USS Hartford & USS New Orleans Collide in the Straight of Hormuz
March 20th, 2009At around 1 a.m. local time (5 p.m. EDT), the USS Hartford – a nuclear powered submarine – and the USS New Orleans – an amphibious ship – collided into each on their way in to port. The collision resulted in minor injuries of 15 USS Hartford sailors and a ruptured fuel tank from the New Orleans which resulted in the loss of 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the ocean’s waters. Fortunately no damage was done to the submarine’s nuclear propulsion system. Both ships are operating under their own power, but have since returned to port to examine damage and for further investigation.
This is not the first US Navy collision in the Straight of Hormuz and likely won’t be the last. Located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, the Straight is a narrow but important waterway as it is the most heavily traveled route for oil tankers in the world.
Close call if you ask me. Loss of fuel in the ocean is never good of course, but a much better result than a ruptured nuclear sub. You have to imagine someone messed up pretty bad. No reason for two US Navy vessels crashing into each other, especially when one was a nuclear submarine. Still, glad to report no serious damage occurred.