AFP, The commander of a US nuclear powered submarine that ran into an undersea mountain in the Pacific, killing a crew member and injuring 23 others, has been reassigned pending the outcome of an investigation into the mishap, the US Navy said Thursday.
Commander Kevin Mooney was relieved of command of the USS San Francisco at the direction of Vice Admiral Johanthan Greenert, the commander of the US Seventh Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan, the navy said.
Mooney was “reassigned pending the results of an investigation into the subs grounding during operations in the Western Pacific Ocean,” the fleet said in a statement.
The Los Angeles class attack submarine slammed head-on into what defense officials said was an apparently uncharted undersea mountain 560 kilometers (350 miles) south of Guam on January 8, partly flooding the sonar dome in the vessel's bow.
Machinist Mate 2nd Class John Allen Ashley, 24, of Akron, Ohio, died two days later of injuries suffered in the grounding.
Twenty-three other crew members were treated for injuries that ranged from broken bones to cuts and bruises and a back injury, navy officials said.
Initial reports were that the submarine was cruising at high speed at a depth of about 120 meters (400 feet) Sunday when it ran into an undersea mountain.
The damaged submarine limped into port in Guam January 10.
Mooney was reassigned to Submarine Squadron 15, based in Guam, the navy said.
A vessel's commander typically is held responsible for mishaps such as the USS San Francisco's.
But officials have suggested that Mooney might escape blame if an investigation found that the mountain was not on the charts and the skipper exercised sound judgement.
