U.S. apology swift after sub hits boat

larger   The accident left long gashes and a dent in the USS Greeneville     WEB EXCLUSIVE Marina Kamimura: A long day in Japan

Japanese families cling to hope for 9 still missing

TOKYO, Japan -- The families of nine people missing at sea anxiously awaited word on Saturday from rescuers combing the waters for survivors after a U.S. submarine surfaced and sunk a Japanese fishing boat near Hawaii.

U.S. officials were quick to offer condolences and apologies to Japanese officials. Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono Saturday morning to "convey his regrets and apology and also the president's regret and condolences," said State Department spokesman David Denny.

Tom Hubbard, acting assistant secretary for east Asian and Pacific affairs, called Japan's ambassador to the United States on Friday evening with a similar message, a State Department spokeswoman said.

"The most important thing now is the search for the missing people," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said. "I pray that there is some way that we will be able to find them soon."

VIDEO CNN's Marina Kamimura reports on the continuing search effort (February 10) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Aerial video of the USS Greeneville reveals superficial damage to the submarine (February 10) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Bill Hemmer reports on the collision between a U.S. submarine and a Japanese fishing boat Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MESSAGE BOARD Sub collision

The 7,000-ton, Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine USS Greeneville plucked 26 people out of the water after it hit the 190-foot research vessel Ehime Maru at 1:45 p.m. (0045 GMT), about 10 miles south of Diamond Head, near Honolulu. The Greeneville is based at Pearl Harbor and is due to return there at 3 p.m. EST (1000 GMT) Saturday.

U.S. President George W. Bush, spending the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was briefed Saturday morning by his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, according to a White House spokeswoman.

Rice also telephoned Bush on Friday evening to inform him of the accident, said White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Shock in Japanese town

Four of the missing were 17-year-old high school fisheries students on their first long voyage at sea. Two others were teachers, and the remaining three were crew members of the boat.

Nine students and 17 crew members have been rescued. One of the survivors was hospitalized at Straub Hospital in Honolulu, 11 were treated and released from Straub and Kaiser Medical Center. The rest were taken to Openshaw Coast Guard base in Honolulu.

"For those who weren't plucked out of the water, you have to wonder," said Hiroshi Ishibashi, mayor of Uwajima, Japan, home of the students and teachers aboard the fishing boat.

"I had sent them off hoping that this would be a valuable learning experience, so I can't believe that this has happened," said Kazumitsu Joko, vice principal of Uwajima Fisheries High School. About 200 students attend the school, in Ehime Prefecture on Japan's main island, Shikoku.

Scenes from the fishing boat collision with a U.S. Navy submarine

"I am hoping and praying that they will be found safe and sound," Joko said.

The Prefecture set up a crisis center for the families at the high school.

The boat left Japan on January 10 to hunt for tuna, swordfish and shark. It had been scheduled to return on March 23.

Television images broadcast on Japan's NHK showed 10-to-20 meter (33-to-66 foot) long gashes in the side of the Greeneville, along with a deep dent in the vessel's midsection.

U.S. to investigate accident

U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Jensin Sommer said a preliminary look at the accident indicated that the Greeneville's stern may have hit the commercial fishing boat.

"The Navy is going to conduct a complete investigation into the cause of this incident, this very tragic incident," said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Conrad Chun. "Our regrets go out to all those involved.

Uwajima Fisheries High School Vice Principal Kazumitsu Joko, center, speaks at a news conference at the school on Saturday

CNN Correspondent Kathleen Koch said Pentagon officials were puzzled by the collision, saying that U.S. submarines regularly surface in the area -- and information about such surfacings are given out to commercial vessels.

Retired Navy Capt. Alec Fraser told CNN that the protocol for bringing a submarine to the surface is typically strictly followed.

The submarine first searches the waters in front of the vessel by sonar, Fraser said, and then it alters course so that the propellers don't disrupt an acoustic search of the area behind it.

If all appears clear, the vessel rises to periscope depth -- about 20 to 30 feet below the surface -- and the waters are surveyed visually to ensure they are clear, he said. Only then does it rise to the surface, he said.

CNN Tokyo Bureau Chief Marina Kamimura, Correspondents Kelly Wallace and Kathleen Koch, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Submarine SOS 'points to Kursk collision'
November 21, 2000
Expert: Collision probably sank Israeli submarine in '68
June 1, 1999

Los Angeles Class submarines
 • USS Greeneville
Commander Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
U.S. Navy
U.S. Coast Guard

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.