Officials: Damaged US Navy nuclear sub struck underwater mountain in S. China Sea

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Navy has determined that a submarine damaged in a collision in the South China Sea in early October struck a seamount, or underwater mountain, two defense officials said Monday.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a public announcement. The Navy has yet to fully explain how or why the USS Connecticut struck the seamount or to reveal the extent of damage to the Seawolf-class submarine.

The Navy has said the submarine’s nuclear reactor and propulsion system were not damaged.

The collision caused a small number of moderate and minor injuries to the crew. USNI News, which was first to report that the sub had struck a seamount, said damage to the forward section of the submarine damaged its ballast tanks.

The incident happened on Oct. 2 but was not reported by the Navy until five days later. The vessel made its way to Guam for a damage assessment, where it remains.

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory and says the presence of US warships there are the cause of tensions and instability, CNN reported. That has not stopped the US Navy from asserting itself in the waterway, where it regularly sends its ships for exercises and so-called Freedom of Navigation operations, which challenge Beijing’s claims to disputed islands.