USS ''Newport News'' (SSN-750), a , is the third ship of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
to be named for
Newport News, Virginia. The contract to build her was awarded to
Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...
in
Newport News, Virginia on 19 April 1982 and her keel was laid down on 3 March 1984. She was
launched on 15 March 1986 sponsored by
Mrs. Rosemary D. Trible, and
commissioned on 3 June 1989. Mayor
Jessie M. Rattley presented the ship with a commemorative plaque containing the poem "Newport News," written by Newport News native Ronald W. Bell, whose poem "
Admiral Rickover" also appears upon a plaque aboard the ''Los Angeles''-class submarine .
Collision with Japanese ship
On 8 January 2007, ''Newport News'' was operating submerged in the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
south of the
Straits of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the o ...
when the submarine hit Japanese tanker ''Mogamigawa''. She had been operating as part of Carrier Strike Group 8 (CSG-8), organized around the
aircraft carrier . The
Carrier Strike Group
A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least t ...
was redeploying to the Indian Ocean to support a maritime cordon during the
war in Somalia when the incident happened.
''Newport News'' suffered damage to her bow, but there was no damage to the sail, mast or reactor, and she made for port in
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
under her own power.
''Newport News'' was escorted from the mouth of the Straits of Hormuz to Bahrain by the
Guided Missile Destroyer
A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers who have a prim ...
. This was due to the fact that the submarine was unable to transit submerged and has no surface defense capabilities. During the transit, Iranian aircraft and warships shadowed the ships.
An official of the Kawasaki Kisen Company (or
K Line
is a Japanese transportation company. It owns a fleet that includes dry cargo ships (bulk carriers), container ships, liquefied natural gas carriers, Ro-Ro ships, tankers, and container terminals. It used to be the fourteenth largest contai ...
), which owns the tanker, announced that
''Mogamigawa''s hull and propellers were damaged.
According to a Navy spokesman, the collision occurred as a result of the
venturi effect
The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe. The Venturi effect is named after its discoverer, the 18th century Italian physicist, Giovanni Battista ...
. The tanker passed over the area where the submarine was submerged and this created a sucking effect that forced the submarine upward to the surface.
The incident was the third collision between a US nuclear-powered submarine and a Japanese civilian ship.
On 29 January, after the boat returned to Bahrain for repairs, administrative personnel actions, also known as
Admiral's Masts, were taken against several members of her crew, which included relieving the boat's commanding officer of command due to a lack of confidence in his ability to command.
On 10 April the Iranian
Fars News Agency reported that ''Newport News'' has been leaking radioactive and chemical pollution into the Persian Gulf and claimed that following this formal complaint, the ship departed the gulf for a complete overhaul.
The
US Navy Fifth Fleet denied this claim restating that damage was limited to the bow and that the sail, mast and reactors were not damaged. On 2 October 2007 the US Navy agreed to pay
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, the company that owns ''Mogamigawa'' an undisclosed amount in compensation for the collision.
Gallery
Image:USS Newport News SSN-750 Oct04 depart.jpg, ''Newport News'' departing Souda Bay, Greece, 2004
Image:USS Newport News SSN-750 Oct04 aft.jpg, ''Newport News'' off the coast of Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, 2004
Image:USS Newport News (SSN-750).jpg, ''Newport News'' with '' in Norfolk, Virginia, 2005
References
External links
US Navy Commander Submarine Group Two
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newport News (SSN-750)
Los Angeles-class submarines
Cold War submarines of the United States
Nuclear submarines of the United States Navy
United States submarine accidents
Maritime incidents in 2007
Japan–United States relations
Non-combat naval accidents
International maritime incidents
Ships built in Newport News, Virginia
1986 ships
Submarines of the United States