Procurement Certifications that are most valuable | Procurement Newz on Top 5 Globally Recognized Supply Chain Certifications

Archives

  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019

Categories

  • Global News
  • Supply Chain Updates

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • Antispam
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2024 www.usscmc.com

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Supply Chain Updates
  • Global News
  • Contact Us

© 2024 www.usscmc.com