Navy Ships Collide in Strait of Hormuz - Updated -Bumped

Early reporting, so the details may or may not be accurate.

A US Navy submarine and a US amphibious vessel collided in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday leaving 15 sailors slightly injured, the US Navy Fifth Fleet said.

"The collision between USS Hartford (SSN 768) and USS New Orleans (LPD 18) occurred at approximately 1:00 am local time (2030 GMT on Thursday)," the Bahrain-based navy command said.

"Fifteen sailors aboard the Hartford were slightly injured and returned to duty. No personnel aboard New Orleans were injured," it added.

Middle of the night. The condition of the submarine at the time of the accident, on the surface or submerged, will be an interesting detail to watch for. UNCLOS implications there you know.

Updated: As you might expect, the submarine kicked the amphibious ships ass. From the DoD press statement:

Overall damage to both ships is being evaluated. The propulsion plant of the submarine was unaffected by this collision. A fuel tank ruptured on the New Orleans, which resulted in an oil spill of about 25,000 gallons of fuel. Both ships are currently operating under their own power.

Not a good day. We just dumped oil on Iran's front lawn.

Is it time to be superstitious? Is the entire San Antonio class cursed?

Update2: Good discussion over at bubblehead's place. He has some early professional speculation.

Obviously, there are no specifics out yet, but if the submarine had that many people injured, it's safe to assume she was going faster that you might expect a submarine to go at periscope depth; or, if she was at PD, that she got spun over fairly far onto her side before righting herself.

He says he is at PD. Translation: he'll have more as details unfold.

Update3: Navy Times has a damage report.

Campbell said initial assessments showed two ballast tanks on New Orleans were ruptured, resulting in seawater flooding that required the ship to be stabilized. A fuel tank was also ruptured, causing an estimated 25,000 gallons of marine diesel fuel to spill into the gulf.

“She had flooding in three distinct compartments,” Campbell said. “The flooding is secure, and the ship is making way on her own power.”

P-3 Orion aircraft flew over the area looking for a sheen of spilled oil, but “there’s no indication of that,” she said.

Hartford suffered “visible” damage to the sail and to a bow plane. Campbell could not say if components of the sail such as masts and periscopes are damaged.

More at Navy Times. Sounds like it has been a busy day at the damage control locker on New Orleans. Wasn't the USS Mesa Verfe (LPD 19) the first San Antonio class to have a shock test? Early lessons for a class of ship that can't seem to catch a break.