THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
February 10, 2021 at 17:53 JST
The Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu is seen off Kochi Port on Feb. 9 after it collided with a private foreign cargo ship in waters south of Kochi Prefecture the day before. (Ryo Ikeda)
The Maritime Self-Defense Force Soryu submarine was cut off from the outside world for more than three hours on Feb. 8 after its communications systems were damaged in a collision with a private cargo ship.
MSDF Chief of Staff Hiroshi Yamamura called the communications blackout “extremely problematic” at a Feb. 9 news conference, where he revealed his plans to have the sub outfitted with a satellite mobile phone or other new communications gear to prevent a recurrence.
Damage to the sub's antenna shut down all means of communication including wireless and its maritime phone, causing the crew to lose valuable time before it could report the collision that occurred in waters south of Kochi Prefecture.
It took the crew hours to find waters where they could get a mobile phone signal and notify the Japan Coast Guard of the collision. Three crew members aboard the submarine suffered minor injuries while no injuries were reported aboard the Hong Kong-registered Ocean Artemis cargo vessel.
“We did not envision a situation where all the systems could be shut down,” Yamamura said. “It is a serious situation that we must reflect on and it is unforgivable to say that it was unexpected.”
The MSDF had a similar incident occur in November 2006 when the MSDF training sub Asashio was surfacing off Nichinan in Miyazaki Prefecture and collided with the bottom of a Panamanian-registered tanker.
Though the sub’s helm and the underside of the tanker were damaged, the tanker's crew did not feel the collision.
The sub's wireless communications gear malfunctioned after the accident and it took its crew about an hour and half to report the collision to the Japan Coast Guard using a mobile phone, according to the Marine Accident Inquiry Agency (MAIA), which investigated the accident.
“It is vital to establish communication systems that can deal with accidents swiftly,” the MAIA concluded.
(This article was written by Yoshitaka Ito and Shun Niekawa.)
MSDF sub hits cargo ship while surfacing, 3 crew slightly injured
February 9, 2021
Unfinished base for subs to defend mainland Japan found on island
December 29, 2020
First female sub officers stand ready to serve at Kure MSDF base
October 29, 2020
Foreign sub, likely Chinese, seen in Japan’s contiguous zone
June 20, 2020
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
