On the 8th, in an accident where a submarine of the Maritime Self-Defense Force collided with a private commercial ship off the coast of Kochi Prefecture, the submarine confirmed the commercial ship just before the collision, but it collided without being able to avoid it, so the Maritime Self-Defense Force confirmed the safety. I am investigating the situation at that time in detail, such as how I was doing.
Around 11:00 am on the 8th, a private commercial ship collided with the Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine "Soryu" about 50 km offshore southeast of Cape Ashizuri in Kochi Prefecture.
While it seems that no one was injured on the crew of the merchant ship, three crew members on the submarine were slightly injured.
The submarine arrived at Kochi Port at around 11:20 pm on the 8th, although it was partially damaged but was able to navigate on its own.
According to a Ministry of Defense official, the submarine was in the process of ascending at the time, with the periscope out above sea level, and confirmed that a merchant ship was nearby just before the collision, but it collided with it. about it.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force set up an accident investigation committee on the 8th to investigate the situation at that time in detail, such as how the safety confirmation was carried out.
On the other hand, the Japan Coast Guard will also investigate the degree of damage to submarines and merchant ships and the situation at that time.
Image release of Japan Coast Guard submarine
The 5th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters has released an image of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's submarine "Soryu" that collided with a private commercial ship from the sky.
The image was taken by an aircraft of the Japan Coast Guard Headquarters before 5 pm on the 8th, about 15 km southeast of Cape Ashizuri in Kochi Prefecture.
From the image, you can see that a part of the hull of "Soryu" is damaged, and that the part that extends to the left and right is bent.
On the 9th, the Japan Coast Guard will investigate the hull and interview the crew off the coast of Kochi Port.