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US Navy Orders Further Inquiry on Sub Collision
Mute on the long-expected result of a preliminary probe, the US Navy decided Saturday to launch a new inquiry into the collision between a US submarine and a Japanese trawler which left nine Japanese national missing.
"I have completed my review of the Preliminary Inquiry into the February 9 collision between USS Greeneville and the Japanese Vessel Ehime Maru," Thomas Fargo, commander-in-chief of US Pacific Fleet, told a press conference in Pearl Harbor.
"I have elected to convene a Court of Inquiry as delineated in the US Navy Judge Advocate General's Manual," he said.
Fargo said the Court of Inquiry, the highest form of administrative investigation in U.S. Navy, will be constituted of three US Navy flag officers and is expected to convene on February 22 in Pearl Harbor.
He said the US side will also intend to invite Japan to send a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force flag officer to participate as an adviser.
"I have elected this course of action after reviewing the facts, opinions and recommendations expressed in the Preliminary Inquiry because a Court of Inquiry provides the necessary legal safeguards for the affected parties, complete subpoena power and a forum for public disclosure," he said.
Fargo, who received the report on the preliminary inquiry on Friday, did not reveal the content of the probe.
The admiral vowed that the new inquiry "will provide a full and open accounting for the American and Japanese people."
USS Greeneville, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, hit and sank the Ehime Maru near Pearl Harbor last week when practicing an emergency ascent drill.
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